born March 6, 1885, Niles, Mich., U.S.
died Sept. 25, 1933, East Hampton, N.Y.
U.S. writer.
He worked as a newspaper reporter, sportswriter, and columnist before he began publishing fiction. He won popular success with comic stories about a baseball player, some collected in You Know Me, Al (1916). Later collections, noted for their satire, narrative skill, and convincing vernacular language, include How to Write Short Stories (1924) and The Love Nest (1926). His son, the screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr., was one of the Hollywood Ten and later wrote such hit movies as M*A*S*H (1970).