Ernest K. Gann
Encyclopedia
Ernest Kellogg Gann was an American aviator
, author
, filmmaker
, sailor
, fisherman
and conservationist
.
, Gann was the son of a prosperous Midwestern family. His father made his fortune as an executive with General Telephone and Telegraph in Lincoln, Nebraska; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Chicago, Illinois. Rebelling against his father's strong desire that he follow in the family telephone business, Ernest pursued several other interests as he grew up. He was fascinated by several fields including film, photography, and aviation. As a young man he showed little interest in school, and performed poorly. His parents decided that he needed discipline and that he should attend military school. He was sent to the Culver Military Academy (now Culver Academies
) for his high school years. Despite many misadventures and struggles within the harsh academic environment and strict rules at Culver, he graduated in 1930. He elected to pursue filmmaking and attended the Yale School of Drama
. Following his studies at Yale
, Gann worked in New York City at Radio City Music Hall
as a projectionist and later as a commercial movie
cartoonist
.
On September 18, 1933, Gann married Eleanor Helen Michaud in Chicago, Illinois. They eventually had three children; George Kellogg Gann, born November 12, 1935; Polly Wing Gann; and Steven Anthony Gann, born March 4, 1941.
A chance encounter landed Gann a job with "The March of Time
," a documentary film
company associated with TIME
magazine. In 1936, while working on the feature "Inside Nazi Germany," Gann narrowly escaped Hitler’s advancing troops as they marched into the Rhineland
. Returning to New York, he moved his family to a new home in Rockland County where the lure of a local airport, Christie Brothers in Congers, New York, re-kindled his interest in aviation
. He purchased a half partnership in a Stinson Gull Wing airplane with actor Burgess Meredith, soon obtained his pilot license and quickly became an accomplished aviator.
ended his career in motion pictures. He moved his family to California
looking for work. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. He flew his first flights as a professional aviator in Southern California but soon returned to New York where, in 1938, Gann was hired by American Airlines
to fly the Douglas DC-2
and Douglas DC-3
.
For several years, Gann flew routes in the northeast for American Airlines. In 1942, a portion of many U.S. airlines' (including American's) pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command
of the U.S. Army Air Forces, to assist in the War Effort
. Gann and many of his friends and co-workers volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4
s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic, and to Africa, South America, and India, among other places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump
airlift across the Himalayas
into China. Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays in the years to come.
At the end of World War II the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft and American Airlines discontinued its international flying. Gann chose to leave American Airlines
and was hired on as a pilot at a new company known as Matson Airlines. MA was a venture of the Matson steamship line, flying from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, The High and the Mighty
. Matson soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he began to rely on writing as his full-time occupation.
Gann had an avid and lifelong love of the sea. He made many friends in the sailing community in and around San Francisco and, when money was tight, tried a few different jobs mainly in the commercial fishing industry. He owned several boats of various types and sizes during his lifetime. Later in his life, after years of planning and preparations, Gann purchased a large metal sailboat in Rotterdam, Holland, which he christened Albatross. He, his family, and a few friends sailed the boat across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and on to San Francisco Bay. Albatross was overhauled and Gann then sailed her around the South Pacific. He later leased the ship to a film company as the major prop in a movie based upon his book, Twilight for the Gods. Shortly after the production wrapped, Albatross was sold and became a school vessel. She was later lost in the Gulf of Mexico. (Her sinking is the subject of a 1996 movie called White Squall
.)
As his family life was deteriorating, Gann began spending much of his time with a friend, Dodie Post, whom he would eventually marry. Both before and after they were married they were partners in adventure, travel, and later, environmental causes. In 1966 Ernest and Dodie purchased an 800 acres (3.2 km²) ranch on San Juan Island
, Washington. This marked the beginning of his next great passion: environmental conservation
. To that end, they later donated the bulk of their ranch to the San Juan Preservation Trust
.
Gann converted a chicken coop near their ranch house into a writing office. After his death, the Experimental Aircraft Association
(EAA) moved the entire coop and its furnishings, including the barber's chair Gann used at his desk, to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where it is on public display.
