Albert Sidney Fleischman (born Avron Zalmon Fleischman; March 16, 1920 – March 17, 2010) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

author of children's books, screenplays, novels for adults, and nonfiction books about stage

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

. His works for children are known for their humor, imagery, zesty plotting, and exploration of the byways of American history. He won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished contr ...

in 1987 for ''

The Whipping Boy ''The Whipping Boy'' is a Newbery Medal-winning children's book by Sid Fleischman, first published in 1986. Plot summary Prince Horace also known as prince brat, frequently misbehaves. Since he is a prince, no one may raise a hand against hi ...

'' and the

Boston Globe–Horn Book Award The Boston Globe–Horn Book Awards are a set of American literary awards conferred by ''The Boston Globe'' and ''The Horn Book Magazine'' annually from 1967. One book is recognized in each of four categories: Fiction and Poetry, Nonfiction, and P ...

in 1979 for ''Humbug Mountain''. For his career contribution as a children's writer he was U.S. nominee for the biennial, international

Hans Christian Andersen Award The Hans Christian Andersen Awards are two literary awards given by the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), recognising one living author and one living illustrator for their "lasting contribution to children's literature". Th ...

in 1994. In 2003, the

Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization that acts as a network for the exchange of knowledge between writers, illustrators, editors, publishers, agents, librarians, educators, booksellers ...

inaugurated the Sid Fleischman Humor Award in his honor, and made him the first recipient. The Award annually recognizes a writer of humorous fiction for children or young adults. He told his own tale in ''The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life'' (1996).

Early years

Fleischman was born Avron Zalmon Fleischman in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York in 1920. His parents were

Ukrainian Jews The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...

and moved the family to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, California when Fleischman was two years old. As a youngster, he beheld his first

stage magic Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...

performance, launching a lifelong fascination that would find a place in many of his books. He learned magic from library books and the local fraternity of magicians, inventing new tricks along the way. He began performing professionally while still in high school, touring California with his friend Buddy Ryan, performing in

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s, and traveling the country with the Francisco Spook Show during the last days of vaudeville. In 1941 Fleischman joined the

U.S. Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called R ...

. He served as a

Yeoman Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century also witn ...

aboard the

destroyer escort Destroyer escort (DE) was the United States Navy mid-20th-century classification for a warship designed with the endurance necessary to escort mid-ocean convoys of merchant marine ships. Development of the destroyer escort was promoted by th ...

USS Albert T. Harris USS Albert T. Harris (DE-447) was a acquired by the U.S. Navy during World War II. The primary purpose of the destroyer escort was to escort and protect ships in convoy, in addition to other tasks as assigned, such as patrol or radar picket. Pos ...

with service near the Philippines, Borneo, and China. until 1946. He graduated from

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1949.

Career

Works for adults and the screen

At 19, Fleischman published his first book, ''Between Cocktails'', a collection of magic tricks using paper matches. His college career at

San Diego State College San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

was interrupted by

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, during which he served on a

in the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. After graduating with a degree in English, he worked as a reporter for the short-lived ''

San Diego Daily Journal The ''San Diego Daily Journal'' was a daily newspaper in San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 ...

'', covering everything from crime scenes to the political beat. After the newspaper folded, he turned to fiction. Drawing on his reporting experiences, his knowledge of magic, and his tour of the Pacific, he produced a series of novels of intrigue and adventure over the next 15 years, many set in the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. Nearly all have been recently reprinted in two-books-in-one format by Stark House Press. When one of them--''Blood Alley''—caught the eye of director

William Wellman William Augustus Wellman (February 29, 1896 – December 9, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and military pilot. He was known for his work in crime, adventure, and action genre films, often focusing on avi ...

, he hired Fleischman to adapt it to the screen. This both led to a move to

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where Fleischman lived the rest of his life, and began a decades-long involvement with

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

. After ''Blood Alley'' was filmed, starring John Wayne and Lauren Bacall, Wellman used Fleischman on several other projects, including ''

Lafayette Escadrille The La Fayette Escadrille (french: Escadrille de La Fayette) was the name of the French Air Force unit escadrille N 124 during the First World War (1914–1918). This escadrille of the ''Aéronautique Militaire'' was composed largely of Ameri ...

'', based on Wellman's own experiences as a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

pilot. Fleischman adapted his own novel ''Yellowleg'' for the screen, released as ''

The Deadly Companions ''The Deadly Companions'' is a 1961 American Western and war film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Maureen O'Hara, Brian Keith, Steve Cochran, and Chill Wills. Based on the novel of the same name by A. S. Fleischman, the film is abo ...

