Dave Barry | |
|---|---|
 Barry at the 2011 Washington Post Hunt | |
| Born | David McAlister Barry July 3, 1947 Armonk, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Humorist Author |
| Alma mater | Haverford College (BA) |
| Spouse | Ann Shelnutt (1969–19?)[1] Beth Lenox (m. 1976; div. 1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Signature | |
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| Website | |
| davebarry | |
David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comic novels and children's novels. Barry's honors include the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary (1988) and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism (2005).
Barry has defined a sense of humor as "a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge".[2]
Early life and education
Barry was born in Armonk, New York, where his father, David W. Barry, was a Presbyterian minister. He was educated at Wampus Elementary School, Harold C. Crittenden Junior High School (both in Armonk), and Pleasantville High School, where he was elected "Class Clown" in 1965. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Haverford College in 1969.[3]
As an alumnus of a Quaker-affiliated college, he avoided military service during the Vietnam War by registering as a religious conscientious objector.[4] Barry decided "early on" that he was an atheist.[5] He said, "The problem with writing about religion is that you run the risk of offending sincerely religious people, and then they come after you with machetes."[5]