In the fall of 1991, Gann again took to the skies to mark the 50th anniversary of his promotion to Captain at American Airlines. It would be his last flight. On December 19, 1991, Gann died in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, at the age of 81.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty
and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter
. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic
rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978 he published his comprehensive autobiography, A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation
, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea
. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television
shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter
, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada
, based on The Antagonists, and the story for the 1980 Walt Disney movie, The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
.
Other honors included , Washington Governor Gary Locke posthumously awarded the Medal of Merit (the state’s highest honor) to Gann on July 9, 2003.
In Friday Harbor, a cafe named "Ernie's Cafe" was opened in honor of his accomplishments.
Gann contributed numerous articles to the aviation magazine Flying
. In one series he described his exotic travels with wife Dodie in their Cessna 310
, the Noon Balloon, so named because of its typical late departure time.
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, filmmaker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, sailor
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
, fisherman
Fisherman
A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...
and conservationist
Conservationist
Conservationists are proponents or advocates of conservation. They advocate for the protection of all the species in an ecosystem with a strong focus on the natural environment...
.
Early life
Born in Lincoln, NebraskaLincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
, Gann was the son of a prosperous Midwestern family. His father made his fortune as an executive with General Telephone and Telegraph in Lincoln, Nebraska; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Chicago, Illinois. Rebelling against his father's strong desire that he follow in the family telephone business, Ernest pursued several other interests as he grew up. He was fascinated by several fields including film, photography, and aviation. As a young man he showed little interest in school, and performed poorly. His parents decided that he needed discipline and that he should attend military school. He was sent to the Culver Military Academy (now Culver Academies
Culver Academies
The Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school and summer camp in the United States. The Culver Academies is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy for boys, Culver Girls Academy , and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps . Collectively known as Culver Academies located...
) for his high school years. Despite many misadventures and struggles within the harsh academic environment and strict rules at Culver, he graduated in 1930. He elected to pursue filmmaking and attended the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
. Following his studies at Yale
YALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
, Gann worked in New York City at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
as a projectionist and later as a commercial movie
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
.
On September 18, 1933, Gann married Eleanor Helen Michaud in Chicago, Illinois. They eventually had three children; George Kellogg Gann, born November 12, 1935; Polly Wing Gann; and Steven Anthony Gann, born March 4, 1941.
A chance encounter landed Gann a job with "The March of Time
The March of Time
The March of Time is a radio series, and companion newsreel series, that was broadcast on CBS from 1931 to 1945 and shown in movie theaters from 1935 to 1951. It was created by Time, Inc. executive Roy Edward Larsen, and was produced and written by Louis de Rochemont and his brother Richard de...
," a documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
company associated with TIME
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
magazine. In 1936, while working on the feature "Inside Nazi Germany," Gann narrowly escaped Hitler’s advancing troops as they marched into the Rhineland
Rhineland
Historically, the Rhinelands refers to a loosely-defined region embracing the land on either bank of the River Rhine in central Europe....
. Returning to New York, he moved his family to a new home in Rockland County where the lure of a local airport, Christie Brothers in Congers, New York, re-kindled his interest in aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
. He purchased a half partnership in a Stinson Gull Wing airplane with actor Burgess Meredith, soon obtained his pilot license and quickly became an accomplished aviator.
Aviation career
After earning his pilot's license, Gann spent his much of his free time aloft until the continuing Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
ended his career in motion pictures. He moved his family to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
looking for work. Gann was able to find odd jobs at Burbank Airport, and also began to write short stories. He flew his first flights as a professional aviator in Southern California but soon returned to New York where, in 1938, Gann was hired by American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
to fly the Douglas DC-2
Douglas DC-2
The Douglas DC-2 was a 14-seat, twin-engine airliner produced by the American company Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. It competed with the Boeing 247...
and Douglas DC-3
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
.
For several years, Gann flew routes in the northeast for American Airlines. In 1942, a portion of many U.S. airlines' (including American's) pilots and aircraft were absorbed into the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
of the U.S. Army Air Forces, to assist in the War Effort
War effort
In politics and military planning, a war effort refers to a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force...
