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Lawrence Goldtree Blochman (February 17, 1900 – January 22, 1975) was an American detective story writer and translator. Lawrence Blochman was born in
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, to Lucien A. Blochman, a banker, and his wife Haidee Goldtree. He began writing early. As a junior at
San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sc ...
, Blochman reported school sports for the ''San Diego Evening Tribune'' and, as a senior, he replaced the ''Tribune'' sports editor who had left to serve in
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. Blochman then attended the
University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
where he edited the college newspaper, the ''Daily Californian''. In the summer he served as a police reporter for the ''Tribune'' and a courthouse reporter for the ''San Diego Sun''. He graduated from college in 1921. After graduation, he tried to write his "way around the world," working in
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for the ''Japan Advertiser'', in
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for the ''South China Morning Post'', in
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for the ''Far Eastern Review'', in
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for ''The Englishman'', and in
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for the ''Chicago Tribune''. He returned to San Diego as
city editor A city editor is a title used by a particular section editor of a newspaper. They are responsible for the daily changes of a particular issue of a newspaper that will be released in the coming day. Mostly they stay at the publication at night and t ...
of the ''Sun'' in 1924. In 1926, he married Marguerite Maillard in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
. Writing as Lawrence G. Blochman, he published more than 50 books, including many mystery and detective novels, as well as several hundred short stories, novelettes, and articles. Several of his stories were made into films, television programs, and radio shows. He also translated more than a dozen books and detective stories from the French, including novels by the celebrated Belgian writer Georges Simenon. In 1948, Blochman served as the fourth president of 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 Awa ...
, following
Baynard Kendrick Baynard Hardwick Kendrick (April 8, 1894 – March 22, 1977) was an American mystery novelist. He wrote whodunit novels about Duncan Maclain, a blind private investigator who worked with his two German shepherds and his household of assistants t ...
,
Ellery Queen Ellery Queen is a pseudonym created in 1929 by American crime fiction writers Frederic Dannay and Manfred Bennington Lee and the name of their main fictional character, a mystery writer in New York City who helps his police inspector father solve ...
, and Hugh Pentecost. In 1951, Blochman's "Diagnosis: Homicide" received an Edgar Award in the Best Short Story category. He was vice president of the
Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...
and winner of its Meritorious Service Award in 1959. He died in
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in 1975. His widow Marguerite died there in 1991. Blochman's family was of French Jewish origin and was among the pioneers in San Diego.


Bibliography

*''Bombay Mail'' (1934) *''Bengal Fire'' (1937) *''Red Snow at Darjeeling'' (1938) *''Midnight Sailing'' (1939) *''Blow Down'' (1940) *''Wives to Burn'' (1940) *''See You at the Morgue'' (1946) *''Diagnosis: Homicide'' (1950) *''Death Walks in Marble Halls'' aka ''Murder Walks in Marble Halls'' (1951) *''Pursuit'' (1951) *''Rather Cool for Mayhem'' (1952) *''Recipe for Homicide'' (1952) *''Clues for Dr. Coffee'' (1964)


External links and sources


"The Blochman Saga in San Diego"
by Trudie Casper in the ''Journal of San Diego History'', Winter 1977, Volume 23, Number 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blochman, Lawrence 1900 births 1975 deaths American mystery writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers Edgar Award winners University of California, Berkeley alumni American editors 20th-century American translators American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers San Diego High School alumni