Charles Leslie McFarlane (October 25, 1902 – September 6, 1977) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire to ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, who is most famous for

ghostwriting A ghostwriter is hired to write literary or journalistic works, speeches, or other texts that are officially credited to another person as the author. Celebrities, executives, participants in timely news stories, and political leaders often h ...

many of the early books in the very successful ''

Hardy Boys The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterpa ...

'' series, using the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Franklin W. Dixon Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by a variety of different authors who were part of a team that wrote The Hardy Boys novels for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (now owned by Simon & Schuster). Dixon was also the writer attributed for the ''Ted ...

Biography

Early life

The son of a school principal, McFarlane was raised in the town of

Haileybury, Ontario Temiskaming Shores is a city in the Timiskaming District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It was created by the amalgamation (politics), amalgamation of the town of New Liskeard, the town of Haileybury, and the township of Dymond in 2004. The cit ...

. He became a freelance writer shortly after high school. He and his family moved to

Whitby, Ontario Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Ajax and west of Oshawa, on the north shore of Lake Ontario and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region. It had a population of 138,501 at the 2021 census. It ...

, in 1936. This period is described in his 1975 book ''A Kid in Haileybury''.

Journalist

As a young man he worked in

Sudbury, Ontario Sudbury, officially the City of Greater Sudbury is the largest city in Northern Ontario by population, with a population of 166,004 at the 2021 Canadian Census. By land area, it is the largest in Ontario and the fifth largest in Canada. It is a ...

, as a newspaper reporter, then for a weekly paper in Toronto, before taking a job at the ''Springfield Republican'' newspaper in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

Stratemeyer Syndicate

While in the U.S., he replied to a want ad placed by the

Stratemeyer Syndicate The Stratemeyer Syndicate was a publishing company that produced a number of mystery book series for children, including Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, the various Tom Swift series, the Bobbsey Twins, the Rover Boys, and others. They published and ...

, publisher of such titles as ''

Nancy Drew Nancy Drew is a Fictional character, fictional character appearing in several Mystery fiction, mystery book series, movies, and a TV show as a teenage amateur sleuth. The books are ghostwriter, ghostwritten by a number of authors and published ...

'', ''

Tom Swift Tom Swift is the main character of six series of American juvenile science fiction and adventure novels that emphasize science, invention, and technology. First published in 1910, the series totals more than 100 volumes. The character was ...

'' and the ''

Bobbsey Twins The Bobbsey Twins are the principal characters of what was, for 75 years, the Stratemeyer Syndicate's longest-running series of American children's novels, written under the pseudonym Laura Lee Hope. The first of 72 books was published in 1904, t ...

''. As a result, he freelanced in 1926 and 1927 as one of the authors using the pseudonym

Roy Rockwood Roy Rockwood was a house pseudonym used by Edward Stratemeyer and the Stratemeyer Syndicate for boy's adventure books. The name is most well-remembered for the ''Bomba the Jungle Boy'' series. Series The following series used the Roy Rockwood ps ...

to write seven of the ''Dave Fearless'' serialized mystery novels.

The Hardy Boys

This led to his involvement with the ''Hardy Boys'', a project on which he was a large contributor, writing 19 of the first 25 books between 1927 and 1946, and 21 overall. He also wrote books in several other juvenile series, published in pulp magazines, novellas or novels over his fifty-year career, at one point writing six novels in one year. McFarlane earned as little as $85 per book during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, yet he continued because he had a growing family. According to his

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current c ...

, McFarlane regarded the Hardy Boys books as a nuisance. "In his diaries, my father talks about having to write another of those cursed books, in order to earn another $100 to buy coal for the furnace. And he never read them over afterward. It was only much later that he accepted plaudits for the work." His daughter, Norah McFarlane Perez, said in an interview that "They'd give him an outline, but to make it palatable, he'd come up with different characters and add colour and use large words, and inject his wonderful sense of humour. And then he'd finish and say, 'I will never write another juvenile book.' But then the bills would pile up and he'd start another." However, McFarlane was not bitter about not earning a cut of the enormous revenues generated by his work. "He was very philosophical about it. His attitude was, 'Look, I took these on and I was glad to get the deal.' There was no rancour," according to his daughter.

