What SF Author Has Had the Most Works Adapted for Film?
Bill Higgins
adapted for film?"
I couldn't give him a quick, accurate answer. Here's the answer I did
give:
<http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/166973.html>
I wouldn't be surprised if this has come up before in this newsgroup.
Note that the question is NOT "What SF author has had the most films
based on her work?" (which I think Mary Shelley wins, hands down).
Sifting IMDB data, I believe I have determined that 29 distinct works
of Jules Verne's fiction have been adapted into movies or TV
episodes. For other authors, I haven't counted.
There are subsets; one could restrict the count purely to works of
science fiction, eliminating mainstream stories, fantasy, or non-SF
horror. One could restrict the count simply to feature films. One
could restrict the count purely to authors who are primarily, or
exclusively, known for writing science fiction (eliminating a lot of
horror writers who've dabbled in SF).
But I take the question to include both TV and movies, and to include
any work by someone we can reasonably call a science fiction author.
--
"One day, we’ll live in a world in which | Bill Higgins
trees are no longer killed |
to make books, magazines, | Fermilab
and other printed publications, |
but are hunted simply for sport." | hig...@fnal.gov
--Andy Ihnatko | http://beamjockey.livejournal.com
tphile
> --Andy Ihnatko |http://beamjockey.livejournal.com
My vote is for Rod Serling or Richard Matheson.
Bill Higgins
> On Mar 9, 9:34 am, Bill Higgins <higgin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > A friend asked me in e-mail: "What SF author has had the most works
> > adapted for film?"
> > <http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/166973.html>
>
> My vote is for Rod Serling or Richard Matheson.
Matheson is in the running. Serling wrote lots of original
screenplays, but I doubt he had many prose works adapted for the
screen.
--
"There's darkness inside everyone's head-- | Bill Higgins
well, except during trepanning!" | Fermilab
--Jo Walton | hig...@fnal.gov
| http://beamjockey.livejournal.com
Tim McDaniel
<6c6efcb9-ce4f-4214...@j9g2000prj.googlegroups.com>,
Bill Higgins <higg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>A friend asked me in e-mail: "What SF author has had the most works
>adapted for film?"
It's not an immediate answer of Philip K. Dick? Certainly SEEMS that
way, tho I am uneddicated about filmic thingies.
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
lal_truckee
> Note that the question is NOT "What SF author has had the most films
> based on her work?" (which I think Mary Shelley wins, hands down).
My money would be on Abraham Stoker for this modified sub query.
Bill Higgins
> In article
> <6c6efcb9-ce4f-4214-892f-8123b52e8...@j9g2000prj.googlegroups.com>,
> Bill Higgins <higgin...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >A friend asked me in e-mail: "What SF author has had the most works
> >adapted for film?"
>
> It's not an immediate answer of Philip K. Dick? Certainly SEEMS that
> way, tho I am uneddicated about filmic thingies.
Shooting from the hip, Philip K. Dick is a good guess. He might not
win. Other guys have a head start of almost a century on him.
--
Bill Higgins | "It's so difficult to
explain
| to people who are used to the
Web why,
Fermilab | before the Web, it was so
difficult
| to explain to people
hig...@fnal.gov | what the Web was all
about."
http://beamjockey.livejournal.com | --Sir Tim Berners-Lee
Lynn McGuire
I am going to go with Edgar Rice Burroughs for the Tarzan and
John Carter of Mars stories.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs
How many Tarzan movies have been made, 30 ? 40 ? 50 ? There
are 28 Tarzan books after all.
Of course, H. G. Wells has had many stories committed to film
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells
several times, "The Time Machine", "The War of the Worlds",
Woody Allen's "Sleeper", "The Invisible Man", etc...
Lynn
Howard Brazee
<higg...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Note that the question is NOT "What SF author has had the most films
>based on her work?" (which I think Mary Shelley wins, hands down).
It's hard to tell when we have so many movies with characters
obviously based upon Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Tarzan or
Sherlock Holmes.
It is not obvious to me that Shelley beats Stocker here.
