Thomas Stearns Eliot (26.09.1888 in St. Louis, Missouri - 04.01.1965 in London, England) was an American writer and poet, on whose works the musical CATS is based, most of all on his collection of poems called "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats".

Eliot married twice, his second wife being Esmé Valerie Fletcher, who was 38 years younger than him and one of the most important people in the creation of CATS, as it was her who handed Andrew Lloyd Webber and the Creative Team the poems and information about Jellicle Cats they needed to build a true story. He had no children, but godchildren. In fact, it was his goddaughter who couldn't pronounce "poor little dog" and "dear little cat" when she was small, making it sound like Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats.

Eliot expressed his admiration for cats in letters he wrote to his godchildren, using the name "Old Possum". He made up stories and names and additional information no one knew about until after his death.

Interestingly, Walt Disney tried to archieve the rights to turn his Book of Practical Cats into a movie - but Old Possum said "no".

Wikipedia Article on him - on "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" - What the Thunder Said - TSE Society - IMDb