'', the director Sam Peckinpah's first feature. Fleischman later worked on several projects with

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in ''The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. Do ...

, including ''

Scalawag In United States history, the term scalawag (sometimes spelled scallawag or scallywag) referred to white Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts after the conclusion of the American Civil War. As with the term '' carpetb ...

''. For children, he wrote teleplays for "The Bloodhound Gang" segments of the educational ''3–2–1 Contact'' series, as well as the screenplay of ''

'' (released as ''Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy'').

Books for children

Using his three children as an audience for the first time, Fleischman wrote ''Mr. Mysterious & Company'' (1962), the adventures of a traveling magician's family in the old West. It was the first of many children's books that would draw on his background in magic and his interest in history. ''

By the Great Horn Spoon! ''By The Great Horn Spoon'' is a children's novel by Sid Fleischman, published in 1963. It tells the story of a 12-year-old boy and his English butler and their adventures in the California Gold Rush. It was adapted into the Disney film ''The Adve ...

'' mined the

California Gold Rush The California Gold Rush (1848–1855) was a gold rush that began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California fro ...

and was turned into the movie ''

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin ''The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'' is a 1967 American Western comedy film directed by James Neilson, produced by Walt Disney Productions, starring Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, Hermione Baddeley, and Karl Malden. The film's screenpl ...

''. ''The Ghost in the Noonday Sun'', ''Chancy and the Grand Rascal'', ''Jingo Django'', and ''Humbug Mountain'' (1965 to 1978) spun fiction from the facts of East Coast pirates,

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

rafting,

American Gypsies ''American Gypsies'' is an American reality television series on National Geographic Channel. The series debuted on July 17, 2012, and follows the family of John, a Gypsy family in New York City. Plot Is about a Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to ...

, and traveling printers. His series of books about Josh McBroom and his family's amazing one-acre farm made use of American

tall tales A tall tale is a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true and factual. Some tall tales are exaggerations of actual events, for example fish stories ("the fish that got away") such as, "That fish was so big, why I tell ya', it n ...

. Later works looked farther afield, from England (''

'') to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

(''The White Elephant'') to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(''The Dream Stealer''). Finding nonfiction to his liking after completing his autobiography, ''The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life'' (1996), Fleischman went on to produce biographies of

Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

, and

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

Personal life

Fleischman and his wife Betty, who died in 1993, had three children. His son

Paul Fleischman Paul Fleischman (born 1952) is an American writer of children's books. He and his father Sid Fleischman have both won the Newbery Medal from the American Library Association recognizing the year's "most distinguished contribution to American lite ...

followed him into the world of children's books. They are the only parent and child who've both won the

, the venerable

American Library Association award The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

that annually recognizes the "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". Fleischman maintained an interest in magic all his life, hosting monthly meetings of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

magicians at his home, publishing occasional articles in magic journals, and summing up what he had learned in ''The Charlatan's Handbook'' (1993). For young magicians, he wrote ''Mr. Mysterious's Secrets of Magic'' (1975). Fleischman's other interests included gardening, astronomy, hand-printing, radio, and classical guitar. Fleischman died on March 17, 2010, one day after his 90th birthday.

Works

Fiction for children or young adults

* ''Mr. Mysterious & Company'' (1962), first children's book * ''

'' (1963) * ''The Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' (1965) * ''Chancy and the Grand Rascal'' (1966) * ''McBroom Tells the Truth'' (1966) * ''McBroom and the Big Wind'' (1967) * ''McBroom's Ear'' (1970/1969) * ''Longbeard the Wizard'' (1970) * ''Jingo Django'' (1971) * ''McBroom's Ghost'' (1971) * ''McBroom's Zoo'' (1971/1972) * ''The Wooden Cat Man'' (1972) * ''McBroom the Rainmaker'' (1973) * ''The Ghost on Saturday Night'' (1974) * ''McBroom Tells a Lie'' (1976) * ''Me and the Man on the Moon-Eyed Horse'' (1977); U.K. title, ''The Man on the Moon-Eyed Horse'' *''Kate's Secret Riddle Book'' (1977) * ''McBroom and the Beanstalk'' (1978) * ''Humbug Mountain'' (1978) * ''Jim Bridger's Alarm Clock'' (1978) * ''The Hey Hey Man'' (1979) * ''McBroom and the Great Race'' (1980) *

The Bloodhound Gang The Bloodhound Gang was an American rap rock band from Collegeville, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1988 by rappers Jimmy Pop and Daddy Long Legs (now in Wolfpac) as a hip hop music, hip-hop group, before branching out into other genres as thei ...

