Happy Birthday, AUNTIE MAME

Patrick Dennis's novel AUNTIE MAME: An Irreverent Escapade, was published in early 1955, so Mame Dennis Burnside is 60 this year. Although sales were slow at first, the character soon captured the American public's attention, and the book appeared on the NY Times Bestseller List, where it was to remain a firm fixture for more than two years (AUNTIE MAME was ultimately the #2 bestselling novel of 1955, surpassed only by Herman Wouk's MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR). Less than two years after publication, AUNTIE MAME was adapted into a smash Broadway comedy, giving Rosalind Russell the role of a lifetime, and with several touring companies criss-crossing the country. Then it was off to Hollywood and Warner Bros., where Russell recreated her performance in what became one of Warner's most successful hits ever.

I think we can say that the second half of the 1950s belonged to Mame Dennis Burnside. And she's still with us!

Incidentally, Patrick Dennis was the first author to have three books on the NY Times Bestseller List at the same time.


In my case, self-absorption is completely justified.