Calvin Trillin
A wry, peripatetic chronicler of American eats and oddities who turned everyday life into a decades-long, deliciously funny conversation.
Born 1935 (age 91)·American humorist and novelist·Birthday: December 5·The Silent Generation
Biography
Calvin Trillin has spent a lifetime wandering America with a notebook and a twinkle in his eye, filing dispatches from the crossroads of food, politics, and human folly. A Kansas City native who never lost his midwestern ear for plain speech, he found his voice at The New Yorker, where his 'U.S. Journal' pieces and later his food writing captured the nation's character one plate and one peculiar town at a time. Trillin's genius lies in his deceptive simplicity; whether in prose, verse, or his deadpan humor columns, he pinpoints the gentle absurdities of our rituals and appetites. He is as likely to profile a barbecue pitmaster as he is to compose a mock-epic poem about a political scandal, all delivered with the timing of a born storyteller. His work is a sustained love letter to the American vernacular, proving that the truest observations are often the funniest.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Calvin was born in 1935, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Calvin Was Born
The biggest hits of 1935
#1 Movie
Mutiny on the Bounty
Best Picture
Mutiny on the Bounty
Calvin's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1935Born
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1940Started school
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1948Became a teenager
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1951Could drive
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1953Could vote
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1956Turned 21
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1965Turned 30
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 40
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1985Turned 50
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 60
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 70
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 80
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2026Age 91 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Awarded the Thurber Prize for American Humor in 2012 for his book 'Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin'.
- Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2008, a rare honor for a humorist.
- Was a staff writer for The New Yorker for decades, contributing iconic pieces to its 'U.S. Journal' and 'An American Kitchen' series.
- Authored over thirty books spanning genres including humor, food writing, travel, and memoir.
Did You Know?
He wrote a weekly column for *The Nation* for over two decades, often in verse, under the title 'Deadline Poet'.
Trillin claimed his three subject areas were 'eating, traveling, and politics — not necessarily in that order'.
He is a graduate of Yale University, where he was the chairman of the *Yale Daily News*.
His wife, Alice, was a constant subject and muse in his writing until her death in 2001.
“I've been asked if I ever get writer's block, and I say, 'No, I get writer's laziness'.”
