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Frederick Nebel
Frederick Lewis Nebel (November 3, 1903 - May 3, 1967), was an American writer. Although he published more than 300 stories and three novels, many of which were adapted for film, he is best known today for his hardboiled detective fiction.
Nebel was one of the most important writers for Black Mask, publishing a total of 67 stories in the magazine, second only to Erle Stanley Gardner. He also wrote prolifically for Dime Detective before moving on to more "respectable" work such as his thriller novel Sleepers East, which was made into a film, and magazine writing for Colliers, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.
Born in Staten Island, New York, Nebel dropped out of school at 15 after only one day in high school. He worked as a dockhand and a valet before moving to Canada where he worked as a farmhand on his great-uncle’s homestead. He enjoyed the wilderness and became a self-taught expert in Canadian history. This expertise helped launch his career writing adventure stories for Northwest Stories, beginning in 1925. He returned to New York and got a job working as a brakeman on passenger trains and writing in his spare time.
Nebel was a prolific writer, penning up to 5,000 words a day, often keeping five to six serial heroes in action from week to week for the pulps. In 1926, Nebel sold his first Black Mask story, “The Breaks of the Game,” to editor Phil Cody. That same year Joseph Shaw took over as editor, and throughout his tenure with the magazine, he mentored Nebel as he published his work. Over the next 12 years, Nebel published at a fast pace, writing up to 5000 words a day, while publishing in Black Mask and numerous other pulp magazines, including Action Stories, Danger Trail, Dime Detective and Sea Stories.
Shaw encouraged his authors to develop series characters, and Nebel created the detective duo of Captain Steve MacBride and newspaper reporter Kennedy of fictional “Richmond City”. MacBride was a hardboiled homicide detective while drunken, wisecracking Kennedy provided comic relief. The pair was featured in 36 of Nebel’s stories spanning 8 years.[6] In the 1930s, Nebel sold the rights to MacBride and Kennedy stories to Warner Bros. who made ten film adaptations. The CBS Radio series Meet MacBride, beginning in 1936, was also adapted from the series.
Nebel created Donny “Tough Dick” Donahue at the request of Shaw for a character similar to Dashiel Hammett’s Sam Spade. Following the huge success of The Maltese Falcon, Shaw wanted more Spade stories but Hammett, a personal friend of Nebel’s, had quit the pulps for Hollywood. Donahue was an ex-cop discharged for not giving into corruption, now working for the Inter-State Detective Agency. From 1930 to 1935, Nebel wrote 15 Donahue stories for Black Mask.
From 1931 to 1937, Nebel wrote nearly 50 stories for Dime Detective featuring the character Jack Cardigan, a tough, Irish detective working for the Cosmos Detective Agency in St. Louis.
Other series characters created by Nebel include: Bill Gales and Mike McGill for Air Stories, Brinkhaus for Detective Fiction Weekly, Corporate Chet Tyson for Northwest Stories, and The Driftin’ Kid for Lariat.
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Frederick Nebel
Frederick Lewis Nebel (November 3, 1903 - May 3, 1967), was an American writer. Although he published more than 300 stories and three novels, many of which were adapted for film, he is best known today for his hardboiled detective fiction.
Nebel was one of the most important writers for Black Mask, publishing a total of 67 stories in the magazine, second only to Erle Stanley Gardner. He also wrote prolifically for Dime Detective before moving on to more "respectable" work such as his thriller novel Sleepers East, which was made into a film, and magazine writing for Colliers, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping.
Born in Staten Island, New York, Nebel dropped out of school at 15 after only one day in high school. He worked as a dockhand and a valet before moving to Canada where he worked as a farmhand on his great-uncle’s homestead. He enjoyed the wilderness and became a self-taught expert in Canadian history. This expertise helped launch his career writing adventure stories for Northwest Stories, beginning in 1925. He returned to New York and got a job working as a brakeman on passenger trains and writing in his spare time.
Nebel was a prolific writer, penning up to 5,000 words a day, often keeping five to six serial heroes in action from week to week for the pulps. In 1926, Nebel sold his first Black Mask story, “The Breaks of the Game,” to editor Phil Cody. That same year Joseph Shaw took over as editor, and throughout his tenure with the magazine, he mentored Nebel as he published his work. Over the next 12 years, Nebel published at a fast pace, writing up to 5000 words a day, while publishing in Black Mask and numerous other pulp magazines, including Action Stories, Danger Trail, Dime Detective and Sea Stories.
Shaw encouraged his authors to develop series characters, and Nebel created the detective duo of Captain Steve MacBride and newspaper reporter Kennedy of fictional “Richmond City”. MacBride was a hardboiled homicide detective while drunken, wisecracking Kennedy provided comic relief. The pair was featured in 36 of Nebel’s stories spanning 8 years.[6] In the 1930s, Nebel sold the rights to MacBride and Kennedy stories to Warner Bros. who made ten film adaptations. The CBS Radio series Meet MacBride, beginning in 1936, was also adapted from the series.
Nebel created Donny “Tough Dick” Donahue at the request of Shaw for a character similar to Dashiel Hammett’s Sam Spade. Following the huge success of The Maltese Falcon, Shaw wanted more Spade stories but Hammett, a personal friend of Nebel’s, had quit the pulps for Hollywood. Donahue was an ex-cop discharged for not giving into corruption, now working for the Inter-State Detective Agency. From 1930 to 1935, Nebel wrote 15 Donahue stories for Black Mask.
From 1931 to 1937, Nebel wrote nearly 50 stories for Dime Detective featuring the character Jack Cardigan, a tough, Irish detective working for the Cosmos Detective Agency in St. Louis.
Other series characters created by Nebel include: Bill Gales and Mike McGill for Air Stories, Brinkhaus for Detective Fiction Weekly, Corporate Chet Tyson for Northwest Stories, and The Driftin’ Kid for Lariat.