Citizendia
Your Ad Here

John D. MacDonald

Born July 24, 1916 (1916-07-24)
Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States
Died December 28, 1986 (aged 70)
Occupation novelist, short story writer
Nationality American
Writing period 1945-1986
Genres Detective fiction
Influenced

John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916–December 28, 1986), writing as John D. Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, 75 miles (121 km northwest of Pittsburgh. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder Carl Hiaasen (ˈhaɪəsɛn (born March 12, 1953) is an American Journalist and Novelist. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning Science fiction Warren William Zevon (January 24 1947 &ndash September 7 2003 was a Grammy Award -winning American rock Singer-songwriter and Musician Dean Ray Koontz (born July 9 1945 is an American Author. Best known for his Novels that could broadly be described as Suspense thrillers Koontz Events 1132 - Battle of Nocera between Ranulf II of Alife and Roger II of Sicily. Year 1916 ( MCMXVI) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Events 1065 - Westminster Abbey is Consecrated. 1308 - The reign of Emperor Hanazono, Emperor of Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) MacDonald, was an American writer of crime and suspense novels, many of them set in his adopted home of Florida, including the popular and critically-acclaimed Travis McGee series. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Travis McGee is a Fictional character and amateur Sleuth created by prolific American mystery writer John D MacDonald was named a grand master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1972 and won the American Book Award in 1980. Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers based in New York. The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. Stephen King praised him in his book "On Writing" (Hodder and Stoughton, 2000, ISBN 0340769963) as "the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller. Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American Author, Screenwriter, Musician, Columnist, "

Contents

Early life

Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, MacDonald enrolled at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania but dropped out during his sophomore year to work menial jobs in New York City. Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, 75 miles (121 km northwest of Pittsburgh. The City of New York While attending the School of Management at Syracuse University, he met Dorothy Prentiss. History 1919　 Established as Syracuse University 's Business school 　 1920 　Certificated from AACSB （The Association Syracuse University (SU is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York. They married in 1937, and he graduated from Syracuse the following year. In 1939, he received an MBA from Harvard University. The Master of Business Administration ( MBA) is a Master's degree in Business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines MacDonald was later able to make good use of his education in business and economics by incorporating elaborate business swindles into the plots of a number of his novels.

Writing career

Early pulp stories

In 1940 MacDonald accepted a direct commission in the army Ordnance Corp, but later served in the OSS in the Far East during World War II. The Office of Strategic Services ( OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. The Far East is a term often used by people in the Western world to refer to the countries of East Asia. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including While still in the military, his literary career began accidentally when he wrote a short story in 1945 and mailed it home for the amusement of his wife. The short story is a literary genre of Fictional Prose Narrative that tends to be more concise and to the point than longer works of fiction such She submitted it to the magazine Story without his knowledge, and it was accepted. Magazines, periodicals or serials are Publications generally published on a regular schedule containing a variety of articles, generally In the first four months after his discharge, he completely concentrated on writing short stories, generating some 800,000 words and losing 20 pounds while typing during 14-hour daily sessions seven days a week. It netted him only hundreds of rejection slips, but in the fifth month, a $40 sale to the pulp magazine Dime Detective set his career in motion, and he continued to sell to the detective, mystery, adventure, sports, western and science fiction pulps. Pulp magazines (or pulp fiction; often referred to as "the pulps" were inexpensive Fiction magazines Detective fiction is a branch of Crime fiction in which a Detective (or detectives either professional or amateur investigate a crime usually Murder Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West between the years of 1860 and 1900 As the boom in paperback novels expanded, he successfully made the jump to longer fiction with his first novel, The Brass Cupcake, published in 1950 by Fawcett Publications' Gold Medal Books. Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton "Captain Billy" Fawcett (1885-1940 His science fiction included the story "Cosmetics" in Astounding (1948) and the novels Wine of the Dreamers (1951) and Ballroom of the Skies (1952). Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American Science fiction Magazine.

Hardboiled Thrillers

Between 1953 and 1964, MacDonald specialized in crime thrillers, many of which are now considered masterpieces of the hardboiled genre. Hardboiled Crime fiction is a literary style pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the Most of these novels were published as paperback originals, although some were later republished in hardbound editions. Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Many, such as Dead Low Tide (1953), were set in his adopted home of Florida, and were effective in suggesting a sinister aura lurking beneath the glittery surface of that state. Novels such as The Executioners (1957) (which was twice filmed as Cape Fear, first in 1962 and again in 1991) and One Monday We Killed them All (1962) penetrated the minds of psychopathic killers. As Macdonald honed his craft, he developed his narrative "voice," one of the most distinctive in the suspense fiction field.

