May 15, 1923. The issue of Black Mask Magazine published on this date featured "Three Gun Terry," by Carroll John Daly. It's not such a great story, even by Daly's standard, but it is a huge piece of mystery history: it is considered the first hard-boiled private eye story. "For every man I croak--mind you, I ain't a killer, but sometimes a chap's got to turn a gun--I get two hundred dollars flat."May 15, 1926. Two great playwrights were born on this day. Coincidentally, they were in the same room. Okay, no coincidence. Anthony and Peter Shaffer were twin brothers.
Anthony won two Edgar Awards: Best Play for Sleuth, and then Best Screenplay for same. He also wrote screenplays for Frenzy and The Wicker Man.
He co-wrote three mystery novels with brother Peter, who was best known for non-mystery plays such as Equus and Amadeus.
May 15, 1933. Dime Detective Magazine for this date proudly contained "The Brain Master," by John Lawrence, a pulp writer whom Frances M. Nevins, Jr. referred to as "king of the unremembered." This was part of a series featuring New York private eye Sam Beckett, not to be confused with the guy who waited for Godot.
May 15, 1948. Jeremiah Healy was born on this date in Teaneck, NJ. He was best known for his novels about Boston private eye John Francis Cuddy. Half of these books were nominated for the Shamus Award for Best Novel. The Staked Goat won.
So why should we care about the second episode of a long forgotten TV show? Well, first of all, I can't tell whether the first episode ever showed. The source of all wisdom (i.e. the Internet) says the show premiered on May 8 and also says it missed its premiere date. So who knows?
But more importantly, the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency was so disturbed by the violence in the May 15th episode, "The Grudge," that they actually showed it at a hearing. According to Wikipedia the assembled senators got to see: a fistfight, a mother horsewhipping her son, a false charge of sexual assault, a report that a man laughed after shooting another guy six times in the stomach, and a woman accidentally killing her daughter while aiming at someone else. All it needs is dragons to pass for an episode of Game of Thrones.
Oh, the actor who got horsewhipped was a kid named Robert Redford. Whatever happened to him?May 15, 1993. This date saw the publication of Charles Willeford's book The Shark-Infested Custard. I know nothing about this crime novel, but I love the title. Don't you?
Redford did a few Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and is in a Twilight Zone playing a character who turns up in most mystery novels eventually.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Shark Infested Custard a Ben & Jerry's flavor, Rob?
ReplyDeleteAnd we named one of our dogs -- Audie -- after Audie Murphy. He was a terrific dog and lived up to his namesake.
This is cool information. I like reading stuff like this.
ReplyDeleteLove this kind of thing! Thanks, Rob.
ReplyDeleteThe Shark Invested Custard title alone is worth the price of the book.
ReplyDeleteLove all the Pulp! I didn’t know the first hardboiled detective story had been pinpointed. Seems like that’s a worthy blog entry on it’s own...
ReplyDeleteFogot to mention, I too have not read Charles Willeford's THE SHARK-INFESTED CUSTARD but I've read his NEW HOPE FOR THE DEAD and KISS YOUR ASS GOODBYE and others. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteTHanks, all. Paul, you win the Internet. Larry, feel free!
ReplyDelete