Nancy Drew, The Dana Girls

McFarlane also wrote the first four volumes of ''The Dana Girls'' series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate under the pseudonym

Carolyn Keene Carolyn Keene is the pseudonym of the authors of the Nancy Drew mystery stories and The Dana Girls mystery stories, both produced by the Stratemeyer Syndicate. In addition, the Keene pen name is credited with the Nancy Drew spin-off, ''River H ...

, which the Syndicate also used for the

series of books. Although there are claims that his last ''Hardy Boys'' book, ''The Phantom Freighter'', was actually written by his wife Amy, his biographer

Marilyn Greenwald Marilyn may refer to: * Marilyn (given name) * Marilyn (singer) (born 1962), English singer * Marilyn (hill), a type of mountain or hill in the British Isles with a prominence above 150 m * 1486 Marilyn, a Main-belt asteroid * ''Marilyn'' (19 ...

concluded that this was unlikely. In his 1976 autobiography ''Ghost of the Hardy Boys'', McFarlane says that ''The Phantom Freighter'' "was written in 1946 in motel rooms at night on a location in Nova Scotia when I was directing a film".

Film and television work

While still writing for the series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate, McFarlane returned to Canada to work for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

(NFB). As part of the NFB in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, he wrote and directed documentaries and short dramas including the 1951 documentary ''

Royal Journey ''Royal Journey'' is a National Film Board of Canada documentary film chronicling a five-week Royal tours of Canada, Royal visit by Elizabeth II, The Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, ...

'', ''Here's Hockey'', a 1953 documentary about

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

featuring

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

star

Jean Béliveau Joseph Jean Arthur Béliveau (August 31, 1931 – December 2, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's (NHL) Montreal Canadiens from 1950 to 1971. Inducted into the Ho ...

. He also wrote the documentary titled ''

Herring Hunt ''Herring Hunt'' is a 1953 National Film Board of Canada short documentary film about the operations of a herring boat off the coast of British Columbia, directed by Julian Biggs, written by Leslie McFarlane and produced by Guy Glover, which was n ...

'', nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for Live Action Short Film. Moving to Toronto he wrote for CBC television and at the suggestion of his friend

Lorne Greene Lorne Hyman Greene (born Lyon Himan Green; 12 February 1915 – 11 September 1987) was a Canadian actor, musician, singer and radio personality. His notable television roles include Ben Cartwright on the Western ''Bonanza'' and Commander Ada ...

Legacy

The Leslie McFarlane Public School in Whitby, Ontario, was named in his honour until it was demolished in early 2010 when it was deemed more expensive to repair than it would be to build a new structure. His son,

Brian McFarlane Brian McFarlane (born August 10, 1931) is a Canadian television sportscaster and author. He is also the Honorary President of the Society for International Hockey Research. He is the son of writer Leslie McFarlane. He is best known as a broad ...

, is well known as a former commentator on ''

Hockey Night in Canada CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...

''. He was the subject of the 2004 book ''The Secret of the Hardy Boys: Leslie McFarlane and the Stratemeyer Syndicate'' by

. In 2006,

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in Hamilton, Ontario, acquired Leslie McFarlane's diaries, correspondence, and early material, along with first editions of ''The Secret of the Caves'' and ''The Tower Treasure''. The university plans to acquire early first editions of all of McFarlane's books. The archive donated to McMaster is estimated to have a value of $150,000.