And one can argue that Homer is a SF writer.
--
"In no part of the constitution is more wisdom to be found,
than in the clause which confides the question of war or peace
to the legislature, and not to the executive department."
- James Madison
Will in New Haven
> On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 07:34:30 -0800 (PST), Bill Higgins
>
> >Note that the question is NOT "What SF author has had the most films
> >based on her work?" (which I think Mary Shelley wins, hands down).
>
> It's hard to tell when we have so many movies with characters
> obviously based upon Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, Tarzan or
> Sherlock Holmes.
>
> It is not obvious to me that Shelley beats Stocker here.
>
> And one can argue that Homer is a SF writer.
DOH!
--
Will in New Haven
Moriarty
> On 3/9/2011 9:34 AM, Bill Higgins wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > A friend asked me in e-mail: "What SF author has had the most works
> > adapted for film?"
>
> > I couldn't give him a quick, accurate answer. Here's the answer I did
> > give:
> > <http://beamjockey.livejournal.com/166973.html>
>
> > I wouldn't be surprised if this has come up before in this newsgroup.
>
> > Note that the question is NOT "What SF author has had the most films
> > based on her work?" (which I think Mary Shelley wins, hands down).
>
> > Sifting IMDB data, I believe I have determined that 29 distinct works
> > of Jules Verne's fiction have been adapted into movies or TV
> > episodes. For other authors, I haven't counted.
>
> > There are subsets; one could restrict the count purely to works of
> > science fiction, eliminating mainstream stories, fantasy, or non-SF
> > horror. One could restrict the count simply to feature films. One
> > could restrict the count purely to authors who are primarily, or
> > exclusively, known for writing science fiction (eliminating a lot of
> > horror writers who've dabbled in SF).
>
> > But I take the question to include both TV and movies, and to include
> > any work by someone we can reasonably call a science fiction author.
> I am going to go with Edgar Rice Burroughs for the Tarzan and
> John Carter of Mars stories.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Rice_Burroughs
> How many Tarzan movies have been made, 30 ? 40 ? 50 ? There
> are 28 Tarzan books after all.
I don't think they count. 'Adapted for Film' is the criteria, which
means that the plot for the film has to be at least partially based on
a book. How many Tarzan movies or episodes TV shows were actually
based on a book by ERB? I'd guess very few and that the only thing
they have in common is the character.
-Moriarty
Brenda Clough
adaptations took place after his death.
Brenda
--
My latest novel SPEAK TO OUR DESIRES is available exclusively from Book
View Cafe.
http://www.bookviewcafe.com/index.php/Brenda-Clough/Novels/Speak-to-Our-Desires-Chapter-01
PeterM
> But I take the question to include both TV and movies, and to include
> any work by someone we can reasonably call a science fiction author.
Richard Matheson was my first thought, but if we're
accepting adaptations of non-SF stuff from authors
who've written SF I vote for Arthur Conan Doyle.
tphile
if not them then definitely Ray Bradbury. His novels and short
stories and the tv series Ray Bradbury Presents.
Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Brenda Clough <Brenda...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>Philip K. Dick, without question. Unfortunately for him, all the
>adaptations took place after his death.
>
>Brenda
>
Really?
I know there've been a few, but more PKD than HG Wells or Stephen King?
--
------
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..
Kurt Busiek
> In article <il926t$ri8$2...@news.eternal-september.org>,
> Brenda Clough <Brenda...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>> Philip K. Dick, without question. Unfortunately for him, all the
>> adaptations took place after his death.
>>
>> Brenda
>>
>
> Really?
>
> I know there've been a few, but more PKD than HG Wells or Stephen King?
According to IMDB, Dick's had the following adapted:
1. "Impostor" (episode of OUT OF THIS WORLD and later a movie).
2. DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP (as BLADE RUNNER, multiple uses)
3. PROINI PERIPOLOS (says it's based on a excerpt by PKD, but of what
it doesn't say)
4. "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (as TOTAL RECALL, multiple uses)
5. CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST (as BARJO)
6. "Second Variety" (as SCREAMERS)
7. "Minority Report"
8. "Paycheck"
9. A SCANNER DARKLY
10. THE GOLDEN MAN (as NEXT)
11. RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH
12. "ADjustment Team" (as ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
13. THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (announced as a TV series)
So that's 13, which is pretty impressive.
