Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
GIFFORD, Thomas
GIFFORD, Thomas. (Dubuque, IA, May 16, 1937- Dubuque, IA, Oct. 31, 2000) Author. Gifford's first published novel, The Wind Chill Factor (1975) received the Putnam Award, given in recognition of an outstanding manuscript by an author not previously published by Putnam. The novel reached The New York Times, best-seller list. His novel "The Glendower Legacy" was the basis of the 1981 film "Dirty Tricks." Other popular books by Gifford included The Cavanaugh Quest, and The Man from Lisbon. Gifford also wrote under the pen names Dana Clarins and Thomas Maxwell.
Gifford, a graduate of DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL, attended Harvard University with a journalism award made by the TELEGRAPH HERALD and an English scholarship he received to the university. He graduated in 1959 and then lived and worked in Minneapolis. He sold textbooks and before becoming editor-in-chief of the Twin Citian. He was the director of public relations for the Tyrone Guthrie Theater and by the 1970s served as an editor and syndicated columnist for the Sun newspaper. His first book "Benchwarmer Bob" was published in 1974 while he was also working on "The Wind Chill Factor."
Gifford returned to Dubuque in 1996 and became involved in local politics and civic activities. He wrote a weekly column in the Telegraph Herald entitled "Jazzbo of Old Dubuque" which dealt with every subject from baseball to small-town America. He taught a 1940s film noir class at LORAS COLLEGE.