Bibliography

;Autobiographies * ''A Kid in Haileybury'' (1975, 2nd ed. 1996) * ''Ghost of the Hardy Boys'' (1976) ;Mysteries * ''Streets of Shadow'' (1930) * ''The Murder Tree'' (1931) * ''Agent of the Falcon'' (1975) * ''Mystery of Spider Lake'' (1975) * ''Squeeze Play'' (1975) * ''The Dynamite Flynns'' (1975) * ''The Snow Hawk'' (1976) * ''Breakaway'' (1976) ;The Hardy Boys books attributed to Leslie McFarlane: # ''

The Tower Treasure ''The Tower Treasure'' is the first volume in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 55th on ''Publishers Weekly''s All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List for the United States, with 2,209,774 ...

'' (1927) # ''

The House on the Cliff ''The House On The Cliff'' is the second book in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 72nd on the ''Publishers Weekly's'' All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List in the United States with 1 ...

'' (1927) # '' The Secret of the Old Mill '' (1927) # '' The Missing Chums'' (1928) # ''

Hunting for Hidden Gold ''Hunting For Hidden Gold'' is Volume 5 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book ranks 111th on Publishers Weekly's All-Time Bestselling Children's Book List for the United States, with 1,179,533 copi ...

'' (1928) # ''

The Shore Road Mystery ''The Shore Road Mystery'' is Volume 6 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The plot centers on attempts by the Hardy Boys to catch a ring of car thieves stealing cars from the Shore Road. This book wa ...

'' (1928) # '' The Secret of the Caves'' (1929) # ''

The Mystery of Cabin Island ''The Mystery Of Cabin Island'' is Volume 8 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1929. Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volume ...

'' (1929) # '' The Great Airport Mystery'' (1930) # '' What Happened at Midnight'' (1931) # '' While the Clock Ticked'' (1932) # '' Footprints Under the Window'' (1933) # ''

The Mark on the Door ''The Mark on the Door'' is Volume 13 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1934, purportedly by Leslie McFarlane; however, the writing style is notice ...

'' (1934) # ''

The Hidden Harbor Mystery ''The Hidden Harbor Mystery'' is Volume 14 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate in 1935, purportedly by Leslie McFarlane; however, the writing style is ...

'' (1935) # ''

The Sinister Signpost ''The Sinister Sign Post'' (later retitled ''The Sinister Signpost'' ) is Volume 15 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1936. B ...

'' (1936) # '' A Figure in Hiding'' (1937) # '' The Secret Warning'' (1938) # ''

The Flickering Torch Mystery ''The Flickering Torch Mystery'' is Volume 22 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. The book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1943. Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 vo ...

'' (1943) # ''

The Melted Coins ''The Melted Coins'' is Volume 23 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1944. Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volumes of this ...

'' (1944) # ''

The Short-Wave Mystery ''The Short-Wave Mystery'' is Volume 24 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Leslie McFarlane in 1945. Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volumes o ...

'' (1945) # ''

The Secret Panel ''The Secret Panel'' is Volume 25 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Harriet S. Adams in 1946. Between 1959 and 1973 the first 38 volumes of thi ...

'' (1946) # ''

The Phantom Freighter ''The Phantom Freighter'' is Volume 26 in the original The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories published by Grosset & Dunlap. This book was written for the Stratemeyer Syndicate by Amy McFarlane, the wife of long time Hardy Boys author Leslie McFarlane ...

'' (1947) ; Dana Girls Mystery Books # ''By the Light of the Study Lamp'' (1934) # ''The Secret at Lone Tree Cottage'' (1934) # ''In the Shadow of the Tower'' (1934) # ''A Three-Cornered Mystery'' (1935)

References

External links

Watch Leslie McFarlane's National Film Board of Canada documentaries at NFB.ca

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarlane, Leslie 1902 births 1977 deaths Canadian children's writers 20th-century Canadian novelists Canadian expatriate writers in the United States Writers from Ontario People from Carleton Place People from Temiskaming Shores Stratemeyer Syndicate Film directors from Ontario Canadian male novelists Canadian male screenwriters National Film Board of Canada people 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters Screenwriters from Ontario 20th-century pseudonymous writers