Famous Estates – Legacy Champ or Chump?

Theodor Seuss Geisel (Dr. Seuss) (1904–1991) – Author

Theodor Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children’s picture books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. Geisel published 46 children’s books, often characterized by imaginative characters, rhyme, and frequent use of anapestic meter. His most celebrated books include the bestselling Green Eggs and Ham, The Cat in the Hat, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, Horton Hatches the Egg, Horton Hears a Who!, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas!. Numerous adaptations of his work have been created, including 11 television specials, four feature films, a Broadway musical and four television series. He was a perfectionist in his work, spending up to a year to complete a book. And as a writer, he was looked on as unusual in that he preferred to only be paid after he finished his work rather than in advance.

Geisel was also known for his political cartoons during World War II, drawing over 400 in two years as editorial cartoonist for the New York City daily newspaper, PM. In 1942, Geisel turned his energies to directly support the U.S. war effort. First, he worked drawing posters for the Treasury Department and the War Production Board. Then, in 1943, Geisel joined the Army as a Captain and was commander of the Animation Department of the First Motion Picture Unit of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), where he wrote propaganda films for soldiers during the war. Then, in May 1954, to stop the increase of illiteracy among school children, a man named William Ellsworth Spaulding, at that time the director of the education division at Houghton Mifflin, challenged Geisel to write a book with 250 words that Spaulding thought were important for first-graders to recognize, telling Geisel that he needed to “bring back a book children can’t put down.” Geisel accepted that challenge, and wrote The Cat in the Hat, using 236 of the words given to him. The Cat in the Hat and Geisel’s many other children’s books achieved significant international success and they remain very popular today.

We honor Theodor Geisel because his books have had a major influence on people of all ages, which makes him a Legacy Champ. If you want to be a Legacy Champ in your own special way, then contact The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. for a free initial consultation on estate planning, trust planning, and/or probate issues.