Charles E. Fritch (January 20, 1927October 11, 2012) was an American author and editor of fantasy, science fiction,

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

and

mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...

. He was the editor of ''

Mike Shayne Mystery Magazine Michael "Mike" Shayne is a fictional private detective character created during the late 1930s by writer Brett Halliday, a pseudonym of Davis Dresser. The character appeared in a series of seven films starring Lloyd Nolan for Twentieth Century Fo ...

'' from 1979 until 1985. His short story, "Misfortune Cookie", was adapted for an episode of the television series '' The Twilight Zone''.

Life and career

Fritch was born in Utica, New York. Beginning at age 10, he wanted to become a science fiction writer and kept notes of story ideas in a notebook. He served during World War II as a paratrooper, and later graduated from New York state's

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

with a degree in English and a minor in Psychology (the latter, he claimed, so that he could "get inside the heads of his story characters"). During the early 1950s, he relocated to Los Angeles where he met

William F. Nolan William Francis Nolan (March 6, 1928 – July 15, 2021) was an American author who wrote hundreds of stories in the science fiction, fantasy, horror, and crime fiction genres.Jason V. Brock, "Finding Sanctuary: Running from the Zone to Logan" i ...

with whom he been corresponding about Nolan's publication The Ray Bradbury Review. Nolan introduced him to author Charles Beaumont, and he soon became a member of "The Group", also referred to as The Southern California School of Writers, whose members included Beaumont, Nolan,

John Tomerlin John Tomerlin (March 26, 1930 – November 25, 2014) was an American author and screenwriter. Major works Tomerlin's first science fiction story was ''Alienation of Affection'', published in the magazine Science Fantasy in February 1957. Under t ...

, George Clayton Johnson, Richard Matheson, OCee Ritch, Chad Oliver, and by extension, Ray Bradbury,

Robert Bloch Robert Albert Bloch (; April 5, 1917September 23, 1994) was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, psychological horror and fantasy, much of which has been dramatized for radio, cinema and television. He also wrote a relatively small ...

, and

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

. Fritch sold stories to science fiction and mystery magazines and also published the magazine ''Gamma'' with Nolan as managing editor. He also wrote provocative mystery novels, including ''Negative of a Nude'', ''7 Deadly Sinners'', and ''Strip for Murder'' and sold to various markets using several pseudonyms. He was an active science fiction fan, and was good friends with Forrest J Ackerman, frequenting the Ackermansion and attending parties in his area. He was fond of his wife, Shirley, who was reported to bear a good resemblance to

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

, and liked to prank acquaintances by having her make a grand entrance. Fritch is buried in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Selected works

Short fiction

* "The Wallpaper", ''Other Worlds Science Stories'', 1951 * "Night Talk", ''Starling Stories'', 1952. * "The Cog", ''

Astounding Science Fiction ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William C ...

'', 1953. * "The Ship", with

, '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', 1955. * "Big Wide Wonderful World", '' The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', 1958. * "The Castaway", ''Gamma'', 1963. * "Different", ''California Sorcery''. Edited by

. Cemetery Dance Publications, 1999.

Collections

* ''Crazy Mixed-Up Planet'', short story collection. Author. Powell, 1969. * ''Horses' Asteroid'', short story collection. Author. Powell, 1970.

Editor

* ''Gamma'', magazine. Editor. Star Press, 1963–1965. * ''

'', magazine. Editor. Renown Publications, 1979–1985.

Television

* "

The Misfortune Cookie "The Misfortune Cookie" is the third segment of the fourteenth episode of the first season of the television series ''The Twilight Zone''. In this segment, a restaurant critic discovers a Chinese restaurant where the fortune cookies have fortu ...

", segment. Writer. '' The Twilight Zone'', 1986.

Novels

* ''Negative of a Nude''. Author.

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns, and soon branched out into other genres, publishing its first scienc ...

, 1959. * ''Strip for Murder''. As Eric Thomas. Kozy Books, 1960. * ''7 Deadly Sinners''. As Christopher Sly. Athena Books, 1961. * ''Psycho Sinner'' As Eric Thomas, Athena Books, 1961

References

External links

Obituary: Charles E. Fritch on SF Site
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fritch, Charles E. 1927 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American novelists American horror writers American male novelists American science fiction writers Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Writers from Utica, New York American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)