User:Shylper/sandbox/William Eugene McCown

William Eugene McCown (1898-1966) was an American born artist, musician, and author who was better known as Eugene MacCown.

Early Life
William Eugene McCown, son of William Henry McCown and Inez Boyer, was born in Eldorado Springs, Missouri on July 27, 1898. He had one sister, and four half-siblings by his father's second wife. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Deepwater, Missouri where his father worked as an undertaker for the Old Brownington and Maplewood Cemeteries. William's mother died when he was 10 years old. He and his sister were then raised by their maternal uncle and aunt in Kansas City, Missouri while their father remained in Deepwater, Missouri.

Education
During his high school years at Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri, William participated in theater and won a silver medal in a literary contest for his declamation "The Price of a Man". William attended the University of Missouri. It is there where he started going by the name he is best known as, Eugene McCown (or MacCown). He was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, the Glee Club, and president of the Mandolin Club. Upon his graduation in 1920, he moved to New York City.