Erma Bombeck

Erma Louise (Harris) Bombeck (February 21 1927 - April 22, 1996) was an American humorist who achieved great popularity for a newspaper column that depicted suburban home life in the second half of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
February 21 - 1927 - April 22 - 1996 - American - Humorist - Newspaper - Suburban

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Born in Dayton, Ohio, Bombeck graduated from the University of Dayton in 1949 with a degree in English. She started her career in 1949 as a reporter for the Dayton Journal Herald, but after marrying school administrator Bill Bombeck, a college friend, she left the job and raised three children.

Related Topics:
Dayton, Ohio - University of Dayton - 1949 - English - Dayton Journal Herald

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As the children grew she started writing At Wit's End, telling self-deprecating tales about the life of a housewife. It debuted in the Kettering-Oakwood Times in 1964. She was paid $3 per column.

Related Topics:
Kettering-Oakwood Times - 1964

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Growing popularity led At Wit's End to be nationally syndicated in 1965, and eventually it ran twice a week in more than 700 newspapers. The column was collected in many best-selling books, and her fame was such that a television sitcom was based on her. The series, Maggie, ran for eight shows in 1982 before being cancelled.

Related Topics:
1965 - Sitcom - 1982

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In 1971, the Bombecks moved to Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Related Topics:
1971 - Paradise Valley, Arizona

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Bombeck suffered from polycistic kidney disease, a hereditary disorder that causes cysts to form on the kidneys. In 1996 worsening health forced her to have a kidney transplant, and she died of complications that year.

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