. Gann and many of his friends and co-workers volunteered to join the group. He flew DC-3s, Douglas DC-4
Douglas DC-4
The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
s and Consolidated C-87 Liberator Express transports (the cargo version of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber). His wartime trips took him across the North Atlantic, and to Africa, South America, and India, among other places. Some of his most harrowing experiences came while flying The Hump
The Hump
The Hump was the name given by Allied pilots in the Second World War to the eastern end of the Himalayan Mountains over which they flew military transport aircraft from India to China to resupply the Chinese war effort of Chiang Kai-shek and the units of the United States Army Air Forces based in...
airlift across the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
into China. Gann's worldwide travels and various adventures would become the inspiration for many of his novels and screenplays in the years to come.
At the end of World War II the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft and American Airlines discontinued its international flying. Gann chose to leave American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
and was hired on as a pilot at a new company known as Matson Airlines. MA was a venture of the Matson steamship line, flying from the U.S. West Coast across the Pacific to Honolulu. This experience spawned ideas that were developed into one of his best-known works, The High and the Mighty
The High and the Mighty (novel)
The High and the Mighty is a 1953 novel by Ernest K. Gann based on a real-life trip that he flew as a commercial airline pilot for American Airlines from Honolulu, Hawaii to Portland, Oregon. It was adapted into a film.-Publication information:...
. Matson soon fell prey to the politically well-connected Pan American Airlines and failed. After a few more short-lived flying jobs, Gann became discouraged with aviation and he began to rely on writing as his full-time occupation.
After flying
During his tenure with Matson, Gann and his family relocated to the San Francisco area and it was there that he accomplished much of his writing. In his autobiography he describes cycles of "boom and bust" as he would earn seemingly vast sums of money for a book or an article, spend wildly, and then suffer through long periods with little or no income. He attempted several other lines of work -fishing, for example- but always returned to writing. Within a few years Gann came to find the routine of daily family life difficult and tedious, and he missed the adventures of his earlier life. His marriage began to suffer and he eventually decided to divorce Eleanor. She suffered from numerous health problems, including severe rheumatoid arthritis, and following several years of declining health Eleanor died on December 23, 1966 at Pebble Beach, California. Gann would endure several more tragedies in his personal life, including the death of his eldest son in 1973. While working on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Alaska, George was swept overboard in a storm.Gann had an avid and lifelong love of the sea. He made many friends in the sailing community in and around San Francisco and, when money was tight, tried a few different jobs mainly in the commercial fishing industry. He owned several boats of various types and sizes during his lifetime. Later in his life, after years of planning and preparations, Gann purchased a large metal sailboat in Rotterdam, Holland, which he christened Albatross. He, his family, and a few friends sailed the boat across the Atlantic, through the Panama Canal, and on to San Francisco Bay. Albatross was overhauled and Gann then sailed her around the South Pacific. He later leased the ship to a film company as the major prop in a movie based upon his book, Twilight for the Gods. Shortly after the production wrapped, Albatross was sold and became a school vessel. She was later lost in the Gulf of Mexico. (Her sinking is the subject of a 1996 movie called White Squall
White Squall (film)
White Squall is a 1996 American drama feature film, directed by Ridley Scott.-Plot:The film is based on the fate of the brigantine Albatross, which sank on 2 May 1961, allegedly because of a white squall. The film relates the ill-fated school sailing trip led by Dr. Christopher B. Sheldon , whom...
.)
As his family life was deteriorating, Gann began spending much of his time with a friend, Dodie Post, whom he would eventually marry. Both before and after they were married they were partners in adventure, travel, and later, environmental causes. In 1966 Ernest and Dodie purchased an 800 acres (3.2 km²) ranch on San Juan Island
San Juan Island
San Juan Island is the second-largest and most populous of the San Juan Islands in northwestern Washington, United States. It has a land area of 142.59 km² and a population of 6,822 as of the 2000 census....
, Washington. This marked the beginning of his next great passion: environmental conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
. To that end, they later donated the bulk of their ranch to the San Juan Preservation Trust
San Juan Preservation Trust
The San Juan Preservation Trust is a private, non-profit and membership-based land trust dedicated to helping people and communities conserve land on the San Juan Islands in Washington state...
.
Gann converted a chicken coop near their ranch house into a writing office. After his death, the Experimental Aircraft Association
Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception it has grown internationally with over 160,000 members and about 1,000 chapters worldwide....
(EAA) moved the entire coop and its furnishings, including the barber's chair Gann used at his desk, to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where it is on public display.
In the fall of 1991, Gann again took to the skies to mark the 50th anniversary of his promotion to Captain at American Airlines. It would be his last flight. On December 19, 1991, Gann died in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, at the age of 81.
Literary career
Gann's describes his own writing methods as torturous, noting that he would often literally chain himself to his desk until he finished a certain amount of text. He suffered through long periods of writer's block, and frequently worried that he would run out of ideas to write about. Despite his wildly successful career, he continued to harbor strong feelings of self-doubt and often expressed surprise at the critical praise he received.Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty
The High and the Mighty (novel)
The High and the Mighty is a 1953 novel by Ernest K. Gann based on a real-life trip that he flew as a commercial airline pilot for American Airlines from Honolulu, Hawaii to Portland, Oregon. It was adapted into a film.-Publication information:...
and his aviation focused, near-autobiography Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter , ISBN 0-671-63603-0, was a 1961 bestseller by aviation author Ernest K. Gann. Autobiographical, though reading at times like an adventure novel, it describes his years working as a pilot at American Airlines starting in DC-2s and DC-3s when civilian air transport was in its...
. Notes and short stories scribbled down during long layovers on his pioneering trips across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early air mail operations. In 1978 he published his comprehensive autobiography, A Hostage to Fortune.
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels show Gann’s devotion to aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green reflect his love of the sea
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote an autobiography of his sailing life called Song of the Sirens.
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the film version of Fate Is the Hunter
Fate Is the Hunter (film)
Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 film about the crash of an airliner and the subsequent investigation released by 20th Century Fox. It was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 book of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result that he asked to have his name...
, and removed his name from the credits. (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the film played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada
Masada (miniseries)
Masada is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in April 1981. Advertised by the network as an "ABC Novel for Television," it was a fictionalized account of the historical siege of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the Roman Empire in AD 73. The TV series' script is based on...
, based on The Antagonists, and the story for the 1980 Walt Disney movie, The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Last Flight of Noah's Ark
The Last Flight Of Noah's Ark is a Disney film released by Buena Vista Distribution on June 25, 1980. The film stars Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold and Ricky Schroder.-Plot:...
.
Honors
Gann was a member or honorary member of Society of Flight Test Engineers, Order of Daedalions, Black Birds, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers, Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, Colgate President's Club, Washington Athletic Club, Grey Eagles Club, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Retired Eastern Pilots Association, and American Fighter Pilots Association.Other honors included , Washington Governor Gary Locke posthumously awarded the Medal of Merit (the state’s highest honor) to Gann on July 9, 2003.
In Friday Harbor, a cafe named "Ernie's Cafe" was opened in honor of his accomplishments.
Books and Novels
- Sky Roads, Thomas Y. Crowell Company 1940 Non Fiction
- All American Aircraft 1941 Non Fiction
- Getting Them Into The Blue 1942 Non Fiction
- Island in the SkyIsland in the SkyIsland in the Sky or may refer to:*Island in the Sky , 1953 film starring John Wayne*Island in the Sky *Island in the Sky, the Ernest K...
, Viking, 1944 - Blaze of Noon, Holt, 1946
- Benjamin Lawless, Sloane, 1948
- Fiddler's Green, Sloane, 1950
- The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (novel)The High and the Mighty is a 1953 novel by Ernest K. Gann based on a real-life trip that he flew as a commercial airline pilot for American Airlines from Honolulu, Hawaii to Portland, Oregon. It was adapted into a film.-Publication information:...
, Sloane, 1952 - Soldier of FortuneSoldier of Fortune (film)Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 adventure film about the rescue of an American held prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward and was written by Ernest K...
, Sloane, 1954 - Trouble with Lazy Ethel, Sloane, 1957
- Twilight for the Gods, Sloane, 1958
- Fate Is the HunterFate Is the HunterFate Is the Hunter , ISBN 0-671-63603-0, was a 1961 bestseller by aviation author Ernest K. Gann. Autobiographical, though reading at times like an adventure novel, it describes his years working as a pilot at American Airlines starting in DC-2s and DC-3s when civilian air transport was in its...
, Simon & Schuster, 1961 - Of Good and Evil, Simon & Schuster, 1963
- In the Company of Eagles, Simon & Schuster, 1966
- The Song of the Sirens, Simon & Schuster, 1968
- The AntagonistsThe AntagonistsThe Antagonists is an historical novel by Ernest K. Gann about the siege of Masada. The novel explores the themes of leadership and patriotism by comparing and contrasting the two protagonists/antagonists of the story...
