Wayne D. Overholser (born September 4, 1906 in

Pomeroy, Washington Pomeroy is a city in Garfield County, Washington, United States. The population was 1,425 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of and only incorporated city in Garfield County. Geography Pomeroy is located at (46.473334, -117.598119). A ...

; † died August 27, 1996 in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a home rule city that is the county seat and most populous municipality of Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, making it the 12th most populous city in Color ...

), was an American Western writer. Overholser won the 1953 First

Spur Award for Best Western Novel This is a list of the works of fiction which have won the Spur Award for Best Western Novel: * 1953 - Novel: "Lawman" by Wayne D. Overholser using the pseudonym Lee Leighton * 1954 - Novel: "The Violent Land" by Wayne D. Overholser (2) * 1955 - No ...

for ''Lawman'' using the pseudonym Lee Leighton. ''Lawman'' was made into the motion picture ''

Star in the Dust ''Star in the Dust'' is a 1956 American Western film directed by Charles F. Haas and starring John Agar, Mamie Van Doren and Richard Boone. In the town of Gunlock, sheriff Bill Jorden is due to hang Sam Hall for cattle-stealing. Jorden has to ...

'', starring

John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and ''She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In hi ...

and

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

(and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

in his first - uncredited -

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

role), in 1956. In 1955 he won the 1954 (second)

Spur Award Spur Awards are literary prizes awarded annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...

for ''The Violent Land.'' He won the Spur Award for a third time in 1969 for his juvenile novel about the

Meeker Massacre Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute Indians ( Native Americans) attacked the Indian agency on their reservation, killing th ...

, with Lewis Patten. Three additional pseudonyms were John S. Daniels, Dan J. Stevens and Joseph Wayne; combinations of his three sons' names.

In popular culture

Overholser was also referenced in

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

's novel ''

Wolves of the Calla ''Wolves of the Calla'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Stephen King. It is the fifth book in his '' The Dark Tower'' series. The book continues the story of Roland Deschain, Eddie Dean, Susannah Dean, Jake Chambers, and Oy as they make ...

'', part of King's '' Dark Tower'', in which he was both mentioned explicitly, as is the namesake of a character in the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis.

Work

* ''Buckaroo's Code'' (1947) * ''West of the Rimrock'' (1949) * ''Draw or Drag'' (1950) * ''The Snake Stomper'' (1951)'' writing as Joseph Wayne * ''Law Man'' (1953)'' writing as Lee Leighton * ''Steel to the South'' (1953) * ''Fabulous Gunman'' (1954) * ''The Nester'' (1954)'' writing as John S. Daniels * ''Beyond the Pass'' (1956) writing as Lee Leighton * ''Cast a Long Shadow'' )1957) * ''The Lone Deputy'' (1960) * ''The Killer Marshal'' (1961) * ''Standoff at the River'' (1961) * ''War in Sandoval County'' (1961) * ''The Bitter Night'' (1962) * ''The Judas Gun'' (1962) * ''The Trial of Billy Peale'' (1963) * ''A Gun for Johnny Deere'' (1964) * ''To the Far Mountains'' (1964) * ''Day of Judgement'' (1965) aka ''Colorado Incident'' * ''Big Ugly'' (1966) writing as Lee Leighton * ''Ride Into Danger'' (1967) * ''Summer of the Sioux'' (1967) * ''Hanging at Pulpit Rock'' (1967) writing as Lee Leighton * ''North to Deadwood'' (1968) published in German as ''Dakota Jones'' (1969) * ''The

'' (1969)'' with Lewis B Patten * ''You'll never hang me'' (1971) writing as Lee Leighton * ''The Noose'' (1972) * ''The Long Trail North'' (1973) * ''Brand 99'' (1974) * ''Diablo Ghost'' (1978) * ''The Trouble Kid'' (1978) * ''The Cattle Queen Feud'' (1979) * ''Cassidy'' (1980)'' writing as Lee Leighton * ''Sun on the Wall'' (1981) * ''Mason County War'' (1981) * ''Dangerous Patrol'' (1982) * ''The Long Wind'' (1986) * ''Bunch Grass'' (1986) * ''Gunplay Valley: The Sweet And Bitter Land'' (1987) * ''Return of the Kid'' (1987) * ''By Gun and Spur'' (1987) * ''Red Snow'' (1988) * ''The Dry Gulcher'' (1988) * ''Gunlock'' (1988) * ''Red Is the Valley'' (1988) * ''Land of Promises'' (1989) * ''Proud Journey'' (1989) * ''Valley of Guns'' (1991) * ''Cast a Long Shadow'' (1991) * ''Desperate Man'' (1992) * ''The Violent Land'' (1992) * ''Hearn's Valley'' (1992) * ''Tough Hand'' (1992) * ''The Hunted'' (1994) * ''The Patriarch of Gunsight Flat'' (1996) * ''They Hanged Wild Bill Murphy'' (1996) * ''Nightmare in Broken Bow'' (1997) * ''Nugget City'' (1997) * ''War Party'' (1997)'' writing as John S. Daniels * ''The Violent Men'' (1997) * ''Riders of the Sundowns'' (1997) * ''Buckskin Man'' (1998) * ''The Petticoat Brigade'' (1998) * ''Oregon Trunk'' (1998) * ''Chumley's Gold'' (1999) * ''Ride the Red Trail'' (2000) * ''Tales of the West'' (2000) * ''Gunflame'' (2000) * ''The Outlaws'' (2000) * ''Gateway House'' (2001) * ''Revenge in Crow City'' (2001) * ''Rainbow Rider'' (2001) * ''The Day the Killers Came'' (2002) * ''The Three Sons of Adam Jones'' (2003) * ''The Bad Man'' (2003) * ''Wild Horse River'' (2003) * ''The Law at Miles City'' (2004) * ''Bitter Wind'' (2006) * ''Fight for the Valley'' (2007) writing as Lee Leighton * ''Tomahawk'' (2009) writing as Lee Leighton * ''Pass Creek Valley'' (2009) * ''Shadow on the Land'' (2009) * ''Law at Angel's Landing'' (2010) * ''The Man from Yesterday'' (2010) * ''Death of a Cattle King'' (2011) * ''Ten Mile Valley'' (2012) * ''The Waiting Gun'' (2013) * ''Swampland Empire'' (2013) Collections * ''The Best Western Stories of Wayne D. Overholser'' (1984) aka ''The Best Western Stories''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overholser, Wayne D. 1906 births 1996 deaths Western (genre) writers People from Pomeroy, Washington