Audrey Geisel, widow of Dr. Seuss, dead at 97

SHARE Audrey Geisel, widow of Dr. Seuss, dead at 97
SEUSSENTENIAL_e1545405517630.jpg

Audrey Geisel, widow of Dr. Seuss creator Theodor Geisel, in February 2004. | AP file photo

NEW YORK — Audrey Geisel, the widow of children’s author Dr. Seuss and longtime overseer of his literary estate, has died.

Random House Children’s Books announced that she died Wednesday at age 97. She died “peacefully” at her home in La Jolla, California.

Dr. Seuss, whose real name was Theodor Geisel, died in 1991 and two years later Audrey Geisel founded Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Numerous publishing projects followed, along with the Broadway show “Seussical.” She also served as executive producer for some film adaptations of his work, most recently “The Grinch,” which came out last month.

She was a Chicago native whose parents broke up when she was little and who as an adult would be in the middle of two broken marriages. She and Theodor Geisel, who was 17 years older, were both married to others when they began an affair in the 1960s. Theodor Geisel’s first wife, Helen, killed herself and Audrey Geisel sent away the two daughters she had with her first husband after she and the author married in 1968.

“They wouldn’t have been happy with Ted, and Ted wouldn’t have been happy with them. He’s the man who said of children, ‘You have ’em and I’ll entertain ’em,’” she told The New York Times in 2000. “Ted’s a hard man to break down, but this is who he was. He lived his whole life without children and he was very happy without children. I’ve never been very maternal. There were too many other things I wanted to do. My life with him was what I wanted my life to be.”

MORE TO READ

In ruling that quotes Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Lorax,’ Appalachian pipeline permit tossed

‘Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch’ like you’ve never seen/With a Grinch who isn’t very mean

Library visits down but circulation is up; see which books get checked out most

The Latest
The former employees contacted workers rights organization Arise Chicago and filed charges with the Illinois Department of Labor, according to the organization.
Álvaro Larrama fue sentenciado a entre 17 y 20 años en una prisión estatal después de perseguir y apuñalar a Daniel Martínez, un ex sargento de la Marina.
The Czech performer, who has fooled Penn and Teller, engages his audiences with a show of personality and interactive tricks.
One student has suffered health problems after blood tests showed signs of excessive aspirin intake and fentanyl, lawyers for the child’s family say.
Owner Courtney Bledsoe said the store will focus on stocking books by authors of color and celebrating the stories they tell.