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.
MULGREW, John Patrick
MULGREW, John Patrick. (Dubuque, IA, Jan. 12, 1886- Dubuque,IA, 1949). Writer. Mulgrew regularly wrote the "Wake of the News" column of the Chicago Tribune under his pseudonym "Jazbo of Old Dubuque." He also wrote for THE WITNESS in a column called "And Life Goes On."
The popularity of his writing led Mulgrew to assemble his columns into yearbooks that he sold between 1935 and 1949. Copies of his yearbooks were distributed to our troops stationed overseas during World War II as a boost for their morale.
Mulgrew's life as a writer began as a reporter for the TELEGRAPH-HERALD. His career as a playwright began in 1912 with the production of the play Sonny. With Thomas F. Swift, Mulgrew formed a team whose Bringing Up Father in 1914 enjoyed a two-year run.
Mulgrew wrote eight other plays in five years, several based on "Jiggs and Maggie" from the George McManus comic strip. He also wrote vaudeville skits for such renowned performers as Fred Allen and Jack Benny and gained national recognition as a scriptwriter for NBC radio's Uncle Ezra" program heard weekly on the National Barn Dance Hour.
Mulgrew failed to make the change into MOTION PICTURES and returned to Dubuque where he again enjoyed success. It is believed his unique writer's name came from the jazzbow, the snap-on bow tie he occasionally wore around town.