- Born
- Died
- Birth nameAlfred Damon Runyan
- Born out of wedlock in Manhattan, Kansas, but grew up in Denver. A close friend of fellow New York sportswriter--and former western gunfighter--William Barclay 'Bat' Masterson, who knew the Runyan family in Denver. In the late teens and early 1920s both Ed Sullivan and Walter Winchell worked as Runyon's leg men. Buried in New York's Woodlawn Cemetery.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Max von Meyerling
- SpousesPatrice Amati del Grande(July 7, 1932 - June 1946) (divorced)Elen Egan(May 6, 1911 - November 9, 1931) (her death, 2 children)
- After his death, as requested in his will, he was cremated and his ashes scattered over Manhattan by his son from a plane piloted by his old friend, legendary flier Eddie Rickenbacker.
- Shortly after his death from throat cancer, his old friend and former assistant Walter Winchell established the Damon Runyon Cancer Fund in his memory. As the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Institute, the foundation continues to fund research into finding a cure for cancer.
- Recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award (presented to a writer for meritorious contributions to baseball writing) in 1963.
- Orignial last name "Runyan" was changed to "Runyon" by a careless copy editor at the paper where Damon worked; Runyon decided to keep the new spelling.
- Author of the short stories "Guys and Dolls," "Little Miss Marker," "The Old Doll's House," "The Big Mitten," "The Lemon Drop Kid," and "Lady for a Day." With the exception of "Guys and Dolls" (which was made as a film for the first time in 1955, nine years after his death), all of these stories were adapted as feature films during his lifetime, and remade or re-adapted after his death.
- The race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the strong -- but that's the way to bet.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content