Audrey Grace Florine Stone (August 14, 1921 – December 19, 2018) was the second wife of American children's book author Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss), to whom she was married from 1968 until his death in 1991. She founded Dr. Seuss Enterprises in 1993, and was president and CEO of the company until her death in 2018.
Early life and education
Audrey Grace Florine Stone was the daughter of Norman Alfred Stone, an English medical furniture salesman, and Ruth Benson, a nurse whose family was from Norway. She was baptized at the Ravenswood Covenant Church in Chicago, Illinois, United States. She grew up in and around Queens, New York, moving around as often as an "army brat".[1] Her parents' marriage was "off and on" and her father left early in her life.[2] When she was five, her mother moved into a nurses' dormitory at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital and sent her to live with a friend in New Rochelle, New York. However, her mother did visit her on weekends.[1] At this time, the young Audrey attended Julia Richmond School, Manhattan.[1]
Nursing career
Geisel studied nursing at Indiana University School of Nursing in Indianapolis, earning a Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1944. Of her university application, she said she knew she was supposed to say that she wanted to "serve humanity", but what she really wanted was "to be in the centre of the action."
She worked in Massachusetts[3] and at the Coleman Obstetrical and Gynecological Hospital at the Indiana University Medical Center.[4] Long after she finished working as a nurse, she continued renewing her credentials, refusing to "hang up the whites” officially.[5]
Marriage to Edmunds Dimond
In 1945 she married fellow student Edmunds Grey Dimond. He became a resident physician at Indiana University[6] Medical Center and later Dean of Cardiology at the University of Kansas.[2] While the couple travelled to and lived in Japan and Netherlands for his work, where she took lessons in sculpture.[4] They had two daughters, Lark Grey (b. 1953), a sculptor, and Leagrey, a bookstore owner. Of her role as a mother, she said, "I was the kind of mother I now regret […] But I don't live with regret, because what you see is what they got."[1] The family moved to La Jolla, San Diego,[7][8] in 1960 for Dimond to join Scripps Clinic, while Geisel volunteered in cancer wards.[9]
Marriage to Ted Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss)
Audrey met Seuss and his first wife, Helen Palmer, at a party in La Jolla.[2][when?] Of their first meeting she said, "As we went through the line, I noticed that when we got to Dr. Seuss, the inflection of the person introducing us was slightly different […] I thought, 'Well, it's for some reason.' Being my facetious best, I said, 'Dr. Seuss, you must have a very interesting specialty. The right or the left nostril?' And I remember him looking at me kind of startled and making no response."[10] The two couples became friends and later Audrey and Theodor began an affair,[when?] about which she said, "The feeling was that at his age you grab for the gusto. You don't wait. You don't think you have that much time."[11] Devastated by her husband's affair with Dimond, Palmer died by suicide on October 23, 1967.[12] In May 1968 Seuss wrote to friends, "Audrey and I are going to be married […] I am acquiring two daughters, aged nine and fourteen. I am rebuilding the house to take care of the influx. I am 64 years old. I am marrying a woman eighteen years younger… I have not flipped my lid. This is not a sudden nutty decision… This is an inevitable, inescapable conclusion […] All I can ask you is to try to believe in me."[13] Audrey divorced Edmunds Dimond on 21 June 1968.[13]
After the legally required six-week wait, Geisel married Seuss on August 5, 1968, at the Washoe County Courthouse in Reno, Nevada. They invited no friends.[14] They lived in a "Mount Soledad aerie" in La Jolla, where Seuss had previously lived with Palmer.[15] It had an "old stucco observatory and elegant, helter-skelter maze of rooms they have built around it."[16] When she moved in with Seuss, Geisel sent her daughters to boarding school[17] of which she said "They wouldn't have been happy with Ted, and Ted wouldn't have been happy with them."[18] She also said "I've never been very maternal. There were too many other things I wanted to do. My life with him was what I wanted my life to be."[18]
The couple travelled widely around the world, including Cambodia, India, France, United Kingdom, Kenya, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, Israel, Lebanon, and many other countries and territories.[19][20][21][22]
