Richard Wormser
Encyclopedia
Richard Edward Wormser was a prolific American writer of pulp fiction, detective fiction, screenplays, and Western
s, some of it written using the pseudonym of Ed Friend. He is estimated to have written 300 short stories, 200 novelettes, 12 books, many screenplays and stories turned into screenplays and a cookbook Southwest American Cooking or Home on the Range.
he became a prolific writer of pulp fiction
under his own name, the pen name of Conrad Gerson, and wrote seventeen Nick Carter
novels for Street and Smith.
Wormser's first crime fiction
novel was The Man with the Wax Face in 1934. His first Western novel was The Lonesome Quarter in 1951.
Hollywood purchased several of his stories beginning with his It's All in the Racket filmed as Sworn Enemy in 1936. Columbia Pictures
signed him for a short term writing contract in 1937. He was fired, then rehired by Columbia and worked for several other studios. Columbia once couldn't make up its mind between buying two of his stories, The Frame Up or Right Guy. The studio at last decided on Right Guy but filmed it under the title of The Frame Up.
During World War II he served as a forest ranger.
Wormser won Western Spur Award
s for juvenile fiction in 1964 for Ride a Northbound Horse and in 1971 for The Black Mustanger. He also won an Edgar award
for best paperback The Intruder in 1973.
and four novels based on TV series,
three as "Ed Friend":
and one as Richard Wormser:
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
s, some of it written using the pseudonym of Ed Friend. He is estimated to have written 300 short stories, 200 novelettes, 12 books, many screenplays and stories turned into screenplays and a cookbook Southwest American Cooking or Home on the Range.
Literary accomplishments
After graduating from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
he became a prolific writer of pulp fiction
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
under his own name, the pen name of Conrad Gerson, and wrote seventeen Nick Carter
Nick Carter (literary character)
Nick Carter is a fictional character who began as a pulp fiction private detective and has appeared in a variety of formats over more than a century.-Literary history:...
novels for Street and Smith.
Wormser's first crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel was The Man with the Wax Face in 1934. His first Western novel was The Lonesome Quarter in 1951.
Hollywood purchased several of his stories beginning with his It's All in the Racket filmed as Sworn Enemy in 1936. Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
signed him for a short term writing contract in 1937. He was fired, then rehired by Columbia and worked for several other studios. Columbia once couldn't make up its mind between buying two of his stories, The Frame Up or Right Guy. The studio at last decided on Right Guy but filmed it under the title of The Frame Up.
During World War II he served as a forest ranger.
Wormser won Western Spur Award
Spur Award
The Spur Award is an annual literary prize awarded by the Western Writers of America. Founded in 1953 with only four categories , the award today has expanded to include the following categories:...
s for juvenile fiction in 1964 for Ride a Northbound Horse and in 1971 for The Black Mustanger. He also won an Edgar award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for best paperback The Intruder in 1973.
Novelisations
Wormser authored several novelisations of films- Thief of Baghdad 1961
- The Last Days of Sodom and Gomorrah 1962
- McLintock!McLintock!McLintock! is a 1963 comedy Western starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara, and loosely based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The film is notable, perhaps even infamous, for its two spanking scenes, in which mother and daughter are each paddled with coal shovels: the daughter by her...
1963 - Bedtime StoryBedtime Story (film)Bedtime Story is a 1964 comedy film made by Pennebaker Productions, The Lankershim Company and Universal Pictures. It was directed by Ralph Levy and produced by Stanley Shapiro with Robert Arthur as executive producer from a screenplay by Stanley Shapiro and Paul Henning. The music score was by...
1964 - Operation CrossbowOperation CrossbowCrossbow was the code name of the World War II campaign of Anglo-American "operations against all phases of the German long-range weapons programme—operations against research and development of the weapons, their manufacture, transportation and their launching sites, and against missiles in flight"...
1965 - Major DundeeMajor DundeeMajor Dundee is a 1965 Western film written by Harry Julian Fink and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It starred Charlton Heston and Richard Harris as officers from opposing sides in the American Civil War who band together to hunt down a band of Apaches....
1965 - Alvarez KellyAlvarez KellyAlvarez Kelly is a 1966 war film set in the American Civil War. It starred William Holden and Richard Widmark. The film was based on the real-life Beefsteak Raid of September 1864.-Plot:...
1966 - Torn CurtainTorn CurtainTorn Curtain is a 1966 American political thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.-Plot:On a cruise ship en route to Copenhagen, Michael Armstrong , an esteemed American physicist and rocket scientist, is to attend a scientific conference...
1966 - The ScalphuntersThe ScalphuntersThe Scalphunters is a 1968 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Ossie Davis and Telly Savalas. The film was directed by Sydney Pollack, with the score written by Elmer Bernstein...
1968
and four novels based on TV series,
three as "Ed Friend":
- The Green HornetThe Green HornetThe Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
: The Infernal Light 1967, adaptation (Dell) - The High ChaparralThe High ChaparralThe High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
: Coyote Gold 1969, original (Tempo) - The Most Deadly GameThe Most Deadly GameThe Most Deadly Game is an American drama television series that ran for 12 episodes on ABC from 1970 to 1971. The series was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, with Aaron Spelling being the executive producer. It starred Yvette Mimieux , Ralph Bellamy, and George Maharis....
: The Corpse in the Castle 1970, original (Lancer)
and one as Richard Wormser:
- The Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild WestThe Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....
1966, adaptation (Signet)
External links
- Magazine stories http://www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/s2396.htm#A92195