Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May 5, 1908 – October 12, 1964) was an American writer,

newspaperman 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 ...

, and government consultant. Frank's best known work is the

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Alas, Babylon ''Alas, Babylon'' is a 1959 novel by American writer Pat Frank (the pen name of Harry Hart Frank). It was one of the first apocalyptic novels of the nuclear age and has remained popular more than half a century after it was first published, cons ...

'', and '' Forbidden Area''.

Biography

Frank was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1908. He was known by the nickname Pat throughout his life. He was a journalist and information handler for several newspapers, agencies, and government bureaus. During his early career, he lived mainly in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and overseas during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He worked for the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and othe ...

and was a correspondent in Italy,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Germany, and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. He died at age 56 of

acute pancreatitis Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a sudden inflammation of the pancreas. Causes in order of frequency include: 1) a gallstone impacted in the common bile duct beyond the point where the pancreatic duct joins it; 2) heavy alcohol use; 3) systemic disea ...

on October 12, 1964, in Atlantic Beach, Florida, just east of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

.(13 October 1964)
Pat Frank, Author; Was 57
''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and fo ...

'' (UPI story) p. 30(13 October 1964)
Pat Frank Dies at 57, Author and Newsman
''

Washington Evening Star ''The Washington Star'', previously known as the ''Washington Star-News'' and the Washington ''Evening Star'', was a daily afternoon newspaper published in Washington, D.C., between 1852 and 1981. The Sunday edition was known as the ''Sunday Star ...

'', p. B5.

Works

Nearly all men are sterile in '' Mr. Adam'' (

1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...

), Frank's first published work. His other novels include ''

Hold Back the Night Hold may refer to: Physical spaces * Hold (ship), interior cargo space * Baggage hold, cargo space on an airplane * Stronghold, a castle or other fortified place Arts, entertainment, and media * Hold (musical term), a pause, also called a Ferma ...

'', ''An Affair of State,'' and '' Forbidden Area.'' Frank's experiences reporting on the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

are described in his autobiographical travelogue ''The Long Way Round'' and influenced ''

''. Frank wrote his most popular work, the post-apocalyptic novel ''

'', while living in Tangerine, Florida, on Lake Beauclaire near Mount Dora. Vivian Owens, an author familiar with local history, states that "Pistolville", the name Frank gave to an area near Fort Repose in the novel, was in fact a location situated between the southern edge of Mount Dora to its north and Tangerine to its south. According to Owens, greater Mount Dora was intended by Frank to be the model for his semi-fictional Fort Repose.Soergel, Matt (15 June 2009).
"Pat Frank's ''Alas, Babylon'' 50 years later"
''

The Florida Times-Union ''The Florida Times-Union'' is a daily newspaper in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Widely known as the oldest newspaper in the state, it began publication as the ''Florida Union'' in 1864. Its current incarnation started in 1883, when th ...

'' Frank also wrote a 160-page non-fiction book, ''How To Survive the H Bomb And Why'' (1962). Frank's fiction provided the basis for several TV dramas and two feature films, the 1956 drama ''

'' and

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

' 1964 comedy ''

Man's Favorite Sport? ''Man's Favorite Sport?'' is a 1964 American comedy film starring Rock Hudson and Paula Prentiss and directed and produced by Howard Hawks. Hawks intended the film to be an homage to his own 1938 screwball classic ''Bringing Up Baby'' with Katha ...

'' (based on Frank's short story "The Girl Who Almost Got Away"). His novel '' Forbidden Area'' was adapted by

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter, playwright, television producer, and narrator/on-screen host, best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his anthology television series ...

for the 1957 debut episode of the television anthology series ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of th ...

'', starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten ...

. An April 3, 1960 episode of ''

'' featured ''

'', starring Don Murray and

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigious roles and character parts ...

. In addition, he wrote one original

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

, for the 1963

Bay of Pigs The Bay of Pigs ( es, Bahía de los Cochinos) is an inlet of the Gulf of Cazones located on the southern coast of Cuba. By 1910, it was included in Santa Clara Province, and then instead to Las Villas Province by 1961, but in 1976, it was rea ...

-inspired drama, ''

We Shall Return ''We Shall Return'' is a 1963 American drama film directed by Philip S. Goodman and starring Cesar Romero and Anthony Ray. It follows the flight of a Cuban family to Florida following the Cuban Revolution of 1959 and their plans to overthrow Fi ...

''.Pat Frank filmography
IMDb. Retrieved 2013-04-01. Frank received the American Heritage Foundation Award in 1961.

Bibliography

* '' Mr. Adam'' (1946) * ''An Affair of State'' (1948) * ''

'' (1951) * ''The Long Way Round'' (1953) * '' Forbidden Area'' (1956) (also published as ''Seven Days to Never'') * ''

'' (1959) * ''How to Survive the H-Bomb...and Why'' (1962)

References

External links

* * *
A Guide to the Pat Frank Papers
held at

George A. Smathers Libraries The George A. Smathers Libraries of the University of Florida constitute one of the largest university library systems in the United States. The system includes eight of the nine libraries of the University of Florida and provides primary support ...

of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frank, Pat 1908 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Deaths from pancreatitis Novelists from Florida People of the United States Office of War Information People from Atlantic Beach, Florida People from Orange County, Florida Survivalists University of Florida alumni 20th-century pseudonymous writers

Biography

Works

Bibliography

See also

References

Further reading

External links