SAVAGE, Thomas 1915-2003

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born April 25, 1915, in Salt Lake City, UT; died July 25, 2003, in Virginia Beach, VA. Novelist. Savage was a popular author of Western novels that often drew on his own experiences as a ranch hand. In his early career, he also worked as a wrangler, welder, plumber's assistant, and railroad brakeman. In 1940 Savage finished his undergraduate studies at Colby College; he published his first novel, The Pass, four years later and found work as an English instructor at Suffolk University two years after that. Struggling at first to make a living and support his family, Savage saw his fortunes take a turn for the better when Columbia Pictures purchased the film rights for his second book, Lona Hanson (1948). Although a film was never produced, Savage enjoyed a successful career as a writer after that, publishing thirteen novels in all. He also continued to teach English, moving to Brandeis University in 1949, where he remained until 1955, and also teaching at Vassar College and Franconia College. Among his other novels are The Power of the Dog (1967), A Strange God (1974), I Heard My Sister Speak My Name (1977; published as The Sheep Queen, 2001) and The Corner of Rife and Pacific (1988), the last of which was nominated for a PEN/Faulkner Award and won a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

International Herald Tribune, August 26, 2003, p. 4. New York Times, August 25, 2003, p. A19.