Maurice Sendak, the beloved creator of the children’s classic “Where the Wild Things Are” has died. It was reported that Sendak died from complications from a stroke early Tuesday in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 83.
Sendak was best known for going against the grain and embracing the darker side of childhood. He wrote and illustrated over 20 of his own stories, while also illustrating a dozen others. His most famous story of all time was the 1963 book “Where the Wild Things Are.” It is a story about a boy who was sent on punishment to his room, and later runs away to a land crawling with beasts, who he befriends and plays with.
In 2009, Spike Jonze made the book into a film that featured James Gandolfini, Catherine O’Hara and Paul Dano as the voices of the rather depressed wild things.
Sendak wrote and illustrated children’s books for generations of children. Now all grown up, some of them expressed their mourning via twitter:
Author Judy Blume wrote, “Maurice Sendak has died. I cannot put into words what I am feeling, what he and his work meant to me.”
Questlove, The Roots’ drummer, wrote: “ahhh man! Maurice Sendak passed!?!?!? I was wondering why ‘Where The Wild Things Are’ was trending. Man!!!!!! This is a hurt piece.”
Maurice Sendak didn’t seem to like adults very much and he didn’t make much effort to hide it. In a 2008 interview with Steven Colbert, Sendak gleefully expressed his disgust at many men in the world.
Watch the video below:
The Colbert Report
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