Author, humorist; born in Walnut, Ill. A columnist from 1913 to 1925 for the New York Sun and then the New York Herald Tribune, he created such characters as "archy" (the literary cockroach) and "mehitabel" (the cat) to satirize fads and pretensions. His humor also helped him surmount personal misfortunes such as the early deaths of his first wife and his two children.