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BIO
An
American writer of hard-boiled detective novels, Raymond Thornton
Chandler, was born in Chicago on July 23, 1888, and died on March
26, 1959. Along with Dashiell Hammett, Chandler set the style for
the mainstream of American detective fiction. His series hero, Philip
Marlowe, is tough-minded, loyal, and incorruptible in his dealings
with the seamy side of American life and politics. Chandler wrote
such original screenplays as The Blue Dahlia (1946) and coauthored
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951). Six of
his novels were successfully filmed, including THE BIG SLEEP (1939;
film, 1946) with Humphrey Bogart as Marlowe, FAREWELL, MY LOVELY
(1940; films, 1944 and 1975), and THE LONG GOODBYE (1953; film,
1973), which won the 1954 Edgar Allan Poe Award.
--- Raymond Chandler is born in Chicago, Illinois on July 23, 1888.
--- Raymond attends a local school in Upper Norwood, London, England.
--- Attends Dulwich College, London from 1900-1905.
--- Studies in France and Germany between 1905 and 1907
--- Works as reporter to London's Daily Express and Brisol's Western
Gazzette, 1908-1912
--- Returns to US in 1912 and works on a ranch and in a sporting
goods firm in California.
--- Serves in the Gordon Highlanders, Canadian Army, 1917-1918;
and in the Royal Air Force, 1918-1919.
--- Staff member of Los Angeles' Daily Express, 1919
--- Raymond Marries Pearl Cecily Hulburt in 1924.
--- Dedicates his life to writing in 1933 and never looks back.
--- Creates infamous Philip Marlowe character in his first novel,
The Big Sleep. His creation will continue to mesmerize
audiences through a total of eight novels, including 1954's The
Long Goodbye.
--- The Falcon Takes Over (1942) is the first of many screen adaptations
of Chandler's novels; from his novel, Farewell, My Lovely (1942). He
will be involved in 16 screenplays throughout his lifetime. Rarely
has a novelist's work been so well or so often translated to the
big screen.
--- Awarded Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award in
1946 and 1954.
--- Member of the Mystery Writers of America, becomes president
in 1959.
--- Dies on March 26, 1959.
ARTICLE
There
are no "classics" of crime and detection. Not one. Within its frame
of reference, which is the only way it should be judged, a classic
is a piece of writing which exhausts the possibilities of its form
and can hardly be surpassed. No story or novel of mystery has done
that yet.
--- Raymond Chandler, from his introduction to THE SIMPLE ART OF
MURDER (1950)
As we look, darkly, through the glass of the past, there are few
statements which could match the literary irony of the one set forth
above. It was made by the author who, while not the father of the
American mystery fiction genre, arguably participated in its delivery
and inarguably raised it to maturity. The image --- no, the stereotype
--- of the private detective, the shamus, the P.I., the rumpled,
battered knight in somewhat tarnished armor --- lives on, whether
it be in the latest Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker or TV reruns
of "The Rockford Files."
Raymond Chandler, whose literary influence will not doubt be felt
into the next century, was born in Chicago in 1888. His father,
an alcoholic, would often desert the family for extended absences,
a situation which ultimately resulted in the divorce of Chandler's
parents. Chandler's father eventually disappeared altogether and
stopped providing support. Chandler's mother, forced to live off
of the kindness of relatives, moved to England where they lived
with Chandler's grandmother and aunt. The young Chandler was the
beneficiary of the classical British education, and quickly won
awards for mathematics and general achievement. At the tender age
of 17, he studied foreign languages in France and Germany. He eventually
returned to England and became a naturalized British subject in
order to take the British civil service examination. Though he quickly
acquired a government clerking position, Chandler soon became bored
and left that position for work as a journalist and freelance essayist.
Chandler returned to America in 1912. His resume became more diverse
and included work on an apricot ranch, stringing tennis rackets,
and, after studying bookkeeping, working as an accountant. It is
possible that this somewhat erratic employment history was at least
partially caused by Chandler's problems with alcohol, which would
cause him significant physical and personal misfortune throughout
the rest of his life.
In 1917 Chandler enlisted in the Canadian army following the outbreak
of World War I. He saw action in France but was discharged in 1918
after sustaining a concussion in combat. He ultimately returned
to the United States, and obtained employment as a bookkeeper for
an oil syndicate. By 1924, he had married Cissy Pascal, become an
auditor for the oil syndicate and was quickly promoted to vice-president.
Over the next seven years, however, Chandler's problems with alcohol
began to manifest themselves. He engaged in extended episodes of
heavy drinking and erratic behavior, which resulted in his 1932
termination for drunkenness and absenteeism. This termination
was a wake-up call for Chandler. He stopped his excessive drinking
--- a temporary circumstance, unfortunately --- and turned to writing.
The year 1933 was a turning point for Chandler. He decided to write
for the "pulps" --- cheaply produced magazines full of mystery,
romance and adventure fiction. Chandler spent several months writing
his first story and near the end of 1993 "Blackmailers Don't Shoot"
was published in Black Mask. Chandler would publish 10 more stories
in Black Mask between 1934 and 1937. His rate of production, however,
was not high enough to sustain a decent standard of living.
Pulp writers were paid by the word, and not well-paid at that. Chandler,
ever the perfectionist, was unable to "crank out" stories at the
rate of his colleagues. In 1938, he began work on a novel which
incorporated material from two previously published short stories.
Chandler was also blessedly unhindered by the political correctness
which functions as an unseen, over-the shoulder editor of too many
of our contemporary authors. The result is an unvarnished and real
look at a time and place that demonstrates where we have been and
where we are.
The constant throughout all of Chandler's novels, however, is Philip
Marlowe. Hard-drinking, smart, and always given the best lines in
the book, Marlowe is a first-rate detective and horrible businessman
(he takes, to his everlasting regret, a case for $20 in THE LITTLE
SISTER) who is addicted to his profession, and who gives us Los
Angeles and its surrounding environs through opened, unvarnished
eyes. There is no doubt that much of Chandler --- the drinking,
the weakness for the well-turned ankle --- is distilled into Marlowe.
And Marlowe resonated with the public. Chandler was a critical and
popular success with both his novels, which featured Marlowe, and
his movie screenplays, based on his own work and that of other authors
(Double Indemnity, And Now Tomorrow, Murder My Sweet).
Chandler's personal life, however, continued to be a series of disasters.
His episodic bouts of heavy drinking adversely affected his health
(resulting in multiple extended hospitalizations), his lifestyle
and his professional and personal relationships. He was hospitalized
in 1959 for pneumonia. His system weakened by heavy alcohol abuse,
he passed away at Scripps Clinic on March 26, 1959.
Chandler's output was hardly prodigious, in the numerical sense
--- seven novels, 17 short stories --- but his work has resonated
over the better part of this century and continues to be a major
influence on American fiction, both in its own right and through
the authors it has inspired. Ross McDonald, John D. MacDonald and,
most notably, Robert B. Parker have all acknowledged his importance.
Parker, especially, whose wisecracking, noble Spenser is among the
best and most popular of the current crop of literary P.I.'s, freely
and graciously acknowledges Chandler's impact. Parker's skill is
such that he was tapped to complete Chandler's unfinished work,
POODLE SPRINGS, which, ultimately, is a seamless collaboration between
the two masters. A fitting ending, indeed.
--- Joe Hartlaub
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