John Henry Faulk
| John Henry Faulk | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 21, 1913 Austin, Texas, USA |
| Died | April 9, 1990 (aged 76) Austin, Texas |
| Cause of death | Cancer |
| Resting place | Oakwood Cemetery in Austin |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Humorist Folklorist Actor Radio & TV personality |
| Known for | Having Austin central library named in his honor |
| Spouse(s) | Harriet Elizabeth Wood ('Hally Wood") (m. 1940 div. 1947) Lynne Smith (Gordon) Elizabeth Peake |
| Children | Cynthia w/Hally Wood Johanna w/Lynne Smith Evelyn w/Lynne Smith Frank Dobie Faulk w/Lynne Smith John Henry Faulk III w/Elizabeth Peake |
John Henry Faulk (August 21, 1913 – April 9, 1990), from Austin, Texas, was a storyteller and radio show host. His successful lawsuit against the entertainment industry helped to bring an end to the Hollywood blacklist.
John Henry Faulk was born in Austin, to Methodist parents Henry Faulk and his wife Martha Miner Faulk. John Henry had four siblings: Hamilton Faulk (1905–1992), Martha Stansbury (1908–2005), Mary Faulk Koock (1910–1996), and Texana Faulk Conn (1915–2006).
Faulk spent his childhood years in Austin in the noted Victorian house Green Pastures. A journalist acquaintance from Austin has written that the two of them came from "extremely similar family backgrounds -- the old Southern wealth with rich heritage and families dedicated to civil rights long before it was hip to fight racism."
Faulk enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin in 1932. He became a protégé of J. Frank Dobie, Walter Prescott Webb, and Roy Bedichek, enabling Faulk to hone his skills as a folklorist. He earned a Master's degree in Folklore with his thesis "Ten Negro Sermons". He further began to craft his oratory style as a part-time English teacher at the University 1940–1942, relating Texas folk tales peppered with his gift of character impersonations.
He was initially unfit for service with the United States Army because of an eye problem. Instead Faulk joined the Merchant Marine in 1942 for a one-year stint, spending 1943 in Cairo, Egypt, serving the American Red Cross. World War II had caused the United States Army to relax its enlistment standards, and Faulk finally enlisted in 1944. He served as a medic at Camp Swift, Texas. It was during this period Faulk also joined the American Civil Liberties Union.
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