John D. MacDonald

Born:	July 24, 1916 Sharon, Pennsylvania
Died:	December 28, 1986
Occupation:	novelist, short story writer
Nationality:	U.S.
Writing period:	1945-1986
Genres:	Detective fiction
Influenced:	Carl Hiaasen, Stephen King, Spider Robinson

John Dann MacDonald (July 24, 1916 – December 28, 1986), writing as John D. MacDonald, was an American writer best known for his series of detective novels featuring protagonist Travis McGee. MacDonald was named a grand master of the Mystery Writers of America in 1972 and won the American Book Award in 1980. Stephen King praised him as "the great entertainer of our age, and a mesmerizing storyteller." Image File history File links Download high resolution version (548x687, 122 KB) Summary A photograph of the author John D. MacDonald at work. ... Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. ... For the album by the Kaiser Chiefs see Employment (album) Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. ... In English usage, nationality is the legal relationship between a person and a country. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A literary genre is one of the divisions of literature into genres according to particular criteria such as literary technique, tone, or content. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Carl Hiaasen (IPA pronunciation: ) (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ... Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948 in New York City) is a Canadian science fiction writer. ... is the 205th day of the year (206th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Travis McGee is a fictional character created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. ... Mystery Writers of America is an organization for mystery writers, based in New York. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The American Book Award was established in 1978 by the Before Columbus Foundation. ... Year 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar). ... Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of over 200 stories including over 50 bestselling horror novels. ...

Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, MacDonald enrolled at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania but dropped out during his sophomore year to work menial jobs in New York City. While attending the Martin J. Whitman School of Management of the Syracuse University, he met Dorothy Prentiss. They married in 1937, and he graduated from Syracuse the following year. In 1939, he received an MBA from Harvard University. Sharon is a city in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, in the United States, 75 miles (121 km) northwest of Pittsburgh. ... The Wharton School Wharton School is the business school of University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... The Martin J. Whitman School of Management is Syracuse Universitys (SU) business school. ... Syracuse University (SU) is a private nonsectarian research university located in Syracuse, New York. ... “MBA” redirects here. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Writing career

Early pulp stories

In 1940 MacDonald accepted a direct commission in the army Ordnance Corp, but later served in the OSS in the Far East during World War II. While still in the military, his literary career began accidentally when he wrote a short story in 1945 and mailed it home for the amusement of his wife. She submitted it to the magazine Story without his knowledge, and it was accepted. In the first four months after his discharge, he completely concentrated on writing short stories, generating some 800,000 words and losing 20 pounds while typing during 14-hour daily sessions seven days a week. It netted him only hundreds of rejection slips, but in the fifth month, a $40 sale to the pulp magazine Dime Detective set his career in motion, and he continued to sell to the detective, mystery, adventure, sports, western and science fiction pulps. As the boom in paperback novels expanded, he successfully made the jump to longer fiction with his first novel, The Brass Cupcake, published in 1950 by Fawcett Publications' Gold Medal Books. His SF included the story "Cosmetics" in Astounding (1948) and the novels Wine of the Dreamer (1951) and Ballroom of the Skies (1952). The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency and was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Special Forces, and Navy SEALs. ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article is in need of attention. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ... Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes Detective fiction is a branch of crime fiction that centers upon the investigation of a crime, usually murder, by a detective, either professional or amateur. ... Cover of a book by Louis LAmour, one of Western fictions most prolific authors. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Fawcett Publications was an American publishing company founded in 1919 in Robbinsdale, Minnesota by Wilford Hamilton Captain Billy Fawcett (1883-1940). ... Astounding Stories was a seminal science fiction magazine founded in 1930. ...

Image File history File links Macdonald1. ...

