Emil Petaja
RobtMcKay
below, which was posted today on the alt.movies.silent newsgroup. Emil Petaja
wrote a handful of stories for Weird Tales during the late 1930s through the
1940s, as well as science fiction novels during the 1960s. He was a
correspondent of both H. P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard.
I used to see Emil Petaja around quite a bit (here in the San Francisco Bay
Area) 25 or so years ago at screenings of old films. We were both members of a
small but dedicated group of old movie buffs who went out to most of the local
screenings of rare old films - be they in theatres or film collectors'
basements. I remember him as being a very kind, gentle, soft spoken and rather
shy man - but unfortunatly (for me!) I was completely unaware of his Pulp
writing career at the time, since my interest in pulps was still some years in
the future. To me he was known as the author of "Photoplay Edition", which was
published during the period I saw the most of him.
I am very sorry to hear of his passing and regret I never attempted to
re-establish contact with him in recent years.
Rob McKay
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Subject: Emil Petaja dead
From: thomas gladysz tho...@pandorasbox.com
Date: 8/17/00 3:13 PM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id: <399C639F...@pandorasbox.com>
Emil Petaja, an author whose career spanned seven decades, died on
August 17th. He was 85.
Petaja is best known to film lovers as the author of "Photoplay
Edition." Published in 1975, this illustrated guide is the first and
only book on the subject of photoplays, the movie tie-in books of the
silent and early sound era. Petaja based the book on his personal
collection, which at the time of publication, numbered more than 800
photoplay books. Today, this reference work is highly sought after by
collectors and bibliophiles.
In the late 1930's and early 1940's, while living in Los Angeles, Petaja
worked in the labs at Technicolor and helped process some of Hollywood's
earliest color films. His interest in movies and film making continued
through the decades. The author made two short dramatic films, "Dread
Return" in 1949 and "The Call" in 1950. These 8mm "indie films" -
employing local actors and scenery - enjoyed favorable notice.
The soft spoken author was a life-long film buff and collector of movie
memorabilia. He enjoyed recounting stories about his classic films,
actors and actresses. As chairman of the Golden Gate Futurians - a kind
of informal club for sci-fi writers and fans based in San Francisco -
Petaja hosted meetings and screened science fiction and horror films for
friends and colleagues. Among the regular attendees was the science
fiction author Fritz Leiber, Jr., son of the noted actor of the same
name. Throughout his life, Petaja attended many film festivals and
screenings, including Cinecon. As the author of "Photoplay Edition,"
Petaja was an honored guest at the 1998 and 1999 San Francisco Silent
Film Festivals - the only person twice honored.
Petaja was a prolific short story writer during the 1940's and 1950's,
and his early work appeared in the leading pulp fiction magazines of the
day, such as Weird Tales, Fantastic Adventures, Crack Detective Stories,
and Western Action. "Dinosaur Goes Hollywood," published in Amazing
Stories in 1944, features a dinosaur on the loose of a movie set. Other
early stories, such as "Scream Test for Homicide" and "Satan Hogs the
Camera," were also set in and around Los Angeles, where the author was
then living. Petaja was the author of 13 science fiction novels, all of
which were published during the 1960's and 1970's. In 1995, Emil Petaja
was named the first ever "Author Emeritus" by the Science Fiction
Writers of America.
The Petaja Pages - a website devoted to the author - can be found at
http://www.pandorasbox.com/petaja.html
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from the desk-top computer of Thomas Gladysz