Cobb, Irvin S. (Irvin Shrewsbury), 1876-1944

Author, humorist.

Irvin S. Cobb (1876-1944) was an American author and humorist. He was best known for his humorous stories of Kentucky life, such as in his book Old Judge Priest .

Author, and humorist.

Irvin S. Cobb was an author, humorist and columnist who resided in New York City but spent his childhood and early adulthood in Paducah, Kentucky. He was born Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb on June 23, 1876 in Paducah. He began his career in journalism at the Paducah Daily News at age seventeen. At nineteen, he was the nation's youngest managing news editor. When he was twenty eight, he relocated to New York City and was hired by the Evening Sun. He later worked for the New York World and the Saturday Evening Post. After 1912, Cobb became a prolific short story writer. During the 1920s and 1930s, several of his works were made into musicals and films. He also appeared in ten films between 1932 and 1938. He died in New York City in 1944.

Born in Paducah, Kentucky, in 1876, Irvin Shrewsbury Cobb became a reporter for the PADUCAH DAILY NEWS at the age of sixteen where he covered social occasions, court proceedings, accidents, deaths, and political rallies. Within two years, Cobb became head reporter, and at the age of nineteen, was promoted to managing editor. In 1898, he joined the staff of the LOUISVILLE (Ky.) EVENING POST, where he served as a reporter and wrote a humor column entitled "Sour Mash." Cobb returned to Paducah in 1901 as managing editor of the PADUCAH DEMOCRAT.

Three years later, Cobb became a reporter for the NEW YORK (N.Y.) EVENING SUN. Cobb won recognition for his feature stories on the diplomats attending the 1905 Russian-Japanese Peace Conference. He was then hired as a feature writer by the NEW YORK EVENING AND SUNDAY WORLD, where he covered the Harry K. Thaw murder trial and the New York Horse Show, among other events.

In 1911, Cobb joined the SATURDAY EVENING POST staff. He wrote a series of Judge Priest stories, based on the real-life adventures of a Paducah magistrate, which were originally printed in the POST and later compiled into book form. Other collections of Cobb's short stories were published as well. By the end of his career, Cobb had become a regular contributor to a variety of magazines, including COSMOPOLITAN, and had appeared in motion pictures. In addition to numerous volumes of short stories, Cobb authored several humorous books, such as EXIT LAUGHING, his last work, which included anecdotes from his life.

Cobb married Laura Spencer Baker in 1900. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Cobb Rogers, who also became a writer. Cobb died in New York City in 1944 and was buried in Paducah.

Journalist, Author, Entertainer

Born in Paducah, Ky., Cobb was a reporter for the PADUCAH DAILY NEWS at the the age of sixteen, and became managing editor of the paper three years later. He subsequently worked for newspapers in Cincinnati and Louisville. In New York he worked for Joseph Pulitzer's evening and sunday WORLD from 1905 to 1911. He was a very successful, frequently anthologized author of short stories and a staff contributor to the SATURDAY EVENING POST (1911-1922) and COSMOPOLITAN magazine (1922-1932). Later in life he worked as a writer and actor in Hollywood.