Gary K. Wolf (born January 24, 1941) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. He is best known as the author of ''

Who Censored Roger Rabbit? ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' is a mystery novel written by Gary K. Wolf in 1981. It was later adapted by Disney and Amblin Entertainment into the critically acclaimed 1988 film ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit''. Plot Eddie Valiant is a hardboiled p ...

'' (1981), which was adapted into the hit feature-length film ''

Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...

'' (1988).

Early life and career

Wolf was born on January 24, 1941. He grew up in

Earlville, Illinois Earlville is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,613 at the 2020 census, down from 1,701 at the 2010 census. The city is part of the Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History The Earlville Post Office ...

, the son of Ed and Hattie Wolf. His father owned the town's pool hall and later had an upholstering business, while his mother worked in the school cafeteria. As an only child, Wolf would occupy himself by reading

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

stories. Wolf graduated from Earlville High School in June 1959. He later attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

, where he earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Advertising and a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Communications. He served as an Air Force Captain with the 5th Air Commando Squadron in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

, where he won a

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and two

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

s. Wolf and childhood friend

John J. Myers John Joseph Myers (July 26, 1941 – September 24, 2020) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois between 1990 and 2001, ecclesiastical superior of Turks and Caicos from 2 ...

, former Catholic Archbishop of

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.carousel horses. Because of this, Wolf was featured on the cover of the September 4, 1976 issue of Peninsula Living Magazine; the magazine issue itself also showcased his collection. Wolf resides with his wife of 50 years, Bonnie, and their cats, in Boston, Massachusetts.

Roger Rabbit

Wolf is best known for a series of comedic mystery novels featuring the now famous

Roger Rabbit Roger Rabbit is an animated anthropomorphic rabbit. The character first appeared in author Gary K. Wolf's 1981 novel, ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' In the book, Roger is second banana in a popular comic strip, "Baby Herman". Roger hires private ...

, a cartoon character who inhabits an alternate universe where so-called "

toons Toon may refer to: Places * Tōon, Ehime, a Japanese city in Ehime Prefecture * Toon, the former name of Ferdows, a city in South Khorasan Province, Iran * Toon, Somaliland, a town in the Garoodi region People * Toon (name), a list of peop ...

" (an abbreviation for the word "cartoons") and humans co-exist. The series begins with the novel ''

'' (1981), which was the basis of the film ''

'' (1988). The series continued with '' Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?'' in 1991 and '' Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?'' in 2013; these two books were non-canonical to the original book, and had more in common with the hit Disney movie. The events of ''Who Censored Roger Rabbit?'' are retconned in ''Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabit?'' as taking place within a dream Jessica Rabbit had. Wolf filed a lawsuit in 2001 against

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. Wolf claimed he was owed royalties based on the value of "gross receipts" and merchandising sales. In 2002, the trial court in the case ruled that these only referred to actual cash receipts Disney collected and denied Wolf's claim. In its January 2004 ruling, the California Court of Appeals disagreed, finding that Wolf's expert testimony regarding the customary use of "gross receipts" in the entertainment business could support a broader reading of the term. The ruling vacated the trial court's order in favor of Disney and remanded the case for further proceedings. In a March 2005 hearing, Wolf estimated he was owed $7 million. Disney's attorneys not only disputed the claim, but also said Wolf actually owed Disney $500,000–$1 million because of an accounting error discovered in preparing for the lawsuit. Wolf won the decision in July 2005, receiving between $180,000 and $400,000 in damages. In February 2013, Wolf announced that he and Erik Von Wodtke were working on a development proposal for a prequel film to ''

'' serving as a remake of the Disney buddy comedy ''

The Stooge ''The Stooge'' is a 1952 American comedy film directed by Norman Taurog and starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. The film was released nationally in the United States in February 1953 by Paramount Pictures. Plot In 1930, entertainer Bil ...

'', starring Mickey Mouse and

in place of the title characters, and depicting how Roger met his future wife Jessica in a subplot. Wolf stated the film was wending its way through Disney.

Selected bibliography

*''Killerbowl'' (September 26, 1975) () *''A Generation Removed'' (May 27, 1977) () *''The Resurrectionist'' (July 20, 1979) () *''

'' (June 6, 1981) () *'' Who P-P-P-Plugged Roger Rabbit?'' (July 30, 1991) () *''Amityville House of Pancakes Vol 3'' (December 1, 2006) () *''Space Vulture'' (March 4, 2008) () *''Penumbra eMag Vol 1 Issue 10'' (July 2012) (ISSN 2163-4092) *''The Late Great Show!'' (October 5, 2012) () *''Typical Day'' (December 7, 2012) () *''Who Wacked Roger Rabbit?'' (November 29, 2013) ()

References

External links

Official SiteSpace Vulture
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wolf, Gary K. 1941 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers People from Earlville, Illinois Writers from Brookline, Massachusetts Novelists from Illinois Novelists from Massachusetts Gies College of Business alumni American humorists United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War American Vietnam War pilots Recipients of the Air Medal United States Air Force officers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Military personnel from Illinois

Early life and career

Roger Rabbit

Selected bibliography

References

Further reading

External links