When Seuss started losing his sight to glaucoma in 1975, Geisel served as his "eyes and driver".[5] Geisel took credit for Seuss's appearance, saying "I created the beard. He had a nose that was looking for a beard all his life."[23] It was in part to make Seuss's life easier as he began to lose his sight.[5] In 1989 Geisel was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour. It was successfully removed in January 1990.[24] She nursed Seuss during his final illness. He died of cancer in 1991.[25]
In her introduction to The Complete Cat in the Hat Geisel wrote about Seuss's writing process and how she was responsible for collecting "as many paperback thrillers as I could find, bring them home, stash them in a secret location and bring them out one at a time" when he was stuck for ideas and needed a break.[28] Of her relationship with Seuss, she said, "The idea was to keep the body there so it could take that mind as far as it wanted to go. I kept the Band-Aids going."[29]
Geisel was "credited with reinvigorating her husband's creative output". He published 20 books during their 25-year marriage, including The Lorax, You're Only Old Once! and Oh, the Places You'll Go!.[30] She was proud of her contributions to Seuss's work. His editors at Random House told her "His juices were getting diluted, and he needed something to start him again."[31]
She was also credited with "encouraging her husband to address more social issues" in his books, specifically The Lorax and the anti-war The Butter Battle Book.[32] When Seuss was stuck while trying to write a book about conservation issues, Geisel suggested a trip to Kenya to get his mind off his work. While there, Seuss saw a herd of elephants. Of the sight, he said he "grabbed a laundry list that I had beside me and wrote the whole book The Lorax in 45 minutes."[33] On the same trip, Seuss saw people cutting down acacia trees, and "he thought, 'they can't cut down my Dr. Seuss trees' – which he renamed Truffula trees."[2]
During an interview in 1986, Seuss noted that Geisel studied art and called her "the colour expert […] She always makes sure to tell me what's bad."[34]
Geisel "accepted credit" for Seuss's change of colour palette for The Lorax.[35] Seuss also said Geisel was "the only adult who could read [his stories] aloud."[36]
After Seuss's death
In 1991, in response to the anti-abortion movement's adopting of a line from Horton Hears a Who! – "A person's a person no matter how small" – in support of its cause, Geisel stated she "doesn't like people to hijack Dr. Seuss characters or material to front their own points of view."[37]
Before Seuss died, Geisel had "the impression that I was going to be fairly involved in everything, […] it began to dawn on me that there was going to be a tremendous transition after his loss – I was going to do everything!"[40] Seuss left behind "drawers, closets and files of unsorted, uncatalogued material".[9]
To protect Seuss's name and copyrights, Dr. Seuss Enterprises was created in 1993. Geisel was President and CEO[41] and would "hold court each morning with aides at a La Valencia Hotel's restaurant[42] in San Diego […] arriving in a 1984 Cadillac with licence plate that said GRINCH."[43] Geisel was the prima inter pares on the board of three directors.[44]
Of her role, in 1994 she said, "My absolute desire, creed, intent is to carry forth from this day Ted's books, the sharing and ongoingness of those books, generation by generation, for all the reasons they were written in the first place. They're in our language."[45] Of looking after Seuss's characters she said "You keep firm control as if they really were your children. I don't want the Cat in the Hat in a bad part of town, so to speak."[17]
Seuss Landing, Universal Islands of Adventure, Florida
Soon after establishing Dr. Seuss Enterprises, Universal Pictures approached Geisel about creating a Seuss-inspired ride at the Universal Islands of Adventure, Florida. She refused, being "concerned the park would cheapen the image of Dr. Seuss." After many redesigns, Geisel finally gave her approval in 1995, retaining a lot of creative control during the production process of Seuss Landing.[46]
In 1994, she signed a deal with Living Books, a joint venture between Broderbund Software and Random House, for the multimedia rights to Seuss's work.[47]