Travis McGee

MacDonald's protagonists were often intelligent and introspective men, sometimes with a hard cynical streak. Travis McGee, the "salvage consultant" and "knight in rusting armor," was all of that. He first appeared in the 1964 novel The Deep Blue Good-by and was last seen in The Lonely Silver Rain in 1985. All titles in the 21-volume series include a color, and the novels usually feature an ever-changing array of female companions, plus an appearance by a sidekick known only as "Meyer," a retired economist. As Sherlock Holmes had his well-known address on Baker Street, McGee had his trademark lodgings on his 52-foot houseboat Busted Flush, named for the poker hand that started the run of luck in which he won her. She's docked at Slip F-18, Bahia Mar marina, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Travis McGee is a fictional character created by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... The Deep Blue Good-by was the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D. MacDonald. ... The Lonely Silver Rain is a 1985 novel by John D. MacDonald which concluded his 21-novel Travis McGee series. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... A portrait of Sherlock Holmes by Sidney Paget from the Strand Magazine, 1891 Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. ... A houseboat in Amsterdam Houseboat for Students in Zwolle, Netherlands. ... For the domestic fireplace tool, see fireplace poker. ... Nickname: Coordinates: , Country United States State Florida County Broward Established 27 March 1911 Government  - Type Commission-Manager  - Mayor Jim Naugle Area  - City  36. ...

Influence

Various writers have acknowledged the trail that MacDonald and McGee blazed, including Carl Hiaasen in an introduction to a 1990s edition of The Deep Blue Good-by: "Most readers loved MacDonald's work because he told a rip-roaring yarn. I loved it because he was the first modern writer to nail Florida dead-center, to capture all its languid sleaze, racy sense of promise, and breath-grabbing beauty." Carl Hiaasen (IPA pronunciation: ) (born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. ... For the band, see 1990s (band). ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami metropolitan area Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ...

Most of the current crop of Florida-based mystery writers acknowledge a debt to MacDonald, including Randy Wayne White, James Hall, Les Standiford, Jonathon King, Tim Dorsey to name just a few.

Homage to MacDonald was evident in the 1981-88 CBS-TV series Simon & Simon with scenes showing Rick Simon's boat docked at Slip F-18 in San Diego. Simon & Simon was the name of a detective series starring Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker. ...

The science fiction writer Spider Robinson has made it clear that he is also among MacDonald's admirers. The bartender in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Mike Callahan, is married to Lady Sally McGee, whose last name is almost certainly a tribute to Travis. In a recent sequel to the Callahan's series, Callahan's Key, a group of regulars from the former saloon decide they've had enough of Long Island, so they move to Key West, Florida, in a colorful caravan of modified school buses. On their way to Key West, they stop at a marina near Fort Lauderdale specifically to visit Slip F-18 (where Busted Flush was usually moored) and meet a local who was the prototype for McGee's sidekick Meyer. The slip is empty, with a small plaque mentioning Busted Flush. Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Spider Robinson (born November 24, 1948 in New York City) is a Canadian science fiction writer. ... In the fictional universe of Spider Robinson, Callahans Place is a bar with strongly community-minded and empathic clientele. ... This article is about the island in New York State. ... Nickname: Coordinates: , Country United States State Florida County Monroe Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Morgan McPherson Area  - City  7. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Media adaptations

MacDonald's novel Soft Touch was the basis for the film Man-Trap (1961). His 1957 novel The Executioners was filmed in 1962 as Cape Fear, a dark thriller of strong suspense and menace. Martin Scorsese directed the 1991 remake of Cape Fear. Among other film or television adaptations of MacDonald's work, the 1984 A Flash of Green was probably the most successful. When Travis McGee arrived on the big screen in 1970 with Darker Than Amber, the film received favorable reviews from Roger Ebert and other critics. The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything was adapted for a 1980 TV movie that failed to capture the spirit of the original novel. The novella "Linda" was filmed twice for television, in 1973 (with Stella Stevens in the title role) and 1993 (with Virginia Madsen). The 1980 TV movie Condominium, based on MacDonald's novel, starred Dan Haggerty and Barbara Eden. Year 1957 (MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... Cape Fear is a 1991 film which is a remake of a 1962 film of the same name. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything is a science fiction novel written by John D. MacDonald. ... Virginia Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress. ...

Bibliography

Travis McGee novels

In chronological order:

• The Deep Blue Good-by
• Nightmare in Pink
• A Purple Place for Dying
• The Quick Red Fox
• A Deadly Shade of Gold
• Bright Orange for the Shroud
• Darker than Amber
• One Fearful Yellow Eye
• Pale Gray for Guilt
• The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper
• The Long Lavender Look
• A Tan and Sandy Silence
• Dress Her in Indigo
• The Scarlet Ruse
• The Turquoise Lament
• The Dreadful Lemon Sky
• The Empty Copper Sea
• The Green Ripper
• Free Fall in Crimson
• Cinnamon Skin
• The Lonely Silver Rain

The Deep Blue Good-by was the first of 21 novels in the Travis McGee series by American author John D. MacDonald. ... Nightmare in Pink is the second of 21 Travis McGee stories written by John D. McDonald. ... The Lonely Silver Rain is a 1985 novel by John D. MacDonald which concluded his 21-novel Travis McGee series. ...