** ''The Case of the Cackling Ghost'' (1981) ** ''The Case of the Flying Clock'' (1981) ** ''The Case of the Secret Message'' (1981) ** ''The Case of Princess Tomorrow'' (1981) ** ''The Case of the 264 Pound Burglar'' (1982) ** ''The Bloodhound Gang's Secret Code Book'' (1982) * ''McBroom's Almanac'' (1982/1984) * ''

'' (1986) * ''The Scarebird'' (1988) * ''The Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' (1999/1989) * ''The Midnight Horse'' (1990) * ''Jim Ugly'' (1992) * ''The 13th Floor: A ghost story'' (1995) * ''Bandit's Moon'' (1998) * ''A Carnival of Animals'' (2000) * ''Bo and Mzzz Mad'' (2001) * ''Disappearing Act'' (2003) * ''The Giant Rat of Sumatra'' (2005) *''The White Elephant'' (2006) *''The Entertainer and the Dybbuk'' (2008) *''The Dream Stealer'' (2009)

Nonfiction

* ''The Abracadabra Kid: A Writer's Life'' (1996) ‡ *''Escape! The Story of the Great Houdini'' (2006) *''The Trouble Begins at 8: A Life of Mark Twain in the Wild, Wild West'' (2008) *''Sir Charlie: Chaplin, the Funniest Man in the World'' (2010) ‡ For children and young adults.

Fiction for adults

* ''The Straw Donkey Case'' (1948), first novel * ''Murder's No Accident'' (1949) * ''Shanghai Flame'' (1951) * ''Look Behind You, Lady'' (1952) * ''Danger in Paradise'' (1953) * ''Malay Woman'' (1954) * ''Counterspy Express'' (1954) * ''Blood Alley'' (1955) * ''Yellowleg'' (1960) * ''The Venetian Blonde'' (1963)

Books on magic

* ''Between Cocktails'' (1939), first book *''Ready, Aim, Magic!'' (with Bob Gunther, 1942) *''Call the Witness'' (with Bob Gunther, 1943) *''The Blue Bug'' (with Bob Gunther, 1947) *''Top Secrets'' (with Bob Gunther, 1947) * ''Magic Made Easy'', as Carl March (1953) * ''Mr. Mysterious's Secrets of Magic'' (1975); U.K. title, ''Secrets of Magic'' ‡ * ''The Charlatan's Handbook'' (1993) ‡ For children and young adults.

Screenplays

* ''

Blood Alley ''Blood Alley'' is a 1955 American seafaring Cold War adventure film produced by John Wayne, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring Wayne and Lauren Bacall. The film was distributed by Warner Bros. and shot in CinemaScope and Warnercolor. ...

'' (1955) * ''

Goodbye, My Lady ''Good-bye, My Lady'' is a novel by James H. Street about a boy and his dog. It was published by J. B. Lippincott & Co., J. B. Lippincott Company in June 1954 and reprinted in paperback by Pocket Books in February 1978. It is based on Street's s ...

'', based on a

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by James Street (1956) * ''

'', Fleischman and William A. Wellman (1958) * ''

'' (1961) * ''

'', Fleischman and Albert Maltz (1973) * ''Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy'', as Max Brindle (1994)

Plays

* ''Prince Brat and the Whipping Boy'' (musical, Seattle Children's Theatre, 2000)

Adaptations

'' (Disney, 1967) is an adaptation of Fleischman's western novel ''

'', starring

Roddy McDowell Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

as Bullwhip Griffin. ''

Ghost in the Noonday Sun ''Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Peter Medak starring Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan. The film suffered a difficult production due to Sellers's erratic behavior and was not theatrically ...

'' (Tyburn, 1973) is a loose adaptation of Fleischman's novel, starring

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...

Notes

References

External links

*
''Sid Fleischman Honored by SDSU'', Santa Monica Mirror, Mar 17–23, 2004

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fleischman, Sid 1920 births 2010 deaths American children's writers 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters Deaths from cancer in California Newbery Medal winners Writers from Brooklyn Writers from Santa Monica, California San Diego State University alumni Jewish American novelists American male novelists 21st-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state) Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from California United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors United States Navy reservists 21st-century American Jews Academy of Magical Arts Literature & Media Fellowship winners