Tiffany Ellsworth Thayer (March 1, 1902 â€" August 23, 1959) was an
American actor, author and founder of the Fortean Society.Born in
Freeport, Illinois, Thayer quit school at age 15 and worked as an
actor, reporter, and used-book clerk in Chicago, Detroit, and
Cleveland. When he was 16, he toured as the teenaged hero in the Civil
War drama The Coward. Thayer first contacted American author Charles
Fort in 1924. In 1926, Thayer moved to New York City to act, but soon
spent more time writing.In 1931 Thayer co-founded the Fortean Society
in New York City to promote Fort's ideas. Primarily based in New York
City, the Society was headed by first president Theodore Dreiser, an
old friend of Fort who had helped to get his work published. Early
members of the original Society in NYC included such luminaries as
Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, Alexander Woollcott, and H. L. Mencken.
The first 6 issues of Doubt, the Fortean Society's newsletter, were
each edited by a different member, starting with Dreiser. Thayer
thereafter took over editorship of subsequent issues. Thayer began to
assert extreme control over the society, largely filling the
newsletter with articles written by himself, and excommunicating the
entire San Francisco chapter, reportedly their largest and most
active, after disagreements over the society's direction, and
forbidding them to use the name Fortean. During World War II, Thayer
used every issue of Doubt to espouse his politics. He celebrated the
escape of Gerhart Eisler, and named Garry Davis an Honorary Fellow of
the Society for renouncing his American citizenship. Thayer frequently
expressed opposition to Civil Defense, going to such lengths as
encouraging readers to turn on their lights in defiance of air raid
sirens. In contrast to the spirit of Charles Fort, he dismissed not
only flying saucers as nonsense but also the atomic bomb as a hoax by
the US government.Thayer also wrote several novels, including the
bestseller Thirteen Women which was filmed in 1932 and released by RKO
Radio Pictures. Many of his novels contained elements of science
fiction or fantasy, including Dr. Arnoldi about a world where no-one
can die.
American actor, author and founder of the Fortean Society.Born in
Freeport, Illinois, Thayer quit school at age 15 and worked as an
actor, reporter, and used-book clerk in Chicago, Detroit, and
Cleveland. When he was 16, he toured as the teenaged hero in the Civil
War drama The Coward. Thayer first contacted American author Charles
Fort in 1924. In 1926, Thayer moved to New York City to act, but soon
spent more time writing.In 1931 Thayer co-founded the Fortean Society
in New York City to promote Fort's ideas. Primarily based in New York
City, the Society was headed by first president Theodore Dreiser, an
old friend of Fort who had helped to get his work published. Early
members of the original Society in NYC included such luminaries as
Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, Alexander Woollcott, and H. L. Mencken.
The first 6 issues of Doubt, the Fortean Society's newsletter, were
each edited by a different member, starting with Dreiser. Thayer
thereafter took over editorship of subsequent issues. Thayer began to
assert extreme control over the society, largely filling the
newsletter with articles written by himself, and excommunicating the
entire San Francisco chapter, reportedly their largest and most
active, after disagreements over the society's direction, and
forbidding them to use the name Fortean. During World War II, Thayer
used every issue of Doubt to espouse his politics. He celebrated the
escape of Gerhart Eisler, and named Garry Davis an Honorary Fellow of
the Society for renouncing his American citizenship. Thayer frequently
expressed opposition to Civil Defense, going to such lengths as
encouraging readers to turn on their lights in defiance of air raid
sirens. In contrast to the spirit of Charles Fort, he dismissed not
only flying saucers as nonsense but also the atomic bomb as a hoax by
the US government.Thayer also wrote several novels, including the
bestseller Thirteen Women which was filmed in 1932 and released by RKO
Radio Pictures. Many of his novels contained elements of science
fiction or fantasy, including Dr. Arnoldi about a world where no-one
can die.
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