By 1996, there was concern that Geisel had been over-saturating the market with too many Seuss-related products, with Brian Henson of Jim Henson Productions saying, "it is an unusual situation where there are different people working with the same characters on different sorts of projects all over the place. That makes it a little confusing." However, on one point Geisel was firm: "I don't want to go into the food business. I don't want one of our little people poking out from a box of Wheat Chex."[48]
In 1996 Steven Spielberg secured the rights to The Cat in the Hat for a live-action film.[49] However, in 1999 Geisel reclaimed the rights, saying, "They just couldn't get it right."[50]
After an aborted deal with TriStar Pictures had been cleared up, "one of Hollywood's biggest-ever book auctions"[51] took place in 1998, with Universal Pictures paying $5 million for the rights to How The Grinch Stole Christmas and up to $4 million for Oh, The Places You'll Go. (As of 2020 it was slated for a 2027 release as part of Warner Bros.' new Seuss universe.)[52] As part of the bidding process, which included Tom Shadyac, the Farrelly brothers, Gary Ross and John Hughes, each interested party needed to pay $3 million to secure a meeting with Geisel.[53]
In 2004 she presided over Seusstennial: A Century of Imagination marking the centenary of Seuss's birth.[43] In 2013 she "opened the Estate's vault" and allowed some of Seuss's hat collection to tour the States, as the Hats Off to Dr. Seuss exhibition.[54] In 2015 she curated The Art of Dr. Seuss, an exhibition of paintings and sculptures.[55]
Books
Geisel was involved in the following Seuss-related publications:
Geisel found the manuscript "buried at the bottom of a drawer" in the home she had shared with Seuss.[56] Of the discovery she said "To find something like that after I no longer had him was just wonderful for me."[57]
Seuss wrote the text in 1973. Geisel brought it to the attention of his publishers after his death in 1992. When it was published four years later she wrote, "Ted had a panoramic view of ocean and land from his study, and he found the constantly changing patterns of light and color fascinating. He liked to compare the 'mood', or color, of the day to his own emotional barometer setting. Though his inspiration for this book was personal, he felt that someone else should bring his or her own vision to it".[60] The illustrations were made by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher.
1997
Seuss-isms: Wise and Witty Prescriptions for Living from the Good Doctor
Random House
Geisel wrote the introduction. Containing Seuss aphorisms, about which Geisel said, "Seuss's books contain more sane, sensible, and just plain hilarious advice for living than most of the self-help books crowding bookstores today."[44]
Oh, Baby, the Places You'll Go!: a Book to be Read In Utero by Tish Rabe
Random House
Geisel wrote the introduction, which included: "Some years ago, Ted and I came across an article about some researchers who had asked prospective mothers and fathers to read aloud to their babies in utero. To our delight, the book they read was 'The Cat In The Hat'"[61]
Geisel "worked with Random House" to publish seven 'lost' Dr Seuss stories from the 1950s[65] about which she said "I totally, wonderfully approve of anything that comes to light at this time of Ted's work"[66]
Geisel found 80% of this book in a folder marked 'Noble Failures' after Seuss's death. It was completed by Andrew Joyner, an Australian illustrator.[68]
Seuss dedicated the following books to Geisel and her daughters:
Fox in Socks (1965) – dedicated to "Mitzi Long and Audrey Dimond of the Mt. Soledad Lingual Laboratories"
The Cat in the Hat Songbook (1967) – dedicated to "Lark and Lea of Luddington Lane", Geisel's daughters
Producer Brian Grazer won the rights after a two-year process. Of Geisel, he said "Audrey Geisel was a little like Isaac Asimov's wife, in fact: she was a fierce protector of the legacy of her husband."[70] He described Geisel as "Very sharp, somewhat reserved, and tough."[53] Director Ron Howard went through eight scripts before Geisel gave her approval.[71] Actor Jim Carrey had to "literally convince Geisel of his ability to play the part".[72]
Screenwriter Jared Stern said, "I had to pitch the story to her, and it was incredibly scary. Once it was over, she said something to the effect of 'I wondered what you were going to do to this. But I think you captured it, and you have our blessing.'"[74]
Theatre
1998 – Dr. Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Premiered at The Old Globe, San Diego.[75] Geisel gifted them the rights, about which the former artistic director said, it was "a gift that has continued giving to our theatre and the community long after both of our individual departures." Geisel had a walk-on part in the 2006 production.[42]