Stephen King hit that number in 1985, with SILVER BULLET (based on "The
Cycle of the Werewolf"). He's had well over 80 works adapted (or in the
works) by now.
Wells is up there too, but not quite as high as King.
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!
Robert Carnegie
Which counts, I think, but only once. i.e., all the "Tarzan" movies
might be based on the novel "Tarzan". But mostly on the previous
movies.
But what if the creator is also involved in the other-media material?
(Do you then assume that they're sleeping with and/or blackmailing the
producer? There's a point of view that you don't even want the /
screenplay/ writer around when you're filming.)
I think Jules Verne didn't only write sci-fi and will have been filmed
many times - but not necessarily in or for English. But there are
many _Around the World in 80 Days_. I'm fond of the one with Jackie
Chan, but it isn't played straight. By the way, I gather that French
and English editions of the book differ as to whether the English
adventurer or his French personal servant are the butt of the jokes,
which is a very interesting act of translation, if so. I suppose you
can tell one story as either pathos or comedy. I was recently
thinking of _Three Men in a Boat_ (non SF version) which is mostly
comedy... and now of _The Lord of the Rings_ where Frodo and Sam
discuss the inconvenience of having an adventure instead of reading
about one.
Howard C
>
> According to IMDB, Dick's had the following adapted:
>
> 1. "Impostor" (episode of OUT OF THIS WORLD and later a movie).
> 2. DO ANDROIDS DREAM OF ELECTRIC SHEEP (as BLADE RUNNER, multiple uses)
> 3. PROINI PERIPOLOS (says it's based on a excerpt by PKD, but of what
> it doesn't say)
> 4. "We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" (as TOTAL RECALL, multiple uses)
> 5. CONFESSIONS OF A CRAP ARTIST (as BARJO)
> 6. "Second Variety" (as SCREAMERS)
> 7. "Minority Report"
> 8. "Paycheck"
> 9. A SCANNER DARKLY
> 10. THE GOLDEN MAN (as NEXT)
> 11. RADIO FREE ALBEMUTH
> 12. "ADjustment Team" (as ADJUSTMENT BUREAU
> 13. THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE (announced as a TV series)
>
> So that's 13, which is pretty impressive.
>
> Stephen King hit that number in 1985, with SILVER BULLET (based on "The
> Cycle of the Werewolf"). He's had well over 80 works adapted (or in the
> works) by now.
>
> Wells is up there too, but not quite as high as King.
>
Wow...80? I wouldn't have imagine it was that high (though not being
a King fan I probably wouldn't be aware of a lot of them).
seanc
And if we view Tarzan as an adaptation of _The Jungle Book_, then
Rudyard Kipling ends up on the list of contenders.
Sean
Kurt Busiek
There are 127 titles on the list, but a bunch of them only count once
(all those "Children or the Corn" sequels) and some of them aren't
based on published works, but are new material King wrote for the
screen.
But he's been very generous with allowing his short stories to be used
for student films. Even were one to disallow those, though, it's a hell
of a long list. He's had things like the NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES TV
mini-series, which adapted 8 of his stories, and his name carries
enough weight that there's going to be licensing interest in just about
anything he writes, including short pieces.
Lawrence Watt-Evans
<rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>Which counts, I think, but only once. i.e., all the "Tarzan" movies
>might be based on the novel "Tarzan". But mostly on the previous
>movies.
Nitpick: There is no novel "Tarzan." Tarzan first appeared in
_Tarzan of the Apes_.
--
My webpage is at http://www.watt-evans.com
I'm serializing a novel at http://www.ethshar.com/TheFinalCalling01.html
Derek Lyons
>But he's been very generous with allowing his short stories to be used
>for student films. Even were one to disallow those, though, it's a hell
>of a long list. He's had things like the NIGHTMARES & DREAMSCAPES TV
>mini-series, which adapted 8 of his stories, and his name carries
>enough weight that there's going to be licensing interest in just about
>anything he writes, including short pieces.