, Simon & Schuster, 1971 - Band of Brothers, Simon & Schuster, 1973
- Ernest K Gann's Flying Circus, Macmillan, 1974
- A Hostage to Fortune (autobiography), Knopf, 1978
- Brain 2000, Doubleday, 1980
- The Aviator, GK Hall, 1981
- The Magistrate: A Novel, Arbor House, 1982
- Gentlemen of Adventure, Arbor House, 1983
- The Triumph: A Novel, Simon and Schuster, 1986
- The Bad Angel, Arbor House, 1987
- The Black Watch: The Men Who Fly America's Secret Spy Planes, Random House, 1989
Gann contributed numerous articles to the aviation magazine Flying
Flying (magazine)
Flying is an aviation magazine published since 1927 . It is read by pilots, aircraft owners, and aviation-oriented executives in business and general aviation markets worldwide....
. In one series he described his exotic travels with wife Dodie in their Cessna 310
Cessna 310
The Cessna 310 is an American six-seat, low-wing, twin-engined monoplane that was produced by Cessna between 1954 and 1980. It was the first twin-engined aircraft that Cessna put into production after World War II.-Development:...
, the Noon Balloon, so named because of its typical late departure time.
Film Writing Credits
- Blaze of Noon (1947) (novel)
- The Raging TideThe Raging TideThe Raging Tide is an American crime film noir directed by George Sherman and written by Ernest K. Gann, based on his novel Fiddler's Green. The drama features Shelley Winters, Richard Conte, among others.-Plot:...
(1951) (also novel Fiddler's Green) - Island in the SkyIsland in the Sky (1953 film)Island in The Sky is a 1953 American aviation adventure/drama film written by Ernest K. Gann based on his 1944 novel of the same name, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring and co-produced by John Wayne. It was released by Warner Bros...
(1953) (technical advisor, also novel) - Our Girl FridayOur Girl FridayOur Girl Friday is a 1953 British comedy film starring Joan Collins, George Cole, Kenneth More and Robertson Hare...
(1953) (novel) - The High and the MightyThe High and the Mighty (film)The High and the Mighty is a 1954 American "disaster" film directed by William A. Wellman and written by Ernest K. Gann who also wrote the novel on which his screenplay was based. The film's cast was headlined by John Wayne, who was also the project's co-producer...
(1954) (also novel) - Soldier of FortuneSoldier of Fortune (film)Soldier of Fortune is a 1955 adventure film about the rescue of an American held prisoner in the People's Republic of China in the 1950s. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk, starred Clark Gable and Susan Hayward and was written by Ernest K...
(1955) (also novel) - Twilight for the GodsTwilight for the GodsTwilight for the Gods is a 1958 drama film directed by Joseph Pevney and starring Rock Hudson and Cyd Charisse. The story is based on the novel Twilight for the Gods by Ernest K. Gann.-Plot synopsis:...
(1958) (also novel) - Fate Is the HunterFate Is the Hunter (film)Fate Is the Hunter is a 1964 film about the crash of an airliner and the subsequent investigation released by 20th Century Fox. It was nominally based on the bestselling 1961 book of the same name by Ernest K. Gann, but the author was so disappointed with the result that he asked to have his name...
(1964) (book) - The Last Flight of Noah's ArkThe Last Flight of Noah's ArkThe Last Flight Of Noah's Ark is a Disney film released by Buena Vista Distribution on June 25, 1980. The film stars Elliott Gould, Geneviève Bujold and Ricky Schroder.-Plot:...
(1980) (story) - MasadaMasada (miniseries)Masada is an American television miniseries that aired on ABC in April 1981. Advertised by the network as an "ABC Novel for Television," it was a fictionalized account of the historical siege of the Masada citadel in Israel by legions of the Roman Empire in AD 73. The TV series' script is based on...
(1981) (TV miniseries story: The Antagonists) - The AviatorThe Aviator (1985 film)The Aviator is an American adventure film directed by George T. Miller. The story of the film was adapted by Marc Norman from the book The Aviator written by Ernest K. Gann...
(1985) (book)