1999 – Geisel attended workshops for Seussical: The Musical. It premiered in 2000 in Boston.[76] Of the production she said, "I was completely captivated."[77]
Dr. Seuss Foundation
Geisel became president of the Dr. Seuss Foundation, which was established in 1958.[78] A portion of all sales of Dr. Seuss books is donated to the Foundation[79] which supports the arts, civic and public affairs, education, health, international relief, social services and religious welfare with a focus on California.[80]
In 1993, together with Kellogg's Corporation, the Foundation donated 500,000 books to nearly 2,000 schools which served disadvantaged children. In 1998 Geisel waived royalties to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! and donated $100,000 from the Foundation to help cover the costs of free tickets for San Diego's children who would be unable to afford to pay otherwise.[81]
Dr. Seuss Fund
The fund supported (and continues to support) dozens of charitable organisations in San Diego through the donation of "millions of dollars".[41] Of her support of San Diego, she said, "I truly love this town. And I saw all the problems in the underbelly […] all the mental problems, poverty, sociological problems. Illiteracy."[82] In 2000 she said, "I'm kind of the safety net under San Diego."[18] Some of the causes she supported included:
1 Rope Ferry Road, part of the Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth
Through the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC)[90] the fund established the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for the "most distinguished American book for beginning readers". In 2012 the Dartmouth Medical School was renamed the Geisel School of Medicine, to reflect the couple's generosity over many years.[27]
Relationship with University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
Following Geisel's death, the Chancellor of UCSD said the university "would not be the same top-ranked research institution it is today without her enthusiastic generosity and vast university involvement."[91] Geisel was involved in many aspects of the university's activities. Of her relationship with UCSD she said "I feel so much part of this university. I just do."[83]
Geisel's support included:
1992 – donating almost 20,000[92] "drawings, sketches, notebooks and other memorabilia dating from the 1970s to 1990s" to UCSD library with a value of $2.3 million[93]
1993 – she opened the Geisel Room in a wing of the University's library.[94]
Geisel Library, University of California, San Diego
1995 – gave $20 million, the single largest donation to UCSD, "believed to be the largest single donation ever made to any San Diego institution." The main library was renamed Geisel Library in recognition of the gift.[93] Of the donation, Geisel said "The UCSD Library is so right for Ted. First, because literacy has always been our primary interest. If we could conquer illiteracy, many of the other causes we support to sustain people – the abused, the homeless, and the need for remedial education – would, to some extent, disappear. The library is the symbol of our commitment. And the UCSD Library is especially suited for that role. The first time Ted saw the form of that building he said to me 'If I had turned my thoughts toward designing a building, it might have looked strangely similar to this.'"[95]
2007 – donated $1 million to establish the Audrey Geisel University Librarianship. The endowed position provides discretionary funding — in perpetuity — to continually enhance and expand the staff, resources and services of the library.[83]
Audrey Geisel University House, UCSD
2013 – donated $2 million for the renovation of the University House. It was renamed the Audrey Geisel University House in her honour[83]
2015 – donated $3 million to Geisel Library to renovate the library's interior[83]
Following her death, Scripps renamed the pavilion on its Torey Pines site the Geisel Pavilion.[97] Geisel's La Jolla home was donated to UCSD. It was put up for sale in 2022 with the net proceeds put into a Geisel Fund.[98]
^ abMorgan, Judith (1996). Dr. Seuss and Mr Geisel. New York, United States: Da Capo Press. p. 201. ISBN0-306-80736-X.
^Morgan, Judith (1996). Dr. Seuss and Mr. Geisel. New York, United States: Da Capo Press. p. 202. ISBN0-306-80736-X.
^Tom Blair (February 2004). "Dialogue". San Diego Magazine (Volume 56, Number 4 ed.). San Diego, California, United States: Curt Co. p. 46.
^Levine, Stuart (2006). America's best newspaper writing: collection of ASNE prizewinners. Boston, United States: St Martins. p. 169. ISBN0-312-44367-6.