Reminds me of the (probably apocryhpal) tale of Picasso drawing a
slash on a bar napkin, signing it, and said bar napkin ending up
framed in a museum as an "authentic Picasso original".
D.
--
Touch-twice life. Eat. Drink. Laugh.
http://derekl1963.livejournal.com/
-Resolved: To be more temperate in my postings.
Oct 5th, 2004 JDL
Michael A. Terrell
Lawrence Watt-Evans wrote:
>
> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:32:54 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
> <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>
> >Which counts, I think, but only once. i.e., all the "Tarzan" movies
> >might be based on the novel "Tarzan". But mostly on the previous
> >movies.
>
> Nitpick: There is no novel "Tarzan." Tarzan first appeared in
> _Tarzan of the Apes_.
The 'Tarzan' movies were filmed at Silver Springs Florida. Some of
the props are on display, and what looks like the old tradiong post out
in the woods, next to the springs. The water is crystal clear, so it
was easy to film under water.
--
You can't fix stupid. You can't even put a Band-Aid™ on it, because it's
Teflon coated.
Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Michael A. Terrell <mike.t...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>Lawrence Watt-Evans wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:32:54 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
>> <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>>
>> >Which counts, I think, but only once. i.e., all the "Tarzan" movies
>> >might be based on the novel "Tarzan". But mostly on the previous
>> >movies.
>>
>> Nitpick: There is no novel "Tarzan." Tarzan first appeared in
>> _Tarzan of the Apes_.
>
>
> The 'Tarzan' movies were filmed at Silver Springs Florida. Some of
>the props are on display, and what looks like the old tradiong post out
>in the woods, next to the springs. The water is crystal clear, so it
>was easy to film under water.
>
Some were, most weren't.
Ted
Lynn McGuire
>
> Lawrence Watt-Evans wrote:
>>
>> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 03:32:54 -0800 (PST), Robert Carnegie
>> <rja.ca...@excite.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Which counts, I think, but only once. i.e., all the "Tarzan" movies
>>> might be based on the novel "Tarzan". But mostly on the previous
>>> movies.
>>
>> Nitpick: There is no novel "Tarzan." Tarzan first appeared in
>> _Tarzan of the Apes_.
>
>
> The 'Tarzan' movies were filmed at Silver Springs Florida. Some of
> the props are on display, and what looks like the old tradiong post out
> in the woods, next to the springs. The water is crystal clear, so it
> was easy to film under water.
The old Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies were great !
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Weissmuller
Lynn
Robert Bannister
I can't think of any connection between Tarzan and The Jungle Book.
--
Rob Bannister
Default User
news:8tt7f9...@mid.individual.net...
Only in vague terms. Human boy lost in the jungle, raised by animals.
Brian
--
Day 763 of the "no grouchy usenet posts" project
Current music playing: None.
Robert Carnegie
Well, costume...
Bill Snyder
<defaul...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>"Robert Bannister" <rob...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
>news:8tt7f9...@mid.individual.net...
>> On 10/03/11 11:12 PM, seanc wrote:
>
>>> And if we view Tarzan as an adaptation of _The Jungle Book_, then
>>> Rudyard Kipling ends up on the list of contenders.
>>
>> I can't think of any connection between Tarzan and The Jungle Book.
>
>Only in vague terms. Human boy lost in the jungle, raised by animals.
I've posted the quote below a couple of times before, but I guess
it will stand the gaff once again. Kipling himself thought, or at
least affected to think, that there was a very direct connection:
"And if it be in your power, bear serenely with imitators. My
_Jungle Books_ begat Zoos of them. But the genius of all the
genii was one who wrote a series called _Tarzan of the Apes_ . . .
. He had 'jazzed' the motif of the _Jungle Books_; and, I imagine,
had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was reported to have said that
he wanted to find out how bad a book he could write and 'get away
with,' which is a legitimate ambition."
