%1 http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/ en Max Goldberg http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/max-goldberg <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Max Goldberg</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-15T16:08:46-06:00" title="Monday, August 15, 2016 - 16:08" class="datetime">Mon, 08/15/2016 - 16:08</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/max-goldberg" data-a2a-title="Max Goldberg"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fmax-goldberg&amp;title=Max%20Goldberg"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Max Goldberg (1911–72) was a pioneer of early television broadcasting and a television personality in the 1950s and 1960s. Goldberg worked to promote the growth of television in <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, and his weekly talk show <em>On the Spot</em> set the stage for television’s early success in the local market. Today, amidst the popularity and ubiquity of television programming, Goldberg is primarily remembered for his talk show and its signature roundtable-style discussion of current events and big news topics.</p> <h2>Early Life</h2> <p>Max Goldberg was the eighth of nine children of impoverished immigrant parents in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Denver. Born in 1911 in the Jewish enclave along Colfax Avenue, skirting the south side of downtown Denver, young Goldberg’s inauguration into the media began at age seven, two weeks after his father, Charles, perished in the catastrophic 1918 influenza epidemic. Those circumstances dictated that all family members who could work get a job, so young Goldberg followed his five older brothers—William, Harry, Morris, Jack, and Louis—in becoming a street-corner newsboy for <strong><em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em></strong>. The <em>Post</em> sold for two pennies a copy, and the newsboy got half of that, so fifty cents was a good weekday’s take. On Sundays, the opportunities were even better—the paper was a nickel, and the newsboys kept two cents. Having six newsboys in the family, making fifty cents to more than a dollar a day each, kept the family housed, fed, and clothed.</p> <p>In 1926 at age fifteen, Goldberg was conveying high school sports scores to the <em>Post</em>’s sports department and at nineteen, he became a reporter for the <em>Rocky Mountain News</em>. During the 1920s, a new communications medium developed in Colorado and elsewhere, and in 1932 Goldberg went on the radio as “the old sports commentator” on KFEL in Denver. The following year he moved his thrice-weekly show to KFXF—later KVOD—owned by Thomas C. Ekrem and William D. Pyle. He remained there for nearly fifteen years. By age twenty-five, Max Goldberg had gained a thorough knowledge of the print and broadcast media.</p> <h2>Journalist</h2> <p>In 1936 he opened an advertising agency specializing in public relations and political campaigns. In that capacity he worked with some of the biggest names in Colorado politics, including Governors <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/ralph-carr"><strong>Ralph Carr</strong></a>, Lee Knous, and Steve McNichols; governor and US senator <strong>Edwin C. “Big Ed” Johnson</strong>; Denver mayor Tom Currigan, and many more. From 1946 to 1970, he wrote a column titled “Side Street” for the<em> Post</em>. Although “Side Street” appeared on the business pages, it covered far more than just business. <em>Post</em> readers turned to “Side Street” for business news, inside political information, gossip, human interest stories, stock tips, travel notes, humor, and more. For twenty-nine years—from 1943 until 1972—he was the publisher of the <em>Intermountain Jewish News</em>, a Denver weekly that continues to be operated by his wife, Miriam, and their son, Rabbi Hillel Goldberg.</p> <h2>Television</h2> <p>In 1940, before World War II curtailed broadcast equipment production and before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) imposed a moratorium on further development of the television industry, some twenty-four commercial television stations were on the air in the United States. After the war, as the electronics industry shifted back from military applications to meeting growing consumer demand, the FCC made up for lost time by issuing 108 new television licenses in three years; this created unanticipated problems when the new stations began experiencing interference in the suddenly crowded airwaves. To sort out this and other technical problems, the FCC ordered a “temporary freeze” on new applications. The freeze would last almost four years.</p> <p>During the freeze years, Goldberg traveled frequently to cities with operating television stations. Some trips were family visits with his far-flung relatives; others were business trips for the <em>News</em>. Still others involved fund-raising activities undertaken by the Max Goldberg Advertising Agency. These trips exposed him to Milton Berle, Howdy Doody, Ed Sullivan, and other television stars unfamiliar in his hometown. Impressed by the impact that television was making in New York and elsewhere, Goldberg became fascinated by the idea of bringing it to Denver, although he had scant funds to invest in such a project. He had four young children and had recently purchased his first home. And despite his various enterprises, amassing money was never one of his strengths. Rather, his forte was his easy and convincing manner and the invaluable contacts he had with those who did have money to invest.