Travis McGee

MacDonald's protagonists were often intelligent and introspective men, sometimes with a hard cynical streak. Travis McGee, the "salvage consultant" and "knight in rusting armor," was all of that. Travis McGee is a Fictional character and amateur Sleuth created by prolific American mystery writer John D He first appeared in the 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by and was last seen in The Lonely Silver Rain in 1985. The Deep Blue Good-by was the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D The Lonely Silver Rain is a 1985 Novel by John D MacDonald that concluded his 21-novel Travis McGee series All titles in the 21-volume series include a color, and the novels usually feature an ever-changing array of female companions, plus an appearance by a sidekick known only as "Meyer," [G. Ludwig Meyer, Ph. D. ] a retired economist. As Sherlock Holmes had his well-known address on Baker Street, McGee had his trademark lodgings on his 52-foot houseboat Busted Flush, named for the poker hand that started the run of luck in which he won her. Sherlock Holmes is a famous fictional detective of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who first appeared in Publication in 1887 A houseboat is a Boat that has been designed or modified to be used primarily as a Human Dwelling. Poker is a type of Card game in which players bet on the value of the card combination (" hand " in their possession by placing a bet into She's docked at Slip F-18, Bahia Mar marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Fort Lauderdale, known as the "Venice of America" due to its expansive and intricate Canal system is a city in Broward County, Florida,

Influence

Various writers have acknowledged the trail that MacDonald and McGee blazed, including Carl Hiaasen in an introduction to a 1990s edition of The Deep Blue Good-by: "Most readers loved MacDonald's work because he told a rip-roaring yarn. Carl Hiaasen (ˈhaɪəsɛn (born March 12, 1953) is an American Journalist and Novelist. The 1990s collectively refers to the years between and including 1990 and 1999 I loved it because he was the first modern writer to nail Florida dead-center, to capture all its languid sleaze, racy sense of promise, and breath-grabbing beauty. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the "

Most of the current crop of Florida-based mystery writers acknowledge a debt to MacDonald, including Randy Wayne White, James Hall, Les Standiford, Jonathon King, Tim Dorsey to name just a few. And Lawrence Block's New York-based fictional hero, Matthew Scudder, is a character who makes his living doing just what McGee does -- favors for friends who have no other recourse, then taking his cut.

Homage to MacDonald was evident in the 1981-88 CBS-TV series Simon & Simon with scenes showing Rick Simon's boat docked at Slip F-18 in San Diego. Simon & Simon is a 1980s detective series starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker.

The science fiction writer Spider Robinson has made it clear that he is also among MacDonald's admirers. Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948) is an American-born Canadian Hugo and Nebula award winning Science fiction The bartender in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Mike Callahan, is married to Lady Sally McGee, whose last name is almost certainly a tribute to Travis. In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahan's Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic clientele In a recent sequel to the Callahan's series, Callahan's Key, a group of regulars from the former saloon decide they've had enough of Long Island, so they move to Key West, Florida, in a colorful caravan of modified school buses. Long Island is an island located in southeastern New York, USA, its western shores directly across from Manhattan, from which the island stretches Key West is a city in Monroe County Florida, United States. The city encompasses Key West, the namesake island the part of Stock Island A school bus is a Bus used to transport Children and Adolescents to and from School and school events On their way to Key West, they stop at a marina near Fort Lauderdale specifically to visit Slip F-18 (where Busted Flush was usually moored) and meet a local who was the prototype for McGee's sidekick Meyer. The slip is empty, with a small plaque mentioning Busted Flush.

Media adaptations

MacDonald's novel Soft Touch was the basis for the film Man-Trap (1961). His 1957 novel The Executioners was filmed in 1962 as Cape Fear, a dark thriller of strong suspense and menace starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum. Cape Fear is a 1962 film about an attorney whose family is stalked by a criminal whom he helped to send to jail Gregory Peck (April 5 1916 &ndash June 12 2003 was an Academy Award -winning and four-time Golden Globe Award-winning American Film Robert Charles Durman Mitchum ( August 6, 1917 &ndash July 1, 1997) was an Academy Award nominated American film Martin Scorsese directed the 1991 remake of Cape Fear. Cape Fear is a 1991 thriller film directed by Martin Scorsese. Among other film or television adaptations of MacDonald's work, the 1984 A Flash of Green with Ed Harris was probably the most successful artistically. When Travis McGee arrived on the big screen in 1970 with Darker Than Amber, the film received favorable reviews from Roger Ebert and other critics. The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything was adapted for a 1980 TV movie that failed to capture the spirit of the original novel. The Girl the Gold Watch & Everything is a Science fiction novel written by John D The novella "Linda" was filmed twice for television, in 1973 (with Stella Stevens in the title role) and 1993 (with Virginia Madsen). Virginia Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress. The 1980 TV movie Condominium, based on MacDonald's novel, starred Dan Haggerty and Barbara Eden.

Bibliography

Travis McGee novels

In chronological order:

Non-series novels

Anthologies

Short story collections

Science fiction

Non-fiction

References

External links

© 2009 citizendia.org; parts available under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License, from http://en.wikipedia.org
 Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic