Rex Ellingwood Beach (September 1, 1877 – December 7, 1949) was an American

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 ...

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, and Olympic

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

player.

Early life

Rex Beach was born in Atwood, Michigan, but moved to

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, with his family where his father was growing fruit trees. Beach studied at Rollins College, Florida (1891–1896), the

Chicago College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

(1896–97), and Kent College of Law,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

(1899–1900). In 1900 he was drawn to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

at the time of the Klondike Gold Rush.

Olympics

In 1904, Beach was a member of the American water polo team which won the silver medal in the 1904 Summer Olympics in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Writing career

After five years of unsuccessful prospecting, he turned to writing. His second novel '' The Spoilers'' (1906) was based on a true story of corrupt government officials stealing gold mines from prospectors, which he witnessed while he was prospecting in Nome, Alaska. ''The Spoilers'' became one of the best selling novels of 1906. His adventure novels, influenced by

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

, were immensely popular throughout the early 1900s. Beach was lionized as the "

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

of the North," but others found his novels formulaic and predictable. Critics described them as cut from the "he-man school" of literature. Historian

Stephen Haycox Stephen Walter Haycox is an emeritus professor of history at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA), author, and columnist for the ''Anchorage Daily News''. He has written about the history of Alaska. He was born in the Upper Midwest and went ...

has said that many of Beach's works are "mercifully forgotten today." One novel, ''The Silver Horde'' (1909), is set in Kalvik, a fictionalized community in Bristol Bay, Alaska, and tells the story of a down on his luck gold miner who discovers a greater wealth in Alaska's run of salmon (silver horde) and decides to open a cannery. To accomplish this he must overcome the relentless opposition of the "salmon trust," a fictionalized Alaska Packers' Association, which undercuts his financing, sabotages his equipment, incites a longshoremen's riot and bribes his fishermen to quit. The story line includes a love interest as the protagonist is forced to choose between his fiancée, a spoiled banker's daughter, and an earnest roadhouse operator, a woman of "questionable virtue." Real-life cannery superintendent

Crescent Porter Hale Crescent Porter Hale (1872–1937) was an American industrialist who was involved in the canned salmon industry in Bristol Bay, Alaska throughout his adult life. Early life Born in Santa Cruz, CA as the 7th child of gold rush pioneer Titus Hal ...

has been credited with being the inspiration for ''The Silver Horde'', but it is unlikely Beach and Hale ever met. After success in literature, many of his works were adapted into successful films; ''The Spoilers'' became a stage play, then was remade into movies five times from 1914 to 1955, with

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and John Wayne each playing "Roy Glennister" in 1930 and 1942, respectively. ''The Silver Horde'' was twice made into a movie, as a silent film in 1920 starring

Myrtle Stedman Myrtle Stedman (born Myrtle Lincoln; March 3, 1883 – January 8, 1938) was an American leading lady and later character actress in motion pictures who began in silent films in 1910. Biography Stedman was born Myrtle Lincoln in Chicago, Ill ...

, Curtis Cooksey and Betty Blythe and directed by

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a British-born American film director, actor, scriptwriter, and producer. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its preside ...

; and a talkie version '' The Silver Horde'' (1930) that starred

Jean Arthur Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American Broadway and film actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s. Arthur had feature roles in three F ...

Joel McCrea Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned a wide variety of genres over almost five decades, including comedy, drama, romance, thrillers, adventures, and Westerns, for which he bec ...

, and

Evelyn Brent Evelyn Brent (born Mary Elizabeth Riggs; October 20, 1895 – June 4, 1975) was an American film and stage actress. Early life Brent was born in Tampa, Florida, and known as Betty. When she was age 10, her mother Eleanor (née. Warner) died, ...

and was directed by

George Archainbaud George Archainbaud (May 7, 1890 – February 20, 1959) was a French-American film and television director. Biography In the beginning of his career he worked on stage as an actor and manager. He came to the United States in January 1914, and s ...

. Beach occasionally produced his films and also wrote a number of plays to varying success. In 1926 Beach was paid $25,000 to write a brochure entitled ''The Miracle of Coral Gables'' to promote the real estate development of

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

, a planned city.

Death and legacy

In 1949, two years after the death of his wife Edith, Beach committed suicide in

Sebring, Florida Sebring ( ) is a city in the south-central Florida and is the county seat of Highlands County, Florida, United States, nicknamed "The City on the Circle", in reference to Circle Drive, the center of the Sebring Downtown Historic District. As of t ...

at the age of 72. In 2005, when the home Beach lived in was remodeled, a bullet was found in the wall, believed to be the bullet that ended his life. Beach served as the first president of the Rollins College Alumni Association. He and his wife are buried in front of the Alumni house. Beach, and his most famous novel, were commemorated in 2009 by the naming of a public pedestrian/bicycle trail in Dobbs Ferry, NY, a former place of residence. The trail is called "Spoilers Run".

Novels

* ''Pardners'' (1905) (10 short stories) * '' The Spoilers'' (1906) * ''The Barrier'' (1908) * ''The Silver Horde'' (1909) * ''Going Some'' (1910) * ''The Ne'er-Do-Well'' (1911) * ''The Net'' (1912) * ''The Iron Trail'' (1913) * ''The Auction Block'' (1914) * ''Heart of the Sunset'' (1915) * ''Rainbow's End'' (1916) * ''The Crimson Gardenia'' (1916) (short stories) * ''Laughing Bill Hyde'' (1917) (short stories) * ''The Winds of Chance'' (1918) * ''Too Fat to Fight'' (1919) * ''Oh, Shoot'' (1921) * ''Flowing Gold'' (1922) * ''Big Brother'' (1923) * ''North of Fifty-Three'' (1925) * ''The Goose Woman'' * ''Padlocked'' * ''The Mating Call'' * ''Don Careless'' and ''Birds of Prey'' (1928) * ''Son of the Gods'' (1929) * ''Money Mad'' * ''Men of the Outer Islands'' * ''Beyond Control'' * ''Alaskan Adventures'' * ''Hands of Dr. Locke'' * ''Masked Women'' * ''Wild Pastures'' * ''Jungle Gold'' * ''Valley of Thunder'' * ''The World in His Arms'' (1946)

Films based on his novels

* '' The Spoilers'' (dir.

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney, ...

, 1914) * ''

The Ne'er-Do-Well ''The Ne'er-Do-Well'' is a 1923 American comedy silent film directed by Alfred E. Green. The film stars Thomas Meighan, Lila Lee, Gertrude Astor, John Miltern, Gus Weinberg, and Sidney Smith. The screenplay by Rex Beach and Louis Stevens is ...

'' (dir.

, 1916) * ''

Pardners ''Pardners'' is a 1956 American comedy western film starring the comedy team of Martin and Lewis. It was released on July 25, 1956 by Paramount Pictures. A western spoof directed by Norman Taurog, this was the penultimate film of the 16 screen c ...

'' (1917) * ''

The Barrier The Barrier is a lava dam retaining the Garibaldi Lake system in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. It is over thick and about long where it impounds the lake. The area below and adjacent to The Barrier is considered hazardous due to the u ...

'' (dir. Edgar Lewis, 1917) * ''

The Auction Block ''The Auction Block'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Hobart Henley. The film stars Charles Ray and Eleanor Boardman. It is written by Fanny and Frederic Hatton and is based on the novel of the same name by Rex Beach. The ...

'' (dir.

Laurence Trimble Laurence Norwood Trimble (February 15, 1885 – February 8, 1954) was an American silent film director, writer and actor. Trimble began his film career directing Jean, the Vitagraph Dog, the first canine to have a leading role in motion pictu ...

, 1917) * ''

Heart of the Sunset ''Heart of the Sunset'' is a 1918 American silent Western film starring Anna Q. Nilsson and Herbert Heyes. It was written by Rex Beach and directed by Frank Powell. It was produced by Rex Beach Pictures Company and filmed in Corpus Christi, T ...

'' (dir.

Frank Powell Frank Powell (born Francis William Powell, May 8, 1877) was a Canadian-born stage and silent film actor, director, producer, and screenwriter who worked predominantly in the United States."Ontario Births, 1869-1912", digital copy of original h ...

, 1918) * ''

Laughing Bill Hyde ''Laughing Bill Hyde'' is a lost 1918 American adventure film directed by Hobart Henley and written by Willard Mack. The film stars Will Rogers, Anna Lehr, Clarence Oliver, Joseph Herbert, Robert Conville, and Dan Mason. The film was released o ...

'' (dir.

Hobart Henley Hobart Henley (born Hess Manassah Henle; November 23, 1887 – May 22, 1964) was an American silent film actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He was involved in over 60 films either as an actor or director or both in his twenty-year career ...

, 1918) * '' The Silver Horde'' (dir.

, 1920) * ''

The Iron Trail ''The Iron Trail'' is a 1921 American silent adventure film directed by Roy William Neill and written by Dorothy Farnum. The film stars Wyndham Standing, Thurston Hall, Reginald Denny, Alma Tell, and Harlan Knight. The film was released on Oct ...

'' (dir. Roy William Neill, 1921) * '' Fair Lady'' (dir. Kenneth Webb, 1922) — based on ''The Net'' * ''

'' (dir. Alfred E. Green, 1923) * '' The Spoilers'' (dir.

Lambert Hillyer Lambert Harwood Hillyer (July 8, 1893 – July 5, 1969) was an American film director and screenwriter. Biography Lambert Harwood Hillyer was born July 8, 1893, in Tyner, Indiana. His mother was character actress Lydia Knott. A graduate of ...

, 1923) * '' Big Brother'' (dir.

Allan Dwan Allan Dwan (born Joseph Aloysius Dwan; April 3, 1885 – December 28, 1981) was a pioneering Canadian-born American motion picture director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life Born Joseph Aloysius Dwan in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Dwan, was ...

, 1923) * '' Flowing Gold'' (dir.

Joseph De Grasse Joseph Louis De Grasse (May 4, 1873 – May 25, 1940) was a Canadian film director. Born in Bathurst, New Brunswick, he was the elder brother of actor Sam De Grasse. Biography Joseph De Grasse had studied and was a first-class graduate of acc ...

, 1924) * '' The Recoil'' (dir. T. Hayes Hunter, 1924) * ''

A Sainted Devil ''A Sainted Devil'' is a 1924 American silent drama film directed by Joseph Henabery and starring Rudolph Valentino. The film was produced by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky. Plot As described in a review in a film magazine, in accordance wit ...

'' (dir.

Joseph Henabery Joseph Henabery (January 15, 1888 – February 18, 1976) of Omaha, Nebraska, was a film actor, screenplay writer, and director in the United States. He is best known for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln in D.W. Griffith's controversial 1915 sil ...

, 1924) — based on ''Rope's End'' * ''

The Goose Woman The Goose Woman is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Clarence Brown and starring Louise Dresser with Jack Pickford as her son. The film was released by Universal Pictures.

'' (dir.

Clarence Brown Clarence Leon Brown (May 10, 1890 – August 17, 1987) was an American film director. Early life Born in Clinton, Massachusetts, to Larkin Harry Brown, a cotton manufacturer, and Katherine Ann Brown (née Gaw), Brown moved to Tennessee when he ...

, 1925) * ''

Winds of Chance ''Winds of Chance'' is a 1925 American silent drama film directed by Frank Lloyd and produced and released by First National Pictures. Plot As described in a film magazine reviews, when Pierce Phillips finds he has no money to meet the governm ...

'' (dir.

, 1925) * ''

'' (dir.

, 1926) * ''

'' (dir. George Hill, 1926) * ''

Padlocked ''Padlocked'' is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by Allan Dwan and written by Rex Beach, Becky Gardiner, and James Shelley Hamilton. The film stars Lois Moran, Noah Beery Sr., Louise Dresser, Helen Jerome Eddy, Allan Simpson, Floren ...

'' (dir.

, 1926) * ''

The Michigan Kid ''The Michigan Kid'' is a 1947 American Cinecolor Western film directed by Ray Taylor and starring Jon Hall, Victor McLaglen, Rita Johnson, and Andy Devine. It was Hall's first film after getting out of the army and filming began 15 April 1 ...

'' (dir.

Irvin Willat Irvin V. Willat (November 18, 1890 – April 17, 1976) was an American film director of the silent film era. A short biography reprinted from ''Blue Book of the Screen'' (1923). He directed 39 films between 1917 and 1937. Early in his career ...

, 1928) * '' The Mating Call'' (dir.

James Cruze James Cruze (born James Cruze Bosen; March 27, 1884 – August 3, 1942) was a silent film actor and film director. Early years Cruze's middle name came from the battle of Vera Cruz. He was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, 1928) * ''

Son of the Gods ''Son of the Gods'' is a 1930 American pre-Code romantic drama film with Technicolor sequences, produced and released by First National Pictures, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Rex Beach. Richard ...