^ abJoan E B Coombs (5 March 2020). "Dr. Seuss inspires readers of all ages". Barre Gazette (Volume 185, Number 47 ed.). Turley, Massachusetts, United States: James L Fitzpatrick. p. 4.
^Seuss, Dr (2004). The cat in the hat. New York, United States: Collins. p. 4. ISBN0-00-717956-1.
^Levine, Stuart (2001). Dr. Seuss. San Diego, United States: Lucent Books. p. 75. ISBN1-56006-748-9.
^Ellis E Conklin (1986-10-22). "Seuss". St. Louis Post Dispatch. St Louis, United Staye. p. 101.
^Morgan, Judith (1996). Dr. Seuss and Mr Geisel. New York, United States: Da Capo Press. p. 211. ISBN0-306-80736-X.
^Morgan, Judith (1996). Dr. Seuss and Mr Geisel. New York, United States: Da Capo Press. p. 185. ISBN0-306-80736-X.
^Anne Navarro (24 November 2000). "New take on Grinch yields mixed results". Catholic News and Herald (Volume 179, Number 10 ed.). Charlotte, North Carolina, United States: Cathedral Pub. Corp. p. 11.
^Gray, Beverly (2003). Ron Howard: From Mayberry to the Moon… and beyond. Nashville, Tennessee, United States: Thomas Nelson. p. 203. ISBN978-1-4185-3074-7.
^Nel, Philip (2004). Dr Seuss: American Icon. New York, United States: Continuum. p. 98. ISBN0-8264-1434-6.
^Seuss, Dr. (1996). My many colored days. New York, United States: Random House. p. 40. ISBN0-09-926659-8.
^Rabe, Tish (1997). Oh baby! The Places You'll Go! A book to be read in utero. New York, United States: Random House. p. 4. ISBN0-679-88572-2.
^Henson, Kenneth T (1999). Educational Psychology for effective teaching: Instructor's edition. Belmont, United States: Austin Foundation. p. 237. ISBN0-534-53846-0.
^Seuss, Dr (2004). The complete cat in the hat. New York, United States: Collins. p. 4. ISBN0-00-717956-1.
^Seuss, Dr (2004). Your favorite Seuss: 13 stories written and illustrated by Dr Seuss with 13 introductory essays. New York, United States: Random House. p. 338. ISBN0-375-81061-7.
^Morgan, Judith (1996). Dr. Seuss and Mr Geisel. New York, United States: Da Capo Press. p. 208. ISBN0-306-80736-X.
^Grazer, Brian (2015). A curious mind: the secret to a bigger life. New York, United States: Simon and Schuster. p. 110. ISBN978-1-4767-3075-2.
^Anne Navarro (24 November 2000). "New take on Grinch yields mixed results". Catholic News and Herald (Volume 179, Number 10 ed.). Charlotte, North Carolina, United States: Cathedral Pub. Corp. p. 11.
^"Fall moving preview". The Stoutonia (Volume 91 ed.). Wisconsin, United States: University of Wisconsin. 2000. p. 15.
^Richard Corliss (12 March 2012). "A parable for the 99%". Time (Volume 179, Number 10 ed.). San Diego, California, United States: Time Inc. p. 104.
^Levine, Stuart (2001). Dr. Seuss. San Diego, California, United States: Lucent Books. p. 93. ISBN1-56006-748-9.
^Levine, Stuart (1995). The big book of library grant money 1996–1997: profiles of 1471 private and corporate foundations and direct corporate givers receptive to library grant proposals. Chicago, Illinois, United States: ALA. p. 33. ISBN0-8389-0683-4.
^Tom Blair (February 2004). "Dialogue with Tom Blair". San Diego Magazine (Volume 56, Number 4 ed.). San Diego, California, United States: Curt Co. p. 46.
^Longnecker, Martha W (1996). American expression of liberty: art of the people, by the people, for the people. San Diego, California, United States: Mingei International Museum. p. 164. ISBN0-8109-6338-8.
