Harry Behn
| Harry Behn | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
September 24, 1898 McCabe, Arizona, United States |
| Died | September 6, 1973 (aged 74) Greenwich, Connecticut, United States |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Lawrence (1905–1989) |
Harry Behn (September 24, 1898 – September 6, 1973), also known as Giles Behn, was an American screenwriter and children's author.
Harry Behn was born in 1898 in McCabe, Arizona, which is now a ghost town, in Yavapai County in what was then the Arizona Territory. He was the son of Henry K. Behn, an immigrant from Germany, and Maren (or Marion) Christensen Behn, an immigrant from Denmark.
He received his education at Stanford University, which he attended in 1918, and Harvard University (S.B., 1922).
Harry Behn was involved in writing the screenplay for a number of films, including the war film The Big Parade in 1925, and Hell's Angels in 1930, that was directed by Howard Hughes. The Big Parade, which was silent, would later be overshadowed by the success of All Quiet on the Western Front.
In the mid-1930s, Harry Behn joined the faculty of the University of Arizona, where he was a professor of English and ran the educational radio programs. He founded and edited the Arizona Quarterly, and also founded the Phoenix Little Theater in the 1920s, and the University of Arizona Press in 1960.
Harry Behn wrote many children's books, and also translated Japanese haiku, with the help of people who knew this language. His illustrated translation of the Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke was published by Peter Pauper Press in 1957.
Harry Behn also produced a number of paintings, although he is not as well known as an artist as he is as a writer. Some of his paintings are owned by his descendants.
Harry Behn was married to Alice Lawrence (1905–1989), and had two sons Prescott Behn and Peter Behn, and one daughter Pamela Behn.
He died in Seville, Spain, while traveling there; his place of residence at the time of his death was Greenwich, Connecticut. He was 74 years old when he died.
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