</p> <h2>Colorado Television Corporation</h2> <p>Goldberg incorporated the Colorado Television Corporation (CTC) alongside his former employers at KVOD Radio—William Pyle and Thomas Ekrem—in late 1951 and applied for an FCC license. A consummate salesman, Goldberg brought fourteen prominent local businessmen into the organization and convinced them to invest a total of $575,000 despite a 1949 <em>Post </em>report that nearby television stations in Albuquerque and Salt Lake City were losing money. Goldberg called upon his friend, US senator Ed Johnson, to help him negotiate the federal bureaucracy and expedited the application process for an FCC license. On July 12, 1952, the FCC announced the approval of two television licenses. Gene O’Fallon, owner of KFEL Radio, was awarded Channel 2 for KFEL-TV and the CTC was awarded Channel 9 for KVOD-TV. The FCC quickly approved a change in call letters from KVOD (“Voice of Denver”) to KBTV (“Better Television”), the station’s identity for the next thirty-two years. Programming began on October 12, giving Denverites a viewing option for the first time and igniting a boom in television sales. Between July and November 1952, the number of Denver homes with a TV increased tenfold, from 4 to 40,000.</p> <p>KBTV, Channel 9, affiliated with the ABC network that lagged behind rivals NBC and CBS in providing quality programming and advertising support for its member stations. Despite limited resources, KBTV was compelled to introduce more local programs than the competition. Goldberg introduced a weekly public affairs show called <em>On the Spot</em>, and although it frequently changed time slots and stations, it was seen from 1952 until 1966, becoming Denver’s longest running locally produced and sponsored program. <em>On the Spot</em> featured interviews and panel discussions on local, national, and international issues. With his extensive background in news and radio, Goldberg was an ideal choice to host a show in this new medium.</p> <h2>On the Spot</h2> <p>Beginning on November 5, 1952, the station announcer each week welcomed viewers to On the Spot, a series of unrehearsed interviews with the great, the near-great, and the obscure.” This accurately described the guests, and it became the signature line identified with the show for years. When Goldberg put on television US senator Eugene Millikin from Colorado (November 17, 1952) or Governor Dan Thornton (January 27, 1953) or Denver mayor <strong>Quigg Newton</strong> (April 7, 1953), those were the first times most Denverites had seen such public figures in their living rooms.</p> <p>Early in 1958, Goldberg began to experience chest discomfort and pain. When doctors in Denver were unable to provide an explanation, Goldberg traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Chest X-rays revealed the presence of a large and rapidly growing tumor, and doctors called for its surgical removal. The March 4 operation was successful, but infection and other complications would plague him for the rest of his life, hampering his recovery. Goldberg never stopped working and pitched <em>On the Spot</em> to Channel 7, with the show finding a new home in October 1958, airing Sunday nights at 10:30. Whether it was the unique array of guests on the program, Goldberg’s probing questions, or some other factor, ratings for the show climbed. In early 1959, it took second place in its time slot, garnering higher ratings than <em>I Love Lucy</em> and <em>Dragnet</em>. Two years later, <em>On the Spot</em> captured first place in its time slot.</p> <p>Originally conceived as a new television show to run concurrently with <em>On the Spot</em>, <em>The Max Goldberg Show</em> debuted on Channel 7 on July 7, 1960. According to the station, “the program starts at 11:00 p.m. and it ends—who knows when? If Max’s guests really get involved in a discussion the program may run until 2:00 in the morning.” Max tried to engage viewers as well, soliciting their telephone calls and questions for the panel years before Phil Donahue or Oprah Winfrey popularized the practice.</p> <p>After a year, Channel 7 decided to economize by replacing <em>The Max Goldberg Show</em> with old movies. With a few telephone calls, Goldberg simply arranged for the program to switch to KTVR, Channel 2. There, it moved to the 9:30 p.m. Thursday time slot, but Goldberg insisted that “the policy will still be that if we have something to discuss we’ll remain on the air until we are finished.” Two years later, history repeated itself when Channel 2 replaced his show with movie reruns.