Cleveland Amory | |
|---|---|
 Cleveland Amory in 1974 | |
| Born | September 2, 1917 |
| Died | October 14, 1998(1998-10-14) (aged 81) |
| Resting place | Black Beauty Ranch,Murchison, Texas |
| Occupation | Author, commentator, reporter, andanimal rights activist |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Notable works | The Proper Bostonians (1947) The Cat Who Came for Christmas (1987) |
| Spouse | (1) Cora Fields Craddock (m. 1941–1947, divorced) (2) Martha Hodge (m. Dec. 31, 1954–1977, divorced) |
Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator andanimal rights activist. He wrote a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions and customs of society, starting withThe Proper Bostonians in 1947. From the 1950s through the 1990s, he had a career as a reporter and writer for national magazines and as a television and radio commentator. In the late 1980s and 1990s, he wrote bestselling books about his adopted cat, Polar Bear, starting withThe Cat Who Came for Christmas (1987).[1] Amory devoted much of his life to promoting animal rights, particularly protection of animals from hunting andvivisection. The executive director of theHumane Society of the United States described Amory as "the founding father of the modern animal protection movement."[2]
Amory was a co-chairman of the executive committee for Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group.[3] In 1984, he signed a letter protesting German arms sales toSaudi Arabia.[4]
Amory was born September 2, 1917, into a privilegedBoston Brahmin family; his parents were Robert Amory and Leonore Cobb Amory, daughter of Chicago architectHenry Ives Cobb.[5] During his childhood, he had a great affection for his aunt Lucy "Lu" Creshore, who took in many stray animals and was instrumental in helping Amory get his first puppy, an event that Amory remembered seventy years later as the most memorable moment of his childhood.
In 1936, when he was 18, Amory held a summer job as tutor and companion to 13-year-oldWilliam Zinsser, who grew up to be a notable writer and editor. Zinsser later recalled that they had many discussions about their shared interest in journalism, which at that time was not considered suitable for upper-class young men. After attendingMilton Academy,[6] Amory went toHarvard where he was president ofThe Harvard Crimson.
After graduating from Harvard in 1939, he worked as a reporter for theNashua Telegraph and theArizona Daily Star, and became managing editor of thePrescott Evening Courier. He was then hired byThe Saturday Evening Post, where he was their youngest editor, and held that position until he left to serve in theSecond World War. During the war, Amory served as a lieutenant inmilitary intelligence in theUnited States Army.[6][7] Upon returning, he worked as a writer and reporter for several publications.
Starting in the late 1940s, Amory wrote a series of bestselling social history books, starting withThe Proper Bostonians (1947) and continuing throughThe Last Resorts (1952) andWho Killed Society? (1960), that satirized the pretensions of the upper class society, particularly in Boston, where he had grown up. In 1952, he became a regular columnist for the weekly magazineSaturday Review. He continued to write the column for 20 years, until 1972. He also wrote articles for many other publications. In the spring of 1955, he traveled to France with his wife Martha for an assignment with theDuke andDuchess of Windsor.[8] Amory agreed to ghostwrite the Duchess' autobiography, but after realizing that she wanted him to sugar-coat her life, he quickly left the project.[8]
In 1952, Amory was hired as a commentator on theNBC morning news and talk television programToday, the first of its genre. He provided a televised commentary every few weeks, usually with light humor or satire. Because his subject matter tended to be light, the network did not review his planned commentaries in advance. Amory continued as a popular commentator for eleven years until 1963, when he was fired in one of his first controversial moments relating to his views on animal rights:
In 1963, Amory learned that theAmerican Legion inHarmony, North Carolina, planned to sponsor a "bunny bop" rabbit killing contest. At that time, wild rabbits in the United States were widely regarded as both agricultural pests and game animals for hunting and eating. After learning of the "bunny bop," Amory and his assistant traveled to Harmony to engage in a debate with its planners.[8] When he returned, instead of the usual lighthearted commentary expected by theToday show management, Amory proposed, on air and during viewers' breakfast hour, the formation of a hunt club where human hunters would be tracked down and killed for sport, arguing that killing hunters in cold blood would be humane and kind owing to their overpopulation.[8] Viewer response was overwhelmingly negative and Amory was quickly reprimanded by NBC PresidentJulian Goodman.[8] Just a few months later, Amory again voiced controversial animal rights opinions during hisToday show segment by speaking at length about the evils of vivisection—the abuse of animals in laboratory experiments.[8] Although Amory did not entirely oppose the scientific use of animals, he strongly believed that many of them were being inhumanely and needlessly mistreated.[8] His commentary drew opposition from scientists, and he was abruptly fired from theToday show with no warning.[8]
Over time, the subject matter of Amory's published work increasingly focused on animal rights. From 1963 to 1976, Amory was a television critic forTV Guide magazine,[9] where he drew the ire of hunters for his biting criticisms of sports hunting programs. His bookMan Kind? Our Incredible War on Wildlife (1974) detailed inhumane hunting practices, sparking an editorial inThe New York Times and aCBS documentary on hunting,The Guns of Autumn. Amory also presented a daily radio essay called "Curmudgeon at Large". Later he wrote a syndicated column called "Animail" and served as a senior contributing editor ofParade magazine from 1980 to 1998.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Amory wrote another series of bestselling nonfiction books about Polar Bear, a stray, starving white cat that he had rescued from aManhattan street on Christmas Eve 1977.The Cat Who Came for Christmas (1987) spent twelve weeks at #1 on theNew York Times bestseller list. Its sequels,The Cat and the Curmudgeon (1990) andThe Best Cat Ever (1993, published after Polar Bear's death), also were bestsellers.
