Charles Elgin Alverson (October 13, 1935 – January 19, 2020) was an American novelist, editor and screenwriter who sometimes used the byline Chuck Alverson. He co-scripted the film ''

Jabberwocky "Jabberwocky" is a nonsense poem written by Lewis Carroll about the killing of a creature named "the Jabberwock". It was included in his 1871 novel ''Through the Looking-Glass'', the sequel to '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). The ...

'' (1977).

Life and career

Alverson was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. He grew up in Los Angeles County, and graduated in 1953 from high school in Redondo Beach. After service in the 11th and 82nd Airborne divisions of the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

, he graduated from

San Francisco State College San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...

(English, 1960) and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

(Journalism, 1963). In the early 1960s Alverson was an assistant editor (under

Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book '' Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ''Little Ann ...

) of ''

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

'', taking over after

Gloria Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Steinem was a c ...

and followed by

Terry Gilliam Terrence Vance Gilliam (; born 22 November 1940) is an American-born British filmmaker, comedian, animator, actor and former member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam has directed 13 feature films, including '' Time Bandits'' (1981), '' ...

, and then a reporter for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''. During a break from the ''WSJ'' in 1967, he was a "square" (or non-addicted) resident of the anti-drug cult

Synanon Synanon is a US-founded social organization created by Charles E. "Chuck" Dederich Sr. in 1958 in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is currently active in Germany. Originally established as a drug rehabilitation program, by the early ...

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

, California, for six months. After moving to Britain in 1969, he wrote for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' and British newspapers. In 1980, Alverson was managing editor of the British

environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...

magazine ''

Vole Voles are small rodents that are relatives of lemmings and hamsters, but with a stouter body; a longer, hairy tail; a slightly rounder head; smaller eyes and ears; and differently formed molars (high-crowned with angular cusps instead of lo ...

'', financed by

Terry Jones Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team. After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...

of Monty Python. He was also founding editor of ''Insight'' (1981) and ''GIS Europe'' (1992). After living in Radnorshire,

mid-Wales Mid Wales ( cy, Canolbarth Cymru or simply ''Y Canolbarth'', meaning "the midlands") or Central Wales refers to a region of Wales, encompassing its midlands, in-between North Wales and South Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the Sene ...

from 1970 to 1975, Alverson moved to

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, England, where he was an activist, including a month-long vigil against the United States's bombing of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

in 1990 and resistance to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's poll tax. He was arrested twice but was not charged.

Films and books

Alverson was co-screenwriter of Terry Gilliam's film ''

'', and co-developer of the story and co-writer (uncredited) of the first draft of the screenplay that became ''

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

'' (1985). Alverson wrote a dozen novels (four of which have been published in six languages), including the thriller ''Fighting Back'' (1973). In ''Goodey's Last Stand'' (1975) he introduced San Francisco private eye Joe Goodey, who returned in ''Not Sleeping Just Dead'' (1977). ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' described ''Goodey's Last Stand'' as "the next best thing to finding a new and unsuspected Raymond Chandler phantasmagoria." In the crime fiction bibliography, Golden Gate Mysteries, Randal Brandt wrote: :Joe Goodey is a San Francisco shamus who appeared in two novels by Charles Alverson. Jonah Webster "Joe" Goodey makes his debut in ''Goodey's Last Stand'' (1975). He is a San Francisco homicide detective whose career is cut short when he mistakes the mayor's cousin for a gunman and shoots him. Goodey is then told, in no uncertain terms, to either resign and get the hell out of town, or face charges for attempted murder. Maybe, after things cool down, he can return to the city and get a private investigator's license. His exile from San Francisco is short-lived, however, when he is called back to the city to investigate the murder of a popular North Beach stripper named Tina D'Oro, who also happened to be a special friend of the mayor's. In ''Not Sleeping, Just Dead'' (1977), Goodey is hired to investigate the mysterious death of a young woman at a Monterey County commune/rehab clinic called The Institute. Goodey is a wisecracker who would never be accused of having enlightened views about women or minorities, but he is honest and a basically decent guy.Brandt, Randal. Golden Gate Mysteries: A Bibliography of Crime Fiction Set in the San Francisco Bay Area
/ref> Alverson's credits also included children's books, short stories and short film scripts, some of which have recently been adapted to comics by the cartoonist John Linton Roberson, including ''Rapunzel'' and the parody ''the Story of OH!''

Personal life

Alverson spent the last 22 years of his life in the village of Parage in

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

, with his wife, Živana.

References

Sources

# ''Brazil (The Evolution of the 54th Best British Film Ever Made)''. Orion books Ltd, 2001, edited by Bob McCabe.

External links