</p> <p>Introducing prominent guests and provocative topics was only part of Goldberg’s contribution to Denver television. In the mid-1950s, he hosted election-night coverage of city and statewide races. He also hosted and participated in telethons to raise money for United Cerebral Palsy, the Leukemia Society, the March of Dimes, and other charitable causes. He pioneered off-camera too. Goldberg participated in one of the earliest attempts to bring pay television to Denver, a 1963 plan by the Macfadden-Teleglobe Pay-TV Corporation. Through his advertising agency, he used mass mailings and newspaper advertisements to publicize the call for advance subscribers to the system. A negative publicity campaign by the National Association of Broadcasters and the three major networks led to resistance from viewers and quashed Macfadden-Teleglobe’s Denver experiment before it could begin. Even Goldberg’s son said, “I thought my dad was nuts” when he predicted that people would pay for individual programs and that 400 channels would eventually exist.</p> <p>In September 1966, Goldberg signed off for the final time the same way he had for nearly fourteen years: “Thanks for watching and thanks for listening, good night.” On October 25, 1972, six days after his sixty-first birthday, Goldberg died in his hospital bed. In his comprehensive history of Channel 9, Tim Ryan called Goldberg “the father of Channel 9.” On or off the air, few people in Denver had a greater impact on the early development of television.</p> <p><strong>Adapted from Owen Chariton, “Max Goldberg: Colorado Television Pioneer,” <em>Colorado Heritage Magazine</em> 21 no. 1 (2001).</strong></p> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/max" hreflang="en">Max</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/goldberg" hreflang="en">Goldberg</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/max-goldberg" hreflang="en">Max Goldberg</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/cable-television" hreflang="en">cable television</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver" hreflang="en">Denver</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/spot" hreflang="en">on the spot</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/journalists" hreflang="en">journalists</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-journalists" hreflang="en">colorado journalists</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-reporters" hreflang="en">colorado reporters</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Gary R. Edgerton,&nbsp;<em>The Columbia History of American Television</em> (New York: Columbia University Press, 2007).</p> <p>Patrick Parsons,&nbsp;<em>Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television</em> (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2008).</p> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:08:46 +0000 yongli 1691 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org Damon Runyon http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/damon-runyon <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--title--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--title.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--title.html.twig * field--string.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Damon Runyon</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--title.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--uid--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--uid.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--uid.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'username' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> <span lang="" about="/users/yongli" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">yongli</span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/user/username.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--uid.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--created--encyclopedia-article.html.twig x field--node--created.html.twig * field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field--created.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'time' --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> <time datetime="2016-08-15T16:02:35-06:00" title="Monday, August 15, 2016 - 16:02" class="datetime">Mon, 08/15/2016 - 16:02</time> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/time.html.twig' --> </span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/field/field--node--created.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'addtoany_standard' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * addtoany-standard--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * addtoany-standard--node.html.twig x addtoany-standard.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="http://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/damon-runyon" data-a2a-title="Damon Runyon"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Fcoloradoencyclopedia.org%2Farticle%2Fdamon-runyon&amp;title=Damon%20Runyon"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'modules/contrib/addtoany/templates/addtoany-standard.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--body--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--body.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--body.html.twig * field--text-with-summary.