Damon Runyon

Damon Runyon (1880-1946) was a short story writer whose works derived from his newspaper career covering sports and crime, as well as his own friendships and absorption of color in less glamorous New York locations. His stories, written from the twenties to the forties, are filled with petty gamblers, gangsters, chorus gals, racetrack and newspaper types, and other Broadway neighborhood hangers on, related in a constant present tense by a nameless narrator. Characters have colorful monikers (Harry the Horse, the Brain) and speech patterns mix heavy period slang with formality, generally avoiding contractions. The musical Guys and Dolls combined story elements and the general Runyon style. 
==References==
*Jerry Juhl described Dog City as "a Damon Runyon with dogs,"Jim Henson: The Biography. p. 424, archive interview with Jerry Juhl referencing the use of gangsters and other colorful types.
*While Guys and Dolls has been referenced several times by the Muppets, the 1973 special Julie on Sesame Street included pre-song dialogue not from the show but patterned after Runyon's style more than somewhat. Bert, Biff, and Ernie, as Runyonesque horse players, chat before launching into "Fugue for Tinhorns." Bert and Ernie avoid contractions, and Bert says he is down to his last sawbuck (ten dollar bill). The term wasn't coined by Runyon but used heavily in his stories (but not in the Guys and Dolls musical).
==Connections==
Apart from various Guys and Dolls versions, those with Muppet/Henson connections in Runyon projects are as follows:
*Julie Andrews played Amanda Worthington in Little Miss Marker (1980)
*Graham Brown played Doc Frischer in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
*Helmar Augustus Cooper played Brother Divine in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
*Peter Falk played Joy Boy in Pocketful of Miracles (1961)
*Julie Hagerty played Harriet MacKyle in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
*Bob Hope played the title roles in Sorrowful Jones (1949) and The Lemon Drop Kid (1951)
*Per Myrberg read "Butch Minds the Baby" (Swedish radio, 2009)
*Bob Newhart played Regret in Little Miss Marker (1980)
*Kerry Shale read stories on Four Runyon Rogues (1991) and More Runyon Rogues (1993) and "My Father" on Short Stories (1996, all BBC Radio)
*Jürgen Thormann played Waldo Winchester in Schwere Jungs und leichte Mädchen (German radio, 2001)
*Tamara Tunie played Cynthia Harris in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
*Thick Wilson dubbed Big Butch in Butch Minds the Baby (1979 short film)
*Louis Zorich played Mindy in Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989)
==Sources==
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Category:Literary References