_ Something of Myself_ (autobiography)
--
Bill Snyder [This space unintentionally left blank]
Moriarty
> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:12:46 -0600, "Default User"
>
> >"Robert Bannister" <robb...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
> >news:8tt7f9...@mid.individual.net...
> >> On 10/03/11 11:12 PM, seanc wrote:
>
> >>> And if we view Tarzan as an adaptation of _The Jungle Book_, then
> >>> Rudyard Kipling ends up on the list of contenders.
>
> >> I can't think of any connection between Tarzan and The Jungle Book.
>
> >Only in vague terms. Human boy lost in the jungle, raised by animals.
>
> I've posted the quote below a couple of times before, but I guess
> it will stand the gaff once again. Kipling himself thought, or at
> least affected to think, that there was a very direct connection:
>
> "And if it be in your power, bear serenely with imitators. My
> _Jungle Books_ begat Zoos of them. But the genius of all the
> genii was one who wrote a series called _Tarzan of the Apes_ . . .
> . He had 'jazzed' the motif of the _Jungle Books_; and, I imagine,
> had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was reported to have said that
> he wanted to find out how bad a book he could write and 'get away
> with,' which is a legitimate ambition."
> _ Something of Myself_ (autobiography)
Clearly ERB was the Travis Tea of his era.
-Moriarty
Joy Beeson
<blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
> How many Tarzan movies or episodes TV shows were actually
> based on a book by ERB? I'd guess very few and that the only thing
> they have in common is the character.
And it wasn't honestly the same character. Did any of the movies
feature the linguistic genius who could pass himself off as a native
after a week or two of study? Or even *mention* Lord Greystoke?
--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at comcast dot net
Moriarty
> On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 14:17:22 -0800 (PST), Moriarty
>
> > How many Tarzan movies or episodes TV shows were actually
> > based on a book by ERB? I'd guess very few and that the only thing
> > they have in common is the character.
>
> And it wasn't honestly the same character. Did any of the movies
> feature the linguistic genius who could pass himself off as a native
> after a week or two of study? Or even *mention* Lord Greystoke?
This one did:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087365/
IIRC it was a reasonably faithful version of the first book.
-Moriarty
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Well, GREYSTOKE certainly mentioned Lord Greystoke.
There have been a LOT of Tarzan movies, and while none followed the
book exactly, some have been within shouting distance.
Assuming really strong lungs, anyway.
Kurt Busiek
> On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:45:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
> <jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 14:17:22 -0800 (PST), Moriarty
>> <blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
>>
>>> How many Tarzan movies or episodes TV shows were actually
>>> based on a book by ERB? I'd guess very few and that the only thing
>>> they have in common is the character.
>>
>> And it wasn't honestly the same character. Did any of the movies
>> feature the linguistic genius who could pass himself off as a native
>> after a week or two of study? Or even *mention* Lord Greystoke?
>
> Well, GREYSTOKE certainly mentioned Lord Greystoke.
>
> There have been a LOT of Tarzan movies, and while none followed the
> book exactly, some have been within shouting distance.
>
> Assuming really strong lungs, anyway.
The ones with the least relationship to the book seem to be the ones
with the strongest lungs.
Ted Nolan <tednolan>
Lawrence Watt-Evans <l...@sff.net> wrote:
>On Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:45:14 -0500, Joy Beeson
><jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 9 Mar 2011 14:17:22 -0800 (PST), Moriarty
>><blu...@ivillage.com> wrote:
>>
>>> How many Tarzan movies or episodes TV shows were actually
>>> based on a book by ERB? I'd guess very few and that the only thing
>>> they have in common is the character.
>>
>>And it wasn't honestly the same character. Did any of the movies
>>feature the linguistic genius who could pass himself off as a native
>>after a week or two of study? Or even *mention* Lord Greystoke?
>
>Well, GREYSTOKE certainly mentioned Lord Greystoke.
>
>There have been a LOT of Tarzan movies, and while none followed the
>book exactly, some have been within shouting distance.
>
>Assuming really strong lungs, anyway.