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item" id="id-body"><p>Damon Runyon (1880–1946) was a newspaperman, political reporter, author, screenwriter, and playwright in the early 1900s. Best known for his work after leaving Colorado, particularly <em>Guys and Dolls</em>, Runyon was a prolific writer during his time in Colorado, working for many of the state’s newspapers thanks to a seeming inability to hold down a job. Today, Runyon’s legacy lives on in the films and musicals he wrote and produced during his time in New York, but he remains one of Colorado’s most successful and creative individuals.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Early Life</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Damon Runyon was born in Manhattan, Kansas, on October 8, 1880, but spent most of his childhood in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/pueblo-0"><strong>Pueblo</strong></a>, where his family moved in search of a healthier <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-climate"><strong>climate</strong></a> for Runyon’s sickly mother, Elizabeth. Runyon’s father took a job as a printer for <em>The Pueblo Chieftain</em>, but the change of scenery did nothing for Elizabeth. Her bouts of diphtheria and <a href="/article/tuberculosis-colorado"><strong>tuberculosis</strong></a> finally took her life in 1887, leaving seven-year-old Damon and his three sisters in the care of their father. While the girls moved in with relatives in Kansas, Damon stayed with his father. Apparently determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, he frequented saloons, slept in flophouses, scrounged for food, and only occasionally went to school. Around the fourth or fifth grade, Runyon was formally expelled, to his everlasting relief. His career in journalism began immediately thereafter.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Starting on the bottom rung as a printer’s devil and gofer, Runyon worked his way up in the newspaper world. By age fifteen, he was a hardened, chain-smoking, bar-hopping reporter for the <em>Pueblo Evening News</em>, where his father then worked. He received his first byline two years later in the <em>Pueblo Evening Post. </em>Despite his tender age, he already had some of the skills that would later make his reputation: a talent for exposing the rich detail in a story; a knack for making interesting characters come to life; and a clever, tongue-in-cheek narrative style that left readers always wanting more.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Spanish-American War</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Eager to see the world and leave his childhood behind, in 1898 Runyon tried to join a detachment of Colorado volunteers headed for the Spanish-American War in Cuba but was turned down because of his youth. Undeterred, he shipped out for the Philippines with a group of Minnesota volunteers. While overseas he wrote for a couple of military newspapers—<em>Soldier’s Letter</em> and <em>The Manila Freedom</em>—and references to the war would appear in his articles, short stories, and poetry for years afterward. He tended to glorify battle despite witnessing very little fighting firsthand. According to his son, Damon Runyon, Jr., “the most dangerous shots he encountered were those that came at him over a bar.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Return to Colorado</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>After the war, Runyon made his way back to Colorado by train-hopping, befriending many drifters that he met along the way. Outsiders had always intrigued him, and later in his career hoodlums, gamblers, and mobsters would play starring roles in his stories and movie scripts. Their manner of dress and speech, even the nicknames they gave each other, struck a chord with Runyon. Back in Pueblo—an industrial town known as the “Pittsburgh of the West”—he immersed himself in their world, and the experiences provided much fodder for his later work.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Once back home, Runyon put in short stints at several newspapers in Pueblo, then found jobs in Basalt Junction near <a href="/article/aspen"><strong>Aspen</strong></a> and in <strong>Glenwood Springs</strong> with the <em>In-It Daily</em>. In 1901 he joined the staff of the <em>Gazette</em> in <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/colorado-springs"><strong>Colorado Springs</strong></a> and stayed there until the new owners tired of his drinking. That pattern repeated itself several times over: Runyon bounced from the <em>Gazette</em> in Saint Joseph, Missouri, back to Pueblo and the <em>Chieftain</em> in 1903, and to the <em>Advertiser</em> in <strong>Trinidad</strong> the following year. His writing was admired but his dependability was suspect. By 1905, Runyon found himself in <a href="/article/denver"><strong>Denver</strong></a>, where he would live for the next five years at as many addresses. His working address was not any steadier than his residential one; he briefly wrote for <em>The</em> <em>Denver Republican</em> but soon moved on to <strong><em>The</em> <em>Denver Post</em></strong>, the popular upstart paper owned by Frederick Bonfils and Harry Tammen. Trying to make a name for himself in the business, he composed articles in between binge drinking. His talent was obvious, and he even ghostwrote some articles for Otto Floto, the <em>Post</em>’s leading sportswriter and one of the first newspapermen to recognize Runyon’s ability. However, the managing editor—Joe Ward—could not tolerate Runyon’s drinking and did not think that he could even write while sober. Ousted again, the young journalist headed west to San Francisco for an abortive stint at a newspaper there.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>In 1906 Runyon once again returned to Colorado, signing on with the<em> Rocky Mountain News</em>, Denver’s oldest newspaper. Owned by US senator Thomas Patterson, the <a><span style="color:#000000;"><em>News</em></span></a> had a Progressive, reform-minded outlook and crusaded against big-city machine politics, particularly of the variety practiced by Denver mayor <a href="https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/robert-w-speer"><strong>Robert Speer</strong></a>, his allies, and his initiatives, such as the <a href="/article/city-beautiful-movement-denver"><strong>City Beautiful</strong></a> renovations.</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>“Me and Mr. Finch”</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Personal and political conflicts played out alongside a fierce circulation battle between the <em>Post</em> and the<em> News</em>. It was an environment tailor-made for Damon Runyon. Happy to have Runyon’s sharp tongue and brawling wit on his side, Patterson assigned his prized new correspondent a prominent role. He teamed Runyon with Frank Finch, the <em>News</em>’s talented cartoonist, for an extended tour of Colorado. The two young men traveled the state producing sketches, in words and drawings, of various festivities with the goal of attracting readers from outside the Denver area. Runyon and Finch illustrated the key players in all the cities they visited, talking up each town and making it sound as though they never wanted to leave. Every town, be it <strong>Berthoud</strong>, <strong>Montrose</strong>, Ault, or Pueblo, came across as the greatest municipality under the sun.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>They sent their first dispatch from Strawberry Days at Glenwood Springs on June 21, 1907. On July 1, Runyon and Finch embarked upon their main tour of Colorado, producing an article and cartoon every day or two under the title “Me and Mr. Finch.” Finch was known as “Doc Finch” for the wide-bellied, bespectacled bird that he used in all of his cartoons. Over the next few months, Runyon and Finch traveled by train from place to place, visiting almost every town in the state, and bigger boosters for Colorado would have been difficult to find. Often the news of their visit brought travelers from Denver to the hinterlands for a festival or fair. “Me and Mr. Finch” attracted a loyal following of readers who eagerly awaited each succeeding article and cartoon in the paper.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>“Me and Mr. Finch” moved Runyon into the first tier of Denver newspaper writers. Ed Keating, his editor, granted Runyon increased freedom to branch out and cover the stories that most interested him. He wrote about roller rink and theater openings, penned biographies of local businessmen, and indulged his fondness for sports. He also began to test his ability as a poet and author of short stories, his true passion. Two early Runyon tales, “The Defense of Strikerville” and “The King of Kavanaugh County,” appeared in <em>McClure’s</em> <em>Magazine</em> in February and April 1907, respectively. His poetry often ran in the <em>Rocky Mountain News</em> as well as in <em>Lippincott’s</em>, <em>Munsey’s</em>, and other magazines and later was collected in two books, <em>The Tents of Trouble </em>(1911) and <em>Rhymes of the Firing Line</em> (1912).</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Moving Up</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>While at the <em>News</em>, Runyon began to build a reputation as a political reporter. He interviewed Vice President Charles Fairbanks when he passed through Trinidad and in August 1907 spoke to presidential candidate William Howard Taft in Denver. On the local front, Runyon turned a story about public art into a political maelstrom. The city had commissioned a monument to commemorate Colorado’s earliest pioneers. But when noted sculptor Frederick MacMonnies created the work, which featured a Native American astride a horse at the monument’s pinnacle, Denverites were outraged, especially the older pioneers still living in the city. Runyon interviewed Captain Jack Howland, an early settler, and extracted some choice comments about the design. The <em>News</em> featured the interview on the front page alongside a Finch cartoon depicting a sculpted Native American clutching a scalp and riding his horse over a helpless group of prone settlers. Public pressure forced MacMonnies to change his design, and <a href="/article/kit-carson"><strong>Kit Carson</strong></a> rests atop the sculpture to this day.