Facts about Dave Barry

Dave Barry is 76 years old
Born: July 3, 1947
Best known as: Goofy humor columnist for The Miami Herald, 1983-2005

     
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Dave Barry Biography

Dave Barry’s offbeat humor column ran in The Miami Herald from 1983-2005 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988. Dave Barry’s specialty is a mix of stream-of-consciousness wisecracks and chortling commentary on home life, politics, low-flow toilets and other vital issues of the day, often with Barry himself as the butt of the joke. He’s known for columns on strange news items like exploding whales or flaming Pop-Tarts, often introduced with his wry disclaimer, “I am not making this up.” Dave Barry graduated from Haverford College in Pennsylvania in 1969; his first newspaper job was as a reporter for the West Chester (PA) Daily Local News. After he was hired by The Miami Herald and began his column in 1983, widespread syndication of his work made him one of America’s most popular humor columnists. He also found time to write more than two dozen books, including Babies and Other Hazards of Sex (1984), Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys (1995) and Dave Barry’s Book of Bad Songs (1997). He took a leave of absence from writing his column in 2005. At the end of that year he announced that he would not return to writing a regular column, though he would continue writing occasional newspaper pieces as well as books. The Miami Herald has continued to run his archived columns from past years. His other books include I’ll Mature When I’m Dead (2010) and novels like Big Trouble (1999) and Insane City (2013). He also has written a series of children’s stories with Ridley Pearson, including Peter and the Starcatchers (2004), Peter and the Secret of Rundoon (2007) and The Bridge to Never Land (2011); these books are prequels to the early-1900s Peter Pan stories of author J.M. Barrie.

Extra credit

Dave Barry’s father, The Rev. David Barry, was a Presbyterian minister… Dave Barry has often cited American humorist Robert Benchley as an inspiration… The TV sitcom Dave’s World was based on Barry’s writings. It ran on the CBS network from 1993 to 1997; comedian Harry Anderson played Dave… Dave Barry played guitar in the once-in-a-while band The Rock Bottom Remainders, made up of authors including Stephen King and Barbara Kingsolver… In awarding Dave Barry its 1988 prize, the Pultizer Committee cited his “consistently effective use of humor as a device for presenting fresh insights into serious concerns”… Barry is no relation to the author David Barry (also born in 1947) who wrote Women and Political Insurgency: France in the Mid-nineteenth Century.


     

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