>
And of course Borroughs was alive for many of them, and certainly approved
of the checks in general, but specifically approved of certain aspects.
As I recall, he was specifically OK with nude swimming scene with Jane
in (the pre-Code) "Tarzan & His Mate" (cut for many years).
William December Starr
Bill Snyder <bsn...@airmail.net> quoted:
> "And if it be in your power, bear serenely with imitators. My
> _Jungle Books_ begat Zoos of them. But the genius of all the
> genii was one who wrote a series called _Tarzan of the Apes_ ....
> He had 'jazzed' the motif of the _Jungle Books_; and, I imagine,
> had thoroughly enjoyed himself. He was reported to have said that
> he wanted to find out how bad a book he could write and 'get away
> with,' which is a legitimate ambition."
> _ Something of Myself_ (autobiography [of Rudyard Kipling])
Hey, is this the answer to the question of whom Spider Robinson was
referring to when he wrote of, but did not identify, a real-life
author who did just that, and ended up writing a boatload of sequels
to the "bad" novel as well?
-- wds
Robert Bannister
> "Robert Bannister"<rob...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
> news:8tt7f9...@mid.individual.net...
>> On 10/03/11 11:12 PM, seanc wrote:
>
>>> And if we view Tarzan as an adaptation of _The Jungle Book_, then
>>> Rudyard Kipling ends up on the list of contenders.
>>
>> I can't think of any connection between Tarzan and The Jungle Book.
>
> Only in vague terms. Human boy lost in the jungle, raised by animals.
I reluctantly have to agree, but the whole tenor of the books is so
different, and I never think of India and Africa as being remotely
similar - South America, if there's any jungle left, is different again
as is Papua New Guinea.
--
Rob Bannister
Robert Bannister
Now that is interesting.
--
Rob Bannister
Greg Goss
>Philip K. Dick, without question. Unfortunately for him, all the
>adaptations took place after his death.
Perhaps he only thinks he's dead. How would he know.
(Trying vaguely to remember the plotline from Ubik from oh so long
ago.)
--
Tomorrow is today already.
Greg Goss, 1989-01-27
Ted Nolan <tednolan>
But not exactly what he said, see para 10
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0052.html
I have often been asked how I came to write. The best answer
is that I needed the money. When I started I was 35 and had
failed in every enterprise I had ever attempted.
I was born in Chicago. After epidemics had closed two schools
that I attended, my parents shipped me to a cattle ranch
in Idaho where I rode for my brothers who were only recently
out of college and had entered the cattle business as the
best way of utilizing their Yale degrees. Later, I was
dropped from Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts;
flunked examinations for West Point; and was discharged
from the regular army on account of a weak heart. Next, my
brother Henry backed me in setting up a stationery store
in Pocatello, Idaho. That didn't last long either.
When I got married in 1900 I was making $15 a week in my
father's storage battery business. In 1903 my oldest brother,
George, gave me a position on a gold dredge he was operating
in the Stanley Basin country in Idaho. Our next stop was
in Oregon, where my brother Henry was managing a gold dredge
on the Snake River. We arrived on a freight wagon, with a
collie dog and $40. Forty dollars did not seem like much
to get anywhere with, so I decided to enter a poker game
at a local saloon and run my capital up to several hundred
dollars during the night. When I returned at midnight to
the room we had rented, we still had the collie dog.
Otherwise, we were not broke.
I worked in Oregon until the company failed, and then my
brother got me a job as a railroad policeman in Salt Lake
City. We were certainly poverty-stricken there, but pride
kept us from asking for help. Neither of us knew much about
anything that was practical, but we had to do everything
ourselves, including the family wash. Not wishing to see
Mrs. Burroughs do work of that sort, I volunteered to do
it myself. During those months, I half soled my own shoes
and did numerous odd jobs.
Then a brilliant idea overtook us. We had our household
furniture with us, and we held an auction which was a howling
success. People paid real money for the junk and we went
back to Chicago first class. The next few months encompassed
a series of horrible jobs. I sold electric light bulbs to
janitors, candy to drug stores, and Stoddard's Lectures
from door to door. I had decided I was a total failure,
when I saw an advertisement which indicated that somebody
wanted an expert accountant. Not knowing anything about its
I applied for the job and got it.
