Clinton Holland Stagg (November 1888 – May 3, 1916) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and author.

Career as an author

Stagg created the fictional sleuth Thornley Colton, known as ''Problemist'', the genre's first blind detective living 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 ...

in the early 20th century. The independently wealthy Colton relies on his intelligence and superb senses, honed due to his

blindness Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

, and takes only the most difficult cases for the sheer pleasure of solving mysteries, often clashing with the

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

along the way. The Problemist series includes 8 short stories and the novel, ''Silver Sandals'' (New York : W. J. Watt & Company, 1916)." In addition, Stagg is the author the short story collection ''Thornley Colton, Blind Reader of Hearts'' (London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Company: 1915) and the novel ''High Speed'' (New York : W. J. Watt & Company, 1916). Stagg also was employed by a newspaper in Newark, New Jersey, wrote numerous short stories and magazine articles, and later became a

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. ...

of 'photoplays' during Hollywood's early era.

Career as a screenwriter

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, ...

, Stagg was employed by the

Famous Players–Lasky Corporation Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture and distribution company formed on June 28, 1916, from the merger of Adolph Zukor's Famous Players Film Company—originally formed by Zukor as Famous Players in Famous Plays—and t ...

and the

Thanhouser Company The Thanhouser Company (later the Thanhouser Film Corporation) was one of the first motion picture studios, founded in 1909 by Edwin Thanhouser, his wife Gertrude and his brother-in-law Lloyd Lonergan. It operated in New York City until 1920, ...

(later the Thanhouser Film Corporation, which operated until 1918). Stagg's

filmography A filmography is a list of films related by some criteria. For example, an actor's career filmography is the list of films they have appeared in; a director's comedy filmography is the list of comedy films directed by a particular director. The t ...

includes: 1916 ''A Gutter Magdalene'' (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Carriage of Death'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Race'' (scenario / as Clinton Stagg) 1916 ''The Fifth Ace'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Whispered Word'' (short) (story / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Reunion'' (short) (story / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Spirit of the Game'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Knotted Cord'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''The Burglars' Picnic'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) 1916 ''In the Name of the Law'' (short) (scenario / as Clinton H. Stagg) Two of Stagg's works, the novel ''High Speed'' (1916) and his short story "Teeth" (published posthumously in the defunct ''People's Magazine'', 22:1-74, February 1917), were dramatized after his death in the films ''High Speed'' (1920) and the

Tom Mix Thomas Edwin Mix (born Thomas Hezikiah Mix; January 6, 1880 – October 12, 1940) was an American film actor and the star of many early Western films between 1909 and 1935. He appeared in 291 films, all but nine of which were silent films. He w ...

vehicle ''Teeth'' (1924).

Death

Stagg was killed along with his friend, writer Malcolm Strong, when the automobile he was driving overturned on a rural road in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

, near

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' ...

. According to

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

of May 5, 1916: "The loss of a front tire caused the accident. The automobile ran into a pole and overturned, pinning Strong and Stagg under it." Stagg's friend, Thanhouser director

George Foster Platt George Foster Platt (July 27, 1866 – November 16, 1928) was an American stage actor as well as a director of stage and filmed shows. He was part of Thanhouser's short-lived Jacksonville, Florida, production unit. Platt was born in Petersburg ...

, was hospitalized after the wreck, but survived.

References

External links

The Oxford Book of American Detective Stories (1996)Partners in Crime: Vintage Gumshoes, Dicks, and Sleuths
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stagg, Clinton H. 1888 births 1916 deaths American male screenwriters American male journalists American male novelists Writers from Newark, New Jersey Road incident deaths in California American male short story writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New Jersey 20th-century American non-fiction writers Screenwriters from New Jersey 20th-century American screenwriters