Non-series novels (selected)

• Barrier Island
• The Brass Cupcake
• Condominium
• Cry Hard, Cry Fast
• Deadly Welcome
• The Executioners (republished as Cape Fear (novel))
• A Flash of Green (not a Travis McGee, despite the color-themed name. Same for the one below.)
• One More Sunday
• Please Write for Details
• Slam the Big Door
• Where is Janice Gantry?
• Border Town Girl
• April Evil
• All These Condemned
• The Beach Girls
• Judge Me Not
• The Price of Murder
• You Live Once
• Contrary Pleasure
• Death Trap
• The Last One Left
• Drowner
• A Key to the Suite
• Murder in the Wind
• Murder for the Bride
• A Bullet for Cinderella
• The Crossroads
• The Only Girl in the Game
• Cancel All Our Vows
• Soft Touch
• A Man of Affairs
• Clemmie
• Area of Suspicion
• No Deadly Drug
• The Neon Jungle
• The Empty Trap
• The End of the Night
• On The Run
• The Damned

In geography, a bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... The Executioners is a thriller novel written by John D. MacDonald, published in 1957. ... Deathtrap is: Deathtrap (play), a 1978 play by Ira Levin which won the Tony Award for Best Play Deathtrap (movie), a 1982 movie based on the Levin play Deathtrap (plot device), a plot device in fiction and drama Deathtrap, a hypothetical organism from Extraterrestrial Deathtrap, a character from Stormwatch, leader... On the Run is the third track from British progressive rock band Pink Floyds 1973 album, Dark Side of the Moon. ...

Short story collections

• End of the Tiger and Other Stories
• S*E*V*E*N
• The Good Old Stuff
• More Good Old Stuff

Science fiction

• Wine of the Dreamers (1950)
• Ballroom of the Skies (1951, novella)
• The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything
• Other Times, Other Worlds (collection)
• The First One (1950)

Wine of the Dreamers is a 1950 science fiction novel written by John D. MacDonald. ... A novella is a narrative work of prose fiction somewhat longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. ... The Girl, the Gold Watch & Everything is a science fiction novel written by John D. MacDonald. ...

Non-fiction

• Reading for Survival (1987) LibraryThing

Trivia

• The character of Meyer is widely believed to be based on John D. MacDonald himself. A rumored final Travis McGee novel (presumably narrated by Meyer), titled Black Border for McGee, has never been confirmed to exist. This has also been referred to as A Letter Etched in Black.
• In Stephen King's novel 'Salem's Lot, a minor character tells the novelist hero: "You ought to write books with better sense. Like the guy who writes those Travis McGee stories. A man can sink his teeth into one of those."
• Some fans may have come to McGee and MacDonald through Jimmy Buffett's reference in a song called "Incommunicado": "...Travis McGee's still in Cedar Key, That's what ol' John MacDonald said...."

• The actual Bahia Mar marina exists in quite a luxurious appointment in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Upon walking through the huge maze of boat slips looking for Slip F- 18, one absolutely does come to a perpetually empty large slip at F- 18. As pointed out in an homage fictitious work by another author, there does exist a bronze plaque memorializes both the writer, whose memory so many cherish, and to the slightly tarnished white knight character of Travis McGee. Men want to be him, and women want to soothe his soul and be the great love he never truly found.

It is quite rare and in this case, so very fitting, for a body of fictitious work to be so memorable as to commandeer a quite valuable slip at a very upscale marina complex. What we readers wouldn't give for one more Travis McGee rollicking novel. Salems Lot is a horror novel by Stephen King, written in 1975. ... Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer, songwriter, author, businessman, and recently a film producer best known for his island escapism lifestyle and music including hits such as Margaritaville (No. ...

Reference

Merrill, Hugh. The Red Hot Typewriter: The Life and Times of John D. MacDonald. New York: St. Martin's Minotaur, 2000.

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

John D. MacDonald

• Cashiers du Cinemart on Travis McGee Movies
• John D. MacDonald Collection at University of Florida
• Jonathan Yardley on John D. MacDonald
• An academic fansite of John D.