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Jonathan Latimer

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Jonathan Latimer
BornOctober 23, 1906
DiedJune 23, 1983 (aged 76)
Alma materKnox College
Occupations
  • Author
  • journalist
  • screenwriter

Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer known his novels and screenplays. Before becoming an author, Latimer was a journalist in Chicago.

Early life and education

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Born in Chicago, Illinois, Latimer attended Mesa Ranch School in Mesa, Arizona. He then studied at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1929.[1]

During World War II, Latimer served in the United States Navy. After the war, he moved to California and continued his work as a Hollywood screenwriter, including 10 films in collaboration with director John Farrow.[2][3]

Career

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Latimer became a journalist at the Chicago Herald Examiner and later for the Chicago Tribune, writing about crime and meeting Al Capone and Bugs Moran, among others.[4] In the mid-1930s, he turned to writing fiction, starting with a series of novels featuring private eye William Crane, in which he introduced his typical blend of hardboiled crime fiction and elements of screwball comedy.[5][6]

Death

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Latimer died of lung cancer in La Jolla, California on June 23, 1983, aged 76.[7]

Select bibliography

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The William Crane series

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Non-series novels

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Non-crime novels

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Short stories

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Screenplays

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Other Films Based on Stories by Latimer

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Jonathan Latimer (1906-1983)". thrillingdetective.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ Angelini, Sergio (25 July 2012). "J is for Jonathan Latimer". Tipping My Fedora. wordpress. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Latimer (Jonathan) Miscellaneous Scripts and Screenplays". oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Register of the Jonathan Latimer, Miscellaneous Scripts and Screenplays". Online Archive of California.
  5. ^ "Latimer, Jonathan". PBworks. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Author Jonathan Latimer". tomrizzo.com. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Jonathan Latimer Dies at 76; Writer of 'Perry Mason' Show". The New York Times. AP. 25 June 1983.
  8. ^ Case, Elizabeth N. (21 April 1935). "Thrills and Chills for Mystery Fans". The Hartford Daily Courant. p. 6E – via Newspapers.com. Murder In The Madhouse by Jonathan Latimer; published forThe Crime Club, Inc. by Doubleday, Doran & Co. Inc. Garden City New York.
  9. ^ Stevens, Rodney (24 September 1989). "Lots of diverse reading in Publishers Weekly". Anderson Independent-Mail. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com. Jonathan Latimer's "The Search for my Great Uncle's Head". Better a head, perhaps, than some of these books.
  10. ^ Richardson, Maurice (26 October 1941). "The Crime Ration". The Observer. London. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Richardson, Maurice (5 August 1956). "Crime Ration". The Observer. London. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Simmons, Fritz Raley (21 April 1940). "Impressions and Expressions". News and Record. Greensboro, NC. p. 6D – via Newspapers.com. Dark Memory is entertaining
  13. ^ "Important Features". The Pittsburgh Press. Vol. 54, no. 307. 1 May 1938. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com. This Week Magazine features a story, "A Jokes a Joke", by Jonathan Latimer
  14. ^ Rode, Alan K (7 February 2017). "TV's Mightiest Mouthpiece—The Noir Roots of Perry Mason". One Way Street. Perhaps the most notable of the show's writers was Jonathan Latimer, who penned 32 episodes from 1958 to 1965.
  15. ^ "Jonathan Latimer". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 19 March 2019. 1972, The Greenhouse Jungle, Teleplay
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