Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898-October 1, 1962) was an American author and children's book writer and illustrator. He is most famous today for the series of Madeline books. April 27 is the 117th day of the year (118th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 248 days remaining. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... October 1 is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... An author is the person who creates a written work, such as a book, story, article or the like. ... An illustrator is a graphic artist who specializes in enhancing written text by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text. ... The cover to the original 1939 Madeline childrens book. ...

Life

Bemelmans was born to Belgian painter Lambert Bemelmans and German Frances Fischer in Meran (Merano), Austria (today in Italy). His father owned a hotel. He grew up in Gmunden on the Traunsee in Upper Austria. His first language was French and his second German. Ludwig Bemelmans (April 27, 1898-October 1, 1962) was an American author and childrens book writer and illustrator. ... Meran (German) / Merano (Italian) is probably best known as a spa in the South Tyrol. ... Gmundens lakefront on a cloudy summers day Gmunden is a town in Upper Austria with 15,075 inhabitants. ... Traunsee as seen from Gmunden. ... Upper Austria (Ober sterreich) is one of the nine federal states or Bundesl nder of Austria. ...

In 1904, his father left the family, leaving for Ludwig's governess. His mother, Frances, took Ludwig and his brother to her native city of Regensburg. Bemelsman had difficulty in school and hated the German discipline. He was apprenticed to his uncle Hans Bemelmans at a hotel in Austria, but after a fight with a hotel manager was sent to the United States where his father had moved and worked as a jewelry designer. Year 1904 (MCMIV) was a leap year starting on a Friday (see link for calendar). ... A governess is a female employee from outside of the family who teaches children within the family circle. ... Regensburg (also Ratisbon, Latin Ratisbona) is a city (population 129,175 in 2005) in Bavaria, south-east Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. ...

He spent the next several years working at hotels and restaurants, and in 1917 joined the U.S. Army but was not ordered to Europe because of his German heritage. He did become an officer, however, and rose to second lieutenant. In 1918, he was naturalized as an American citizen. Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Year 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

In the twenties, he tried to become an artist and painter while working at hotels, but had substantial difficulties. His cartoon series "The Thrilling Adventures of the Count Bric a Brac" was dropped from the New York World after six months. The 1920s was a decade sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... The New York World was a newspaper published in New York from 1860 until 1931. ...

In the early 1930s he met May Massee the children's book editor at Viking Press who became a sort of partner, and he began to publish a number of children's books beginning with Hansi in 1934. The 1930s (years from 1930-1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... Viking Press was founded on March 1, 1925, in New York City, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The first Madeline book was published in 1939 and was actually rejected by Viking and published by Simon and Schuster. 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Jean-François Millet Le Semeur (The Sower) Simon & Schuster logo, circa 1961. ...

However, Bemelmans also wrote a number of adult books, including travel and humorous works, and movie scripts for films like Yolanda and the Thief. Spending time in Hollywood, he also became a close friend of Lady Elsie de Wolfe Mendl. Yolanda and the Thief (MGM) is a 1945 Hollywood musical comedy film set in a fictional Latin American country, and stars Fred Astaire, Lucille Bremer, Frank Morgan, Ludwig Stossl and Mildred Natwick, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Arthur Freed. ... ... Elsie de Wolfe (Lady Mendl, occ. ...

Bemelmans' "Central Park," a mural on the walls of the Carlyle Hotel's Bemelman's Bar in New York City, is his only remaining artwork on display to the public. The Carlyle Hotel is a luxury hotel and extended stay hotel in the Upper East Side of New York City, USA. The hotel, designed in Art Deco style, opened in 1931 and was named after Scottish essayist Thomas Carlyle. ...

Madeline books

Each story begins: "In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines... the smallest one was Madeline." City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du Trocadéro. ...

The girls are cared for by a nun, Miss Clavel. Other characters include Pepito, son of the Spanish Ambassador, who lives next door; Lord Cucuface, owner of the house; and Genevieve, a dog who rescues Madeline from drowning in the second book. Nun in cloister, 1930; photograph by Doris Ulmann A nun is a woman who has taken special vows committing her to a religious life. ...

Bemelmans published six Madeline stories in his lifetime, and a seventh was discovered and published posthumously:

1. Madeline, 1939: Madeline gets her appendix out.
2. Madeline's Rescue, 1953: Madeline gets rescued by a dog (later on named Genevieve);Winner of the Caldecott Award for 1954.
3. Madeline and the Bad Hat, 1956: The "bad hat" Pepito, is the Spanish ambassador's bambino.
4. Madeline and the Gypsies, 1959: Madeline and Pepito have an adventure at a gypsy circus.
5. Madeline in London, 1961: Pepito moves to London, and Madeline and the girls go to visit him.
6. Madeline's Christmas, 1985: Everyone in the house has a cold, except Madeline. (First published in McCall's in 1956).
7. Madeline in America and Other Holiday Tales, 1999: Madeline inherits a fortune from her rich American great-grandpapa.

The cover to the original 1939 Madeline childrens book. ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Madelines Rescue is a book by Ludwig Bemelmans, the second in the Madeline series. ... 1953 (MCMLIII) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... The Caldecott Medal is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published that year. ... Year 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Cover of the March 1911 issue McCalls was a monthly American womens magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of six million in 1960. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

Adaptations

• The first book, Madeline, was made into an award-winning 1952 short animated cartoon directed by Robert Cannon for UPA, also titled "Madeline".

• Between 1990 and 1995 an animated Madeline series was made for television, with narration in appropriately rhyming style read by Christopher Plummer.

• A live action Madeline film based on several of the books appeared in 1998, directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer and starring Hattie Jones as Madeline, Frances McDormand as Miss Clavel, and Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Covington/"Cucuface".

1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Early American actor William Garwood starred in many short films many of which were only 20 minutes in length Short subject is a format description originally coined in the North American film industry in the early period of cinema. ... Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of 2-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. ... Robert Kenneth Peter Cannon (b. ... The UPA opening title card from How Now Boing Boing (1954) The legacy of the United Productions of America animation studio, better known as UPA, has largely been forgotten in the wake of the animation renaissance of the 1990s; it has been overshadowed by the commercialization of Warner Bros. ... 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... 1998 (MCMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Frances McDormand (born June 23, 1957) is an Academy Award-winning American film, stage, and television actress, best known for her role as Marge Gunderson in Fargo. ... Sir Nigel Hawthorne, CBE (5 April 1929 – 26 December 2001) was a renowned English actor. ...

External links

• "The Man Who Dreamed Up Madeline" from Smithsonian Magazine
• Ludwig Bemelmans at the Internet Movie Database
• 1989 audio interview of Madeleine Bemelmans, wife of Ludwig Bemelmans by Don Swaim See also this second interview