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Runyon’s problems with alcohol persisted. Throughout his years in Colorado, his devotion to alcohol cost him jobs and diminished his success. He was a binge drunk who would indulge from three days to two weeks at a time, ending up in a heap somewhere in a semi-coma. During these bouts, he would rant and rave, spend time with prostitutes—frequently in public—and pick fights with much larger men. When he awoke, he barely remembered any of these episodes, and his body would take several days to recuperate—whereupon the next binge usually began. His campaigns with Doc Finch often ended at the Denver Press Club, where the two spent long hours soaking up card games and cocktails. Runyon’s time in Denver would mark the end of his demon days, so by the time he left for New York in 1910, he had given up the bottle, claiming in a letter to his son that “it never made me happy and bright and sparkling the way it does with some people. It made me dull and stupid and quarrelsome.”</p>&#13; &#13; <h2>Moving to New York</h2>&#13; &#13; <p>Frederick Bonfils eventually succeeded in luring Runyon and Finch to <em>The Denver Post</em>, where Runyon stayed until 1910, working on his poetry and short stories while devoting a great deal of time and attention to the Denver Press Club, even serving on its board for several years. His reputation spread back east and circulated widely, until an old Press Club friend named Charles E. Van Loan persuaded Runyon to seek out a wider audience. Runyon quickly landed a job with the <em>New York Journal-American</em>, a Hearst paper, and he sent for Ellen Egan, a society writer with <em>The Denver Post</em>, whom he married in May 1911. The couple had two children—a daughter in 1914 and a son in 1918—but the household was hardly peaceful, and the marriage eventually collapsed. Ellen died alone years later, battling alcoholism.</p>&#13; &#13; <p>After spending four years as a sportswriter in New York, Runyon graduated to political reporting, receiving an assignment in 1920 to cover the Madera Revolution in Mexico. Runyon also kept himself busy writing screenplays, and by the end of his life, sixteen of them had been adapted into major Hollywood releases. According to his son, he was “an agony writer. That is, writing was heavy labor for him, and each word hit the paper bathed in sweat.” Yet he made it look easy. The plays and movies we associate with Damon Runyon—<em>Guys and Dolls</em>, <em>Little Miss Marker</em>, <em>Lady for a Day</em>, and <em>The</em> <em>Lemon Drop Kid</em>—reflect the culmination of a writing style and voice born in Colorado. His years in the Centennial State, though clouded with alcohol abuse, presaged his later success.</p>&#13; &#13; <p><strong>Adapted from Mary Ann McNair, “‘Me and Mr. Finch Go Among ’Em’: Damon Runyon’s Early Years in Colorado,” <em>Colorado Heritage Magazine</em> 21, no. 4 (2001).</strong></p>&#13; </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-keyword--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-keyword.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-keyword.html.twig * field--entity-reference.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-keyword field--type-entity-reference field--label-above" id="id-field-keyword"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-keyword">Keywords</div> <div class='field__items'> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/damon" hreflang="en">Damon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/runyon" hreflang="en">Runyon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/damon-runyon" hreflang="en">Damon Runyon</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/journalists" hreflang="en">journalists</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/colorado-journalists" hreflang="en">colorado journalists</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/denver-post" hreflang="en">the denver post</a></div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-keyword"><a href="/keyword/rocky-mountain-news" hreflang="en">rocky mountain news</a></div> </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'links__node' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * links--node.html.twig x links--inline.html.twig * links--node.html.twig * links.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/contrib/bootstrap_barrio/templates/navigation/links--inline.html.twig' --> <!-- THEME DEBUG --> <!-- THEME HOOK: 'field' --> <!-- FILE NAME SUGGESTIONS: * field--node--field-additional-information-htm--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--node--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig x field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig * field--field-additional-information-htm.html.twig * field--text-long.html.twig * field.html.twig --> <!-- BEGIN OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> <div class="field field--name-field-additional-information-htm field--type-text-long field--label-above" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"> <div class="field__label" id="id-field-additional-information-htm">Additional Information</div> <div class="field__item" id="id-field-additional-information-htm"><p>Damon Runyon, <em>Runyon on Broadway</em> (London: Constable, 1952).</p>&#13; &#13; <p>Damon Runyon, <em>Guys and Dolls: The Stories of Damon Runyon</em> (New York: Penguin, 1992).</p>&#13; </div> </div> <!-- END OUTPUT from 'themes/custom/encyclopedia/templates/field/field--node--encyclopedia-article.html.twig' --> Mon, 15 Aug 2016 22:02:35 +0000 yongli 1690 at http://coloradoencyclopedia.org