In 1988, Amory made his only feature film appearance in the role of "Mr. Danforth" in the comedy-dramaMr. North, starringAnthony Edwards.[10]
As a young newspaper reporter in Arizona, Amory was assigned to cover a bullfight along the border with Mexico. The New York Times reported in its obituary of Amory that he "was sickened both by the scene and by the winner's cutting off the bull's ears. He picked up a cushion and threw it at the bullfighter who fell to the ground. He never returned to the paper." He often said that led to his interest in animal welfare.[6]
Beginning in the early 1960s, Amory, while maintaining his career as an outspoken reporter and commentator, began to devote an increasing amount of his time to animal rights organizations. In 1962, he joined the board of directors of theHumane Society of the United States (HSUS), remaining there until 1970.[11] Amory also served as president of theNew England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS) from 1987 until his death in 1998.
In 1967, Amory founded the Fund for Animals with a planned focus on protecting animals from hunters and creating animal sanctuaries.[12] The Fund struggled during the first years of its existence but became known in 1979 for sponsoring a removal by air and land of 580Grand Canyonburros slated for destruction by theNational Park Service.[5] Amory later fought a similar battle to prevent the killing ofSan Clemente Island's goats by theDepartment of Defense.[5] By the time Amory died in 1998, the Fund had a "$2 million budget, more than 200,000 members, and three animal sanctuaries, and had initiated several high profile animal rescues, including the organic 'painting' of babyharp seals off theMagdalen Islands in Canada to ensure that their fur was worthless to hunters."[8]
In 2005, a few years after Amory's death, HSUS formed a corporate association with the Fund for Animals.[13]
Inspired byAnna Sewell's novelBlack Beauty, Amory established the Black Beauty Ranch, a 1,460 acres (590 hectares) sanctuary that sheltered various abused animals, including chimpanzees, burros and elephants.[14] Located inMurchison, Texas, this ranch accommodated over 600 resident animals.[14] Amory's goal when creating the animal refuge was to "create a sanctuary where its inhabitants would roam unfettered and unbothered by human taskmasters."[14] The words on the ranch's gate are taken from the final lines of Sewell's novel: "I have nothing to fear, / and my story ends. / My troubles are all over, / and I am at home."[14]
The ranch was created as sanctuary for the many burros rescued in 1979 and the early 1980s by the Fund for Animals. It became the largest sanctuary sponsored by the Fund. One of Black Beauty's most famous residents was a 25-year-old chimp namedNim Chimpsky who had been used in language experiments when young and then sold as a laboratory animal.[14]
The ranch was the fulfillment of a longtime dream for Amory. He explained in his 1997 bookRanch of Dreams: "It was not long after reading Black Beauty for the first time that I had a dream that one day I would have a place which would embody everything Black Beauty loved about his final home. I dreamed that I would go even a step further—at my place none of the horses would ever wear a bit or blinkers or check reins, or in fact have reins at all, because they would never pull a cart, a carriage, a cab, or anything else. Indeed, they would never even be ridden—they would just run free."[14]
Black Beauty Ranch is operated by HSUS.[13]
In 1978, Amory purchased the first oceangoing vessel for CaptainPaul Watson, the founder of theSea Shepherd Conservation Society. Watson used this boat in his first actions against the Japanese whaling fleet.[15] Amory took part in many campaigns such as the one waged by Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society against whaling and sealing.[5]
Amory, who had many prominent persons and celebrities in his social circle, was noted for influencing celebrities to support animal rights. He reportedly enlistedHenry Fonda,Andy Williams andGrace Kelly, and he also recruitedDoris Day,Angie Dickinson, andMary Tyler Moore for his campaigns against fur clothing.[citation needed]
Amory was married twice. His first wife was Cora Fields Craddock in 1941; they divorced in 1947. His second wife was actress Martha Hodge, whom he married on December 31, 1954. The couple divorced in 1977. Amory had one stepdaughter by his second marriage.
Amory enjoyed playingchess and was a member of theNew York Athletic Club.[7][16]
Amory died in 1998 of anabdominal aortic aneurysm.[17] He was cremated and his ashes were spread across Black Beauty Ranch[18] by his favorite burro, named Friendly.
A stone monument to Amory stands on Black Beauty Ranch beside the monument and burial site of his beloved cat, Polar Bear.[14]
Amory was inducted into the U.S.Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2000, for his dedicated work on behalf of animals.[19]
All books are nonfiction, unless noted otherwise.
