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Born
Shel Silverstein was born in Chicago Illinois. His full name is Sheldon Allan Silverstein. Nathan and Helen Silverstein are Shel's parents. Shel had a sister named Peggy Meyers. -
Writing
Shel Silverstein was 12 when he wanted to start writing. His first book was a comedy about the army named Take Ten. He created a poetry book called Uncled Shelby's zoo. ( He nicknamed himself that.) -
Hobbies
After Shel wrote his first book he realized he really like writing. Shel also realized he was very skilled at drawing. When Shel listened to the song Grand Ole Opry for a few years he started thinking and became a music writer. -
College
Shel Silverstein attended Illinois University and after a year was kicked out. Shel later attended Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and left one year later. He then attended Roosevelt University for 3 years and then was drafted to the U.S. Army. -
Song Writing
Shel Silverstein usually wrote adult songs like, Pills are Thrills and Kocaine Kitty and he never thought he would be writing children's songs. One of his most popular songs ever was The Unicorn Song which reached Top 7 in the U.S. and Top 5 in Ireland. He also was presented on the Johnny Cash show. -
U.S. Army
Shel Silvertein joined the army and was drafted to Korea and Japan. Shel was in the Army for 10 - 20 years.The reason he joined the army is because he didn't graduate. -
Cartoonist
Shel SIlverstein's cartoonism was huge, he started doing cartoons after he created his first book Take Ten. His work started appearing in popular magazines such as Sports Illustrated, Look, and This Week. What was important to him was Playboy though, he even became lead cartoonist for it. -
Part Time Job
Shel Silverstein sold hotdogs in his free time as a part time job. He sold at 2 different ballparks in Chicago. Shel set a record for most hotdogs sold on a Thursday night game. -
Children's book chareer
Shel Silverstein published his first children's book. The book was called Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back. Shel loved writing children's books so much he published 3 more that same year. -
Religion
Shel Silverstein was Jewish. He was born into it and his whole family was also Jewish. Shel was not openly religious, but readers saw symbolism in his work. ( Example: The Giving Tree ) -
Grammy Award
Shel Silverstein won a Grammy Award for his song A Boy Named Sue. He was also nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe award for the song I'm Checkin Out. Shel was presented in the Hall of Fame too in the Nashville Songwriters, 2002. -
Politics
A large portion of Shel's cartoons that he wrote in 'Stars and Stripes' were very political. He also expressed his political views in his poems. 'Hug O' War' was one of Shel's poems that really showed how he felt. Shel's concept was to love - not war. -
Marriage
Shel married a women named Susan Hastings. Shel and Susan had a child named Shoshanna ( Rose in Hebrew ) who died of a brain aneurism. Shel and Susan's marriage ended in divorce and Susan died 5 years later. -
A Taste For Women
Shel met a girl named Sarah Spencer. While Shel was working with the Playboy studios ( He was quite the Playboy ). Shel and Sarah had one kid named Matthew. -
Death
Shel Silverstein died of a massive heart attack on May 10th 1999 in Key West, Florida. Shel was 68 years old. He was buried in his hometown Chicago, Illinois