'' (dir.

, 1930) * '' The Spoilers'' (dir.

Edwin Carewe Edwin Carewe (March 3, 1883 – January 22, 1940) was an American motion picture director, actor, producer, and screenwriter. His birth name was Jay John Fox; he was born in Gainesville, Texas. Career After brief studies at the Universities of ...

, 1930) * '' The Silver Horde'' (dir.

, 1930) * ''

White Shoulders ''White Shoulders'' is a lost 1931 American pre-Code comedy-drama film directed by Melville W. Brown and starring Mary Astor and Jack Holt, with major supporting roles by Ricardo Cortez and Sidney Toler. The film was produced and distributed b ...

'' (dir.

Melville W. Brown Melville W. Brown (March 10, 1887 – January 31, 1938) was an American film director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He began his career on the local stage in Oregon, in stock companies and vaudeville, before moving to California and wor ...

, 1931) — based on ''The Recoil'' * ''

Young Donovan's Kid ''Young Donovan's Kid'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code melodrama film directed by Fred Niblo, from a screenplay by J. Walter Ruben, based upon the short story, ''Big Brother'', by Rex Beach. It was a remake of a 1923 Big Brother ...

'' (dir.

Fred Niblo Fred Niblo (born Frederick Liedtke; January 6, 1874 – November 11, 1948) was an American pioneer film actor, director and producer. Biography He was born Frederick Liedtke (several sources give "Frederico Nobile", apparently erroneously) in Yo ...

, 1931) — based on ''Big Brother '' * ''

The Past of Mary Holmes ''The Past of Mary Holmes'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film, directed by Harlan Thompson and Slavko Vorkapich, and released by RKO. The film is a remake of the silent film ''The Goose Woman'' (1925), which is based on a short story by Re ...

'' (dir.

Harlan Thompson Harlan Thompson (24 September 1890 – 29 October 1966) was an American theatre director, screenwriter, lyricist, film director, and film and television producer. He wrote the Broadway hit '' Little Jessie James'' (1923–24), and several oth ...

and

Slavko Vorkapich Slavoljub "Slavko" Vorkapić ( sr-Cyrl, Славољуб "Славко" Воркапић; March 17, 1894 – October 20, 1976), known in English as Slavko Vorkapich, was a Serbian-born Hollywood montagist, an independent cinematic artist, chair ...

, 1933) — based on ''The Goose Woman'' * ''

'' (dir.

Lesley Selander Lesley Selander (May 26, 1900 – December 5, 1979) was an American film director of Western (genre), Westerns and adventure film, adventure movies. His career as director, spanning 127 feature films and dozens of TV episodes, lasted from 1936 to ...

, 1937) * '' Flowing Gold'' (dir. Alfred E. Green, 1940) * '' The Spoilers'' (dir. Ray Enright, 1942) * ''

'' (dir. Ray Taylor, 1947) * '' The Avengers'' (dir. John H. Auer, 1950) — based on ''Don Careless'' * ''

The World in His Arms ''The World in His Arms'' is a 1952 seafaring adventure film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Gregory Peck, Ann Blyth and Anthony Quinn, with John McIntire, Carl Esmond, Andrea King, Eugenie Leontovich, Hans Conried, and Sig Ruman. Made by U ...

'' (dir. Raoul Walsh, 1952) * '' The Spoilers'' (dir.

Jesse Hibbs Jesse John Hibbs (January 11, 1906 – February 4, 1985) was an American film and television director and American football player. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC), where he was an All-American tackle ...

, 1955)

References

External links

* * * * * *
Rex Beach Collection at Rollins College Library
* Rex Beach Papers. Yale Collection of Western Americana, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beach, Rex 1877 births 1949 suicides 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American male water polo players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in water polo People from Antrim County, Michigan People from Nome, Alaska People of the Klondike Gold Rush Rollins College alumni Suicides by firearm in Florida Water polo players at the 1904 Summer Olympics Novelists from Michigan People from Dobbs Ferry, New York Writers from Tampa, Florida Chicago-Kent College of Law alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights Medalists at the 1904 Summer Olympics People from Sebring, Florida Novelists from Florida