George Harmon Coxe (April 23, 1901 – January 31, 1984) was an American writer of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

. He is perhaps best known for his series featuring crime scene photographer Jack "Flashgun" Casey, which became a popular

radio show A radio program, radio programme, or radio show is a segment of content intended for broadcast on radio. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series. A single program in a series is called an episode. Radio networ ...

airing through to the 1940s.

Early years

Coxe grew up in

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is one of the principal cities of the Southern ...

, where he was born, and

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a city and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. The population was 26,523 at the 2020 cens ...

. He graduated from

Elmira Free Academy Ernie Davis Academy, formerly Elmira Free Academy, is the junior high school in Elmira, New York, United States. In September 2014 it merged with Southside High School (now Elmira High School). It has 855 students in grades 7–8 with a student- ...

, then attended Cornell and Purdue for one year each and then worked for newspapers in New York, Florida, and California. After working for a printer for five years, he became a full-time writer.

Overview

Coxe started writing around 1922, initially working as a newspaperman and penning stories for nickel-and-dime

pulp fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhame ...

publications. To maximize his earnings, he originally wrote in many genres, including romance and adventure stories. But he was especially fond of crime fiction and soon made it his specialty. He wrote his first book in 1935. His series characters in the mystery genre are Jack "Flashgun" Casey, Kent Murdock, Leon Morley, Sam Crombie, Max Hale and Jack Fenner. Casey and Murdock are both

detectives A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

and

photographers A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

. Coxe wrote a total of 63 novels, the last being published in 1975. He was associated with

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

as a writer. Married to Elizabeth Fowler in 1929, Coxe had two children. He was named a Grand Master in 1964 by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

. He had been elected the group's national president by acclamation in 1952.

Novels

He wrote a total of 63 novels starting in 1937, the last being published in 1975.

Periodicals

Coxe was a regular in premier pulp magazine '' Black Mask'' from 1934-43.

Radio and television

Coxe's stories formed the basis for ''Dr. Standish, Medical Examiner'', which debuted on CBS radio on July 1, 1948.

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

starred as Standish, who helped police "in cases involving sudden death under mysterious circumstances". The Standish stories were published in national magazines. His crime photographer character was featured on radio in the series ''

Casey, Crime Photographer ''Casey, Crime Photographer'' (also known as ''Crime photographer''; ''Flashgun Casey''; ''Casey, Press Photographer''; ''Stephen Bristol, Crime Photographer'') was an American media franchise that lasted from the 1930s until the 1960s. Created b ...

'' and on television in a series with the same title.

Motion pictures

Three films were made from his stories: ''

Women Are Trouble ''Women Are Trouble'' is a 1936 American crime film directed by Errol Taggart and written by Michael Fessier. The film stars Stuart Erwin, Paul Kelly, Florence Rice, Margaret Irving, Cy Kendall and John Harrington. The film was released on July ...

'', starring

Stuart Erwin Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903 – December 21, 1967) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California. He attended Porterville High School and the University of ...

, Paul Kelly and

Florence Rice Florence Davenport Rice (February 14, 1907 – February 23, 1974) was an American film actress. Early years Florence Davenport Rice was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of the noted sportswriter Grantland Rice and Fannie Katherine ...

, released in 1936; ''

Murder with Pictures ''Murder with Pictures'' is a 1936 American crime-mystery film based on a story by George Harmon Coxe. The film was directed by Charles Barton, the screenplay was written by Jack Moffitt and Sidney Salkow. Lew Ayres starred as Kent Murdock, Gail ...

'', which starred

Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film '' All Quiet on the Western Fr ...

and

Gail Patrick Gail Patrick (born Margaret LaVelle Fitzpatrick, June 20, 1911 – July 6, 1980) was an American film actress and television producer. Often cast as the bad girl or the other woman, she appeared in more than 60 feature films between 1932 an ...

, also released in 1936; and ''

Here's Flash Casey ''Here's Flash Casey'' is a 1937 American film directed by Lynn Shores and starring Eric Linden and Boots Mallory. Plot Flash Casey is able finally to get the job as photographer at Globe Press. And he would like to marry newspaper woman Kay Lann ...

'', starring

Eric Linden Eric Linden (September 15, 1909 – July 14, 1994) was an American actor, primarily active during the 1930s. Early years Eric Linden was born in New York City to Phillip and Elvira (née Lundborg) Linden, both of Swedish descent. His father ...

and

Boots Mallory Patricia "Boots" Mallory (October 22, 1913 – December 1, 1958) was an American film actress, dancer, and model. Career Mallory grew up in Mobile, Alabama, where her father operated a tugboat. She attended Murphy High School, and was work ...

, released in 1938.

Awards

Coxe was the 1964 recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's prestigious Grand Master Award representing the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery field. This award represents significant output of quality in mystery writing

References

External links

* * George Harmon Coxe Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coxe, George Harmon 1901 births 1984 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers Edgar Award winners People from Olean, New York Writers from New York City Dime novelists 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)