Shel Silverstein, Author of ‘The Giving Tree,” Dead at 68

October 5, 2007

KEY WEST, FLORDIA- Shel Silverstein, a goofy fun loving, American poet, cartoonist, and an author of many children’s stories and poems, including the all time favorite “The Giving Tree,’ died over the weekend in Key West, Florida at the age of 68, stated a close friend of Shel Silverstein.

Shelby Silverstein was born in Chicago in 1932 to parents Nathan and Helen Silverstein, and backed his way into publishing. He graduated from Roosevelt High School about 1948 and put in a year at the University of Illinois before he was "thrown out." He went on to study at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then at Roosevelt University (Chicago). "When I was a kid -- 12 to 14, around there -- I would much rather have been a good baseball player or a hit with the girls," he once told a reporter for Publishers Weekly. "But I couldn't play ball. I couldn't dance. Luckily, the girls didn't want me. Not much I could do about that. So I started to draw and to write. By the time I got to where I was attracting girls, I was already into work, and it was more important to me."

In the 1950s Silverstein served with the United States armed forces in Japan and Korea and began drawing cartoons for Stars and Stripes, the American military publication.

In civilian life back in the United States, he began drawing cartoons for Playboy magazine.

Shel had two children and married twice. His first wife, Susan Hastings died on June 29, 1975 in Baltimore, Maryland- 5 years after the birth of their daughter, Shoshanna (Shanna), born June 30, 1970. His daughter died on April 24, 1982 of a cerebral aneurysm. Shel's other child was his son Matthew, born in 1984. Matthew's mother is alleged to be the "Sarah" mentioned in the other thanks for Falling Up. Silverstein is survived by his son, Matthew, and a sister, Peggy Myers of Chicago.

In 2005, Silverstein's last book, Runny Babbit: A Billy Sook, was published posthumously. As the title suggests, every poem and illustration in the book consists of spoonerisms.

Poetry and children’s stories were not his only passions. He was also a songwriter. Most notably, he wrote the music and lyrics for "A Boy Named Sue" that was performed by Johnny Cash. The song serves as a counterpoint to "The Giving Tree,” and won Silverstein a Grammy in 1970. He also composed original music for several films, and displayed a musical versatility in these projects, playing guitar, piano, saxophone, and trombone. Silverstein was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

He was once asked, "Do you shave your head for effect or to be different, or to strike back at the long-haired styles of today? Shel replied, "I don't explain my head."