The Resume

(March 5, 1870-October 25, 1902)
Born in Chicago, Illinois
Birth name was Benjamin Franklin Norris, Jr.
Journalist and novelist
Correspondent for the San Francisco Wave and McClure's magazine
Wrote the novels 'McTeague' (1899), 'The Octopus' (1901), and 'The Pit' (published posthumously, 1903)

Why he might be annoying:

His admission to the University of California was provisional, as he had flunked the required math exam.
He refused to believe he was seriously ill and ignored his physician's advice, resulting in his death from peritonitis after his appendix burst.
He left his planned 'Epic of Wheat' trilogy incomplete at only two novels ('Octopus' and 'The Pit').
A latter-day critic wrote that his novels 'included the most vicious anti-Semitic portrayals of any major work of American literature.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He coined the quip, 'I hate writing but love having written.'
'McTeague' was adapted into Erich von Stroheim's film 'Greed.' (1924)
His naturalistic approach to writing influenced novelists Upton Sinclair, Sinclair Lewis, and Theodore Dreiser.

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 86]
• I am an Anti-Semite
• I am from Chicago
• I Attended Harvard
• I Attended University of California, Berkeley
• I Died in 1902 (Ranked: 32)
• I Died in My 30s (Ranked: 32)
• Look at Me, I'm Reading
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught Smoking
• Newspaper Journalists/Editors/Publishers
• Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity
• Profiles 53751-54000 (Ranked: 53836)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 87.50% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying