Robert Arthur Jr. (November 10, 1909 – May 2, 1969) was a writer and editor of

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

and

speculative fiction Speculative fiction is a term that has been used with a variety of (sometimes contradictory) meanings. The broadest interpretation is as a category of fiction encompassing genres with elements that do not exist in reality, recorded history, nat ...

known for his work with ''

The Mysterious Traveler ''The Mysterious Traveler'' was an anthology radio series, a magazine, and a comic book. All three featured stories which ran the gamut from fantasy and science fiction to straight crime dramas of mystery and suspense. Radio Written and direct ...

'' radio series and for writing ''

The Three Investigators The Three Investigators is an American juvenile detective book series first published as "''Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators''". It was created by Robert Arthur Jr., who believed involving a famous person such as movie director Alfr ...

'', a series of young adult novels. Arthur was honoured twice by the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

with an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Radio Drama. He also wrote scripts Alfred Hitchcock's TV show, ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was r ...

''.

Biography

Personal life

Arthur was born on November 10, 1909, in

Fort Mills Fort Mills ( Corregidor, the Philippines) was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays in early World War II, and was the largest seacoast ...

Corregidor Island Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

while his father, Robert Arthur Sr., was stationed there as a lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

. Arthur spent his childhood moving from place to place, wherever his father was stationed. Although he was accepted to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

Arthur decided not to pursue a military career like his father and instead in 1926 enrolled at William and Mary College in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

. After two years, he transferred to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he graduated from with a B.A. in English in 1930. Arthur died at the age of fifty-nine in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

, on May 2, 1969.

Professional career

After graduating, he worked as an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

and later returned to the University of Michigan where he completed his M.A. in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (p ...

in 1932.

Writing for fiction magazines and TV

His stories were published in, among other magazines, ''

The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'', ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'', '' Mercury Mystery '', ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'', ''

Argosy All-Story Weekly ''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...

'', '' Black Mask'', ''

Collier's ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened in 1905 to ''Coll ...

,'' ''

Detective Fiction Weekly A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

'', ''Detective Tales'', '' Double Detective'', '' The Illustrated Detective Magazine'', ''

The Phantom Detective ''The Phantom Detective'' was the second pulp hero magazine published, after ''The Shadow''. The first issue was released in February 1933, a month before ''Doc Savage'', which was released in March 1933. The title continued to be released un ...

'', ''

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

'', ''

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', ...

'', ''

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...

s Detective Story Magazine, '' Thrilling Detective'', '' Unknown Worlds'' and ''

Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

''. Additionally, Arthur wrote a number of mystery novels for children and young adults. His most successful stories were a series of mystery books called ''The Three Investigators''. In 1959, he moved to

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) * Hollywoo ...

and began writing and editing screenplays and scripts for television shows.

Radio

Arthur, along with his writing partner David Kogan, was honoured twice by the

with an

for Best Radio Drama. First in 1950 for ''Murder by Experts'', and then in 1953 for ''

''. Other radio credits include: ''Dark Destiny'' (1942), ''Adventure Into Fear'' (1945), ''The Sealed Book'' (1945), ''The Teller of Tales'' (1950) and ''Mystery Time'' (1952).

Bibliography

"Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" novels

* 1: ''

The Secret of Terror Castle ''The Secret of Terror Castle'' is an American juvenile detective novel written by Robert Arthur, Jr. It is the first book in the " Three Investigators" series. Plot Three boys are investigating a known haunted house A haunted house, ...

'' (1965) * 2: '' The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot'' (1965) * 3: '' The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy'' (1965) * 4: ''The Mystery of the Green Ghost'' (1965) * 5: '' The Mystery of the Vanishing Treasure'' (1966) * 6: ''The Secret of Skeleton Island'' (1966) * 7: '' The Mystery of the Fiery Eye'' (1967) * 8: ''

The Mystery of the Silver Spider ''The Mystery of the Silver Spider'' is a book in the ''Three Investigators'' series by Robert Arthur Jr. Plot In this episode, the Three Investigators almost run into Prince Djaro with their car. Djaro is the soon-to-be ruler of the fictional ...

'' (1967) * 9: '' The Mystery of the Screaming Clock'' (1968) * 11: ''The Mystery of the Talking Skull'' (1969) Three Investigator novels numbered 10 and 12 to 43 were written by other authors.

Short story collections by Robert Arthur Jr.

* ''Ghosts and More Ghosts'' (1963) * ''Mystery and More Mystery'' (1966) * ''The Midnight Visitor''

Short story collections edited by Robert Arthur Jr.

* ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories for Late at Night'' (1961) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Haunted Houseful'' (1961) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Ghostly Gallery'' (1962) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Solve-Them-Yourself-Mysteries'' (1963) (All stories written by Robert Arthur with the exception of "''The Mystery of the Sinister Theft''") * ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories That My Mother Never Told Me'' (1963) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Monster Museum'' (1965) * ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories Not for the Nervous'' (1965) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Sinister Spies'' (1966) * ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories That Scared Even Me'' (1967) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbinders in Suspense'' (1967) * ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents Stories They Wouldn't Let Me Do On TV'' (1968) * ''Davy Jones Haunted Locker'' (1965) * ''Spies and More Spies'' (1967) * ''Thrillers and More Thrillers'' (1968) * ''Monster Mix'' (1968) * ''Alfred Hitchcock's Daring Detectives'' (1969)

Television writing credits

* ''

The Unforeseen ''The Unforeseen'' was a Canadian drama television series which aired on CBC Television from 1958 to 1960. Premise This anthology series featured stories of suspense or plots with surprise endings. Donald Jack and executive producer Peter Franci ...

'' (1960) * ''

Matinee Theatre ''Matinee Theater'' is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from October 31, 1955, to June 27, 1958. Its name is often seen as ''Matinee Theatre''. The series, which ran daily from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. E ...

'' (1955) (episode: "The Babylonian Heart") * ''

'' (episode: "The Jokester") * ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' (1961–1962) (episodes: "An Attractive Family", "Dialogues with Death", "The Prisoner in the Mirror")

References

External links

Biography by daughter Elizabeth Arthur

at

series fansite * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Robert Jr. 1909 births 1969 deaths * 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American fantasy writers American horror writers American male novelists American mystery writers American male screenwriters Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery Edgar Award winners American male short story writers Hampton High School (Virginia) alumni Three Investigators University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American screenwriters