Roland I. Gammon was an American writer, publicist, and founder of World Authors, Ltd.
Early life[]
Roland Irvine Gammon was born on November 17, 1915 to Charles C. Gammon and Helen Fern (Irvine) Gammon in Caribou, Maine.[1] Charles Gammon worked as a druggist in Caribou,[2] but his ancestors had lived in Canada for multiple generations.[3] Roland Gammon resided in Caribou until he entered Colby College about 1933[4] and after graduation continued his studies at Oxford University.[5][6]
Career in Writing[]
By the time he joined the military during World War II he listed his occupation as writer.[7] He served with the United States Air Corps,[5] and after the war became a reporter for Time-Life.[5] He married Jean Thompson in 1947 and was divorced in 1960.[6] Jean was described as a "women's representative" for Scandinavian Airlines System(SAS) and wrote travel brochures under the name "Sally Ann Simpson."[8]
Religious Writings[]
In 1954 he co-authored with Henry James Forman the book Truth Is One; The Story of the World's Great Living Religions in Pictures and Text.[9]
In the 1960s and 1970s, Gammon devoted increasing amounts of time to writing, resulting in four more books on religion: All Believers Are Brothers,[10] Faith Is a Star,[11] A God For Modern Man.[12] and Nirvana Now,[13] Nirvana Now was seven years in preparation and was his final work.[14]
New York City[]
In the 1950s, Gammon was part of a publicity team in mid-town Manhattan, whose clients included Joseph P. Kennedy and his son, Senator John F. Kennedy. Gammon was president Editorial Communications Inc.[5] He was also past president of the Universalist Church in New York City and dean of its all-faith chapel.[5] Notable contacts in Gammon's life as a writer included Walt Disney[15] and Albert Schweitzer, the latter assisted by Gammon in preparing a statement of his philosophy just weeks before his death in 1965.[16] Near the end of his life he founded World Authors Ltd.[5]
Philosophy of life[]
Gammon was clearly religious and had worked out his philosophy of life, as quoted in a newspaper article announcing his death.
- Because in my view, there is no separation in death, I feel that death is a part of life and that life continues as the divine adventure. . . In reality, life and death are one [and but] different aspects of harmony and happiness.[17]
Gammon reportedly collapsed and died on April 8, 1981 near his residence in Manhattan.[5] He was 65.[5][17]
References[]
- ↑ "Ancestry.com. Maine, Birth Records, 1621–1922 [database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010."]. Ancestry. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=MaineBirthRe&h=148918&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=8939. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ↑ "Portrait in the 1800s". July 17, 1974.
- ↑ "Johnson Jr. Family Tree". Ancestry.com. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/20747887/person/1061446051. Retrieved January 8, 2013.
- ↑ Ancestry.com. "U.S. School Yearbooks [database on-line. Provo, UT"]. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-g&gsfn=Roland+Irvine&gsln=Gammon&msbdy=1915&msbpn__ftp=Maine&cpxt=0&catBucket=rstp&uidh=e53&cp=0&pcat=ROOT_CATEGORY&h=245448788&db=YearbooksIndex&indiv=1. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 "Roland I. Gammons, 86, Lecturer and Author of Books on Religion". April 14, 1981. https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/14/obituaries/roland-i-gammon-86-lecturer-and-author-of-books-on-religion.html.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Roland I. Gammon". Contemporary Authors. Gale Literary Dayabases. http://galenet.galegroup.com. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- ↑ "National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938–1946 [database on-line. Provo, UT, USA"]. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=WWIIenlist&h=5234430&indiv=try&o_vc=Record:OtherRecord&rhSource=1960. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ↑ "Traveler Enjoys Shopping in Russia". September 5, 1956. http://www.genealogybank.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- ↑ Forman, Henry James & Roland Gammon (1954). Truth is One: the Story of the World's Great Living Religions in Pictures and Text. New York: Harper & Bros.. https://archive.org/details/truthisonestoryo00form.
- ↑ Gammon, Roland (1969). All Believers are Brothers. New York, NY: Doubleday. https://archive.org/details/allbelieversareb00gamm.
- ↑ Gammon, Roland (1963). Faith is a Star. E. P. Dutton.
- ↑ Gammon, Roland (1968). A God For Modern Man. New York: Sayre Ross Co..
- ↑ Gammon, Roland (1980). Nirvana Now. New York, NY: World Authors.
- ↑ Smith, Margaret (December 22, 1980). "'Nirvana Now' Relates Spiritual Odyssey, Life of Caribou Native".
- ↑ "Walt Disney Quotes". Disneydreamer.com. http://www.disneydreamer.com/walt/quotes2.htm. Retrieved January 10, 2013.
- ↑ Schweitzer, Albert. "Schweitzer's Struggle to Find Life's Meaning". http://home.pcisys.net/~jnf/mdnstory.html. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Smith, Margaret (Apr 11–12, 1981). "Author Roland Gammon Stressed Brotherhood". https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=19810410&id=ha9AAAAAIBAJ&sjid=gSMIAAAAIBAJ&pg=1141,3900136. Retrieved January 7, 2013.
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