<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Barry</span>

Dave Barry

<p><b>David McAlister Barry</b> (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally <a href="/en/Print_syndication" title="Print syndication" class="wl">syndicated</a> humor column for the <i><a href="/en/Miami_Herald" title="Miami Herald" class="wl">Miami Herald</a></i> from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and <a href="/en/Parody" title="Parody" class="wl">parody</a>, as well as <a href="/en/Comic_novel" title="Comic novel" class="wl">comic novels</a> and <a href="/en/Children's_literature" title="Children's literature" class="wl">children's novels</a>. Barry's honors include the <a href="/en/Pulitzer_Prize_for_Commentary" title="Pulitzer Prize for Commentary" class="wl">Pulitzer Prize for Commentary</a> (1988) and the <a href="/en/Walter_Cronkite_Award_for_Excellence_in_Journalism" title="Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism" class="wl">Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism</a> (2005).</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">American writer and humorist</div>
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<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt7">American author (born 1947)</div>
<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Dave Barry, Born, Occupation, Nationality, Al...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div style="display:inline;" class="fn">Dave Barry</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" title="Barry at the 2011 Washington Post Hunt" data-hash="File:Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg"><img loading="lazy"alt="Barry at the 2011 Washington Post Hunt" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg/220px-Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="1344" data-file-height="2027" data-file-type="bitmap" height="332" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg/330px-Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg/440px-Dave-barry-post-hunt-2011.jpg 2x"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption" style="line-height:1.4em;">Barry at the 2011 <i><a href="/en/Washington_Post" title="Washington Post" class="mw-redirect wl">Washington Post</a></i> Hunt</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Born</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;">David McAlister Barry<br><span style="display:none"> (<span class="bday">1947-07-03</span>) </span>July 3, 1947<span class="noprint ForceAgeToShow"> (age<span>&nbsp;</span>75)</span><br><a href="/en/Armonk,_New_York" title="Armonk, New York" class="wl">Armonk, New York</a>, U.S.</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Occupation</th><td class="infobox-data role" style="line-height:1.4em;"><a href="/en/Humorist" title="Humorist" class="wl">Humorist</a><br>Author</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Nationality</th><td class="infobox-data category" style="line-height:1.4em;">American</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Alma<span>&nbsp;</span>mater</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><a href="/en/Haverford_College" title="Haverford College" class="wl">Haverford College</a> <small>(<a href="/en/Bachelor_of_Arts" title="Bachelor of Arts" class="wl">BA</a>)</small></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Spouse</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;">Ann Shelnutt (1969–19?)<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-shelnutt_1-0"><a href="#cite_note-shelnutt-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span><br>
<div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;">Beth Lenox</div>
   <div style="line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px;"><span>​</span></div><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt17" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1976<span>;</span><span> </span><abbr about="#mwt18" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>divorced</span>&quot;}]]}">div.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1993<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div><br>
<div style="display:inline;white-space:nowrap;"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;"><a href="/en/Michelle_Kaufman" title="Michelle Kaufman" class="wl">Michelle Kaufman</a></div><span> </span><div style="display:inline-block;"><span>​</span></div><span>(</span><abbr about="#mwt19" typeof="mw:ExpandedAttrs" data-mw="{&quot;attribs&quot;:[[{&quot;txt&quot;:&quot;title&quot;},{&quot;html&quot;:&quot;<span typeof=\&quot;mw:Nowiki\&quot; data-parsoid=\&quot;{}\&quot;>married</span>&quot;}]]}">m.</abbr><span>&nbsp;</span>1996<span>)</span><wbr><span>​</span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label" style="line-height:1.2em; padding-right:0.65em;">Children</th><td class="infobox-data" style="line-height:1.4em;">2</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Signature</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><span><a href="/en/File:Dave_Barry_signature.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Dave_Barry_signature.jpg"><img loading="lazy"alt="Dave Barry signature" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Dave_Barry_signature.jpg/150px-Dave_Barry_signature.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="298" data-file-height="212" data-file-type="bitmap" height="107" width="150" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/Dave_Barry_signature.jpg/225px-Dave_Barry_signature.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Dave_Barry_signature.jpg 2x"></a></span></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header">Website</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data" style="line-height:1.4em;"><span class="url"><a rel="mw:ExtLink nofollow" href="http://davebarry.com" class="external text" target="_blank">davebarry<wbr>.com</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>Barry has defined a sense of humor as "a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge."<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span></p>



David McAlister Barry is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the Miami Herald from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comic novels and children's novels. Barry's honors include the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism . Barry has defined a sense of humor as "a measurement of the extent to which we realize that we are trapped in a world almost totally devoid of reason. Laughter is how we express the anxiety we feel at this knowledge." 