I am convinced that what are commonly known as "the breaks,"
good or bad, have fully as much to do with one's success
or failure as ability. The break I got in this instance lay
in the fact that my employer knew even less about the duties
of an expert accountant than I did.
Next I determined there was a great future in the mail-order
business, and I landed a job that brought me to the head
of a large department. About this time our daughter Joan
was born. Having a good job and every prospect for advancement,
I decided to go into business for myself, with harrowing
results. I had no capital when I started and less when I
got through. At this time the mail-order company offered
me an excellent position if I wanted to come back. If I had
accepted it, I would probably have been fixed for life with
a good living salary. Yet the chances are that I would never
have written a story, which proves that occasionally it is
better to do the wrong thing than the right.
When my independent business sank without a trace, I
approached as near financial nadir as one may reach. My
son, Hulbert, had just been born. I had no job, and no
money. I had to pawn Mrs, Burroughs' jewelry and my watch
in order to buy food. I loathed poverty, and I should have
liked to have put my hands on the man who said that poverty
is an honorable estate. It is an indication of inefficiency
and nothing more. There is nothing honorable or fine about
it. To be poor is quite bad enough. But to be poor without
hope . . . well, the only way to understand it is to be it.
I got writer's cramp answering blind ads, and wore out my
shoes chasing after others. At last l got placed as an agent
for a lead pencil sharpener. I borrowed office space, and
while subagents were out, trying unsuccessfully to sell the
sharpener, I started to write my first story.
I had good reason for thinking I could sell what I wrote.
I had gone thoroughly through some of the all-fiction
magazines and I made up my mind that if people were paid
for writing such rot as I read I could write stories just
as rotten. Although I had never written a story, I knew
absolutely that I could write stories just as entertaining
and probably a lot more so than any I chanced to read in
those magazines.
I knew nothing about the technique of story writing, and
now, after eighteen years of writing, I still know nothing
about the technique, although with the publication of my
new novel, "Tarzan and the Lost Empire", there are 31 books
on my list. I had never met an editor, or an author or a
publisher. I had no idea of how to submit a story or what
I could expect in payment. Had I known anything about it
at all I would never have thought of submitting half a
novel; but that is what I did.
Bill Snyder
Starr) wrote:
An author whom Spider dared not name because his estate was so
(in)famously litigious? No, absolutely not. No connection
whatever. Inconceivable. And you bear witness that I said that.
<http://www.erbzine.com/mag21/2162.html>
David DeLaney
>Perhaps he only thinks he's dead. How would he know.
>
>(Trying vaguely to remember the plotline from Ubik from oh so long ago.)
...you'll only hurt yourself, trust me.
Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
Norm D. Plumber
And that is really interesting.
--
"If you don't want to risk the clap, keep your pants zipped." -anon
William December Starr
t...@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) said:
[ quoting Edgar Rice Burroughs ]
http://www.erbzine.com/mag0/0052.html
[...]
Our next stop was in Oregon, where my brother Henry was
managing a gold dredge on the Snake River. We arrived on a
freight wagon, with a collie dog and $40. Forty dollars did
not seem like much to get anywhere with, so I decided to
enter a poker game at a local saloon and run my capital up
to several hundred dollars during the night. When I
returned at midnight to the room we had rented, we still
had the collie dog. Otherwise, we were not broke.
I'm going to presume that second-to-last word contains a typo
and was supposed to me "now". (Note: it's "not" in the
www.erbzine.com text, so the error isn't Ted Nolan's; it's
either in the original 1929 newspaper piece or in the ERBzine
transcription.)
-- wds
Ted Nolan <tednolan>
I see that one a lot. I once got a very puzzling flyer from a local car
dealer explaining how I was "not" eligible for some special offer.
The bit about being an accountant seems to have a typo as well.
Robert Bannister
AOL.
--
Rob Bannister