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Q.B.I. Covers
added since April 2024:
8 better and 26 new covers.
The latter corresponding with
the red numbers in
this
list.
Latest additions made on
October 3. 2024: Past additions to the site: April 2023 - April 2024: 24 better and 17 new covers April 2022 - April 2023: 69 better and 131 new covers ... |
October 2. 2024 - April 18. 1999 |
In the section on "Unusual Media Subjects," we would like to highlight some
somewhat neglected examples of Ellery Queen content, particularly in the realm of games: board games, puzzles, and even video games. Examples from each category can be found on this page. However, it seems that Ellery Queen has been largely forgotten in PC-based and console games. Board games existed long before Ellery's first game appearance in 1956, which came just before the publication of what was intended to be Ellery Queen's last appearance in print, The Finishing Stroke (1958). As we know, Ellery made a comeback in the 1960s with a final series of novels, but his first game appearance was still late in the Queen canon. One Ellery Queen board game eventually inspired Cluedo, one of the most popular board games ever! However, in our opinion, the best crossover came in puzzle form in 1973, which even included a Challenge to the Reader! ... Read more here ... |
September 1. 2024 |
"The Book Case", an Ellery Queen
novella appeared in the May 2007 edition of Ellery Queen
Mystery Magazine, and was written by Dale Andrews and Kurt Sercu!
Now you can hear the story as an audio book, part of Miniature Mythos weekly Sunday posts. Enjoy!
Direct links
Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/.../Ellery-Queen-The-Book... Enjoy! |
And more on "The Book Case" you can read here... |
August 7. 2024 |
Keeping this site up-to-date doesn't feel like an obligation at all. Discovering bygone information through selection, verification, and re-verification offers enough satisfaction. Some naysayers will claim that some pages will hardly be read. But sometimes the satisfaction and recognition come from that one reader. A family member of one of the actors expressing their appreciation for rediscovered details about a parent/grandparent is more than enough for me. Especially when they take the time and effort to let me know. When rechecking facts, I find that my pages were indeed useful to others. Since December of last year, due to circumstances, I have been able to make more time to update the biographies. In doing so, I reviewed what information I could gather over the past years and compared it to the text on this site. Small additions, corrections, discoveries... new photos... Nine months later, I went through all the pages. Finished with this round. The very detailed pages are mostly the result of bringing together nearly unfindable details and, less so, of weeding through a lot of information. Still, there is satisfaction in completing this round. You can read the detailed pages of the actors by clicking on their photos... starting on the (third) Ellery Queen page... Thanks also to Rémi Schulz who provided some variety and pointed out a few covers of Ellery Queen books in Hebrew. I can also announce that at the end of this month we have a nice surprise for our listeners. So stay tuned!!! |
June 22. 2024 |
Since 1941 Dannay and Lee had been recruiting and training ghostwriters they
already had used on some juveniles and adaptations of Queen movies and radio
shows. While writer's block is mentioned in The King is Dead
(1952) it is believed Manfred developed a series of
other psychological ailments, one of which was writer's block in the late
fifties, causing both cousins to review the way they wrote novels. Scott Meredith's literary agency wanted to expand Ellery Queen's readership beyond the slowly fading genre of formal detective fiction and into the booming field of original crime novels without detection. Contingent to the cousins' approval they agreed to the publication of a cycle of non-series paperback originals, ghostwritten by other Meredith clients (many connected to Manhunt magazine, another project of Scott Meredith) for a flat fee of around $2,000 per book and published under the Queen name, with all royalties split between Fred and Manny after the agency took its commission. Manny, who had a large family to support and still suffered from writer's block, favored the idea. Fred was violently opposed but felt that his cousin's financial and creative problems left him little choice but to go along since Manny had saved the Queen radio series when the death of Fred's first wife left him unable to perform that function. Lee provided the basic idea and the manuscripts were written by various ghosts and submitted to Manny who edited them more or less as Fred edited the stories he bought for EQMM. But Fred refused to read any of the books published under this scheme and terminated the arrangement soon after Manny's death. Click here to read more... Above: Covers for the paperback originals 1961-66. Click on the covers for the in-depth pages... |
TIP:
Interested readers should know that the
icons/covers of books, used throughout
the website have extra descriptions/information
not included in the text on the same page.
Pointing your cursor at the icon/cover used to
reveal this extra information. To achieve the
same effect
Firefox users can install
an add-on called 'Popup
ALT Attribute'. When installed pointing your cursor at an icon/cover results in showing you the details or additional information. |
May 23. 2024 |
ergeant Thomas Velie made his
entrance into the Queen-saga with the words "What's up, Doyle?" in The Roman Hat Mystery where he is introduced to us as a tall man in plain clothes. He is addressed by Inspector Queen in a rather fatherly way as "Thomas". While the faithful sergeant addresses Ellery as "maestro". Velie aka "the tall one with the sledgehammer hands and the rumbling voice.." still has (largely through the Hutton TV series) somewhat of a cult following. According to one radio play "The Old Witch" (02-26-42 or 02-28-42 - episode 75) Velie lived in an apartment and had one daughter! |
Now ALL (!) of the 9 profiles of actors who played Sergeant Velie are updated... Read them by clicking on the photo of each individual actor on the "Other Character" page... |
Tom Reese who played Velie in the
unforgettable 1975-76 TV series Ellery Queen
stands out (above left)... Or click on a photo of one of the actors below... to read much much more... |
April 21. 2024 |
The
25th (!) anniversary of the site is a fact. I've said this before, but I'm
happy to repeat it: This site has given back to me as much as I've put into
it! That says something. Perhaps a word of thanks from me to everyone who took the time (who does that nowadays?) to contact us and make small or large contributions. Or simply to express some appreciation (who does that nowadays?). Then there are the "Usual Suspects," or maybe I should say the West 87th Street Irregulars, with whom I am more frequently in contact. Ready to answer questions... about this niche topic. I want to specifically mention Dale C. Andrews here. What started in a conversation long ago on a blog... resulted in many enjoyable online and real-world contacts. So it's very fitting now to add an interesting text from Dale to the site. It perfectly illustrates what our conversations often revolved around... I'm sure anyone with a little knowledge of Ellery Queen's books will enjoy this: Ellery Queen Easter Eggs. Where is this extra section hidden? That's also a bit of an Easter Egg... click above on the banner at the very top on "EQ". This will take you to the main page with all sections... But not everything is as it seems. Some objects are also clickable (shh, don't tell anyone). The pen will take you to a specialized section... Thanks to everyone who helped, or visited the site in the first 25 years ... On to the next 25! Enjoy! |
March 27. 2024 |
The 25th (!) anniversary of the site is just around the corner. It has never
been for lack of ambition on my part. "Everything about
Ellery Queen." This ultimately led to writing the mini-biographies
you can find in this section,
covering all the actors who have ever played a role in any of the
Ellery Queen adaptations, be it on radio, film, or television.
Often, these biographies are pieced together from small snippets found in
newspapers here and there. Let's be honest, they don't always feature very
well-known actors. As a result, their careers are often obscure and were, as
such, not searchable on the internet. The search brought forth careers first brought to light online, and, as extra, providing interesting
insights into the life of the previous century. The cult of personality in the media clearly began to emerge in the 1920s and '30s, and the new media often paid little attention to the "previous" media from which they were recruited. Radio ignored vaudeville, or television ignored radio... Some of the biographies here I started over 10 years ago. They are regularly updated or revised (an advantage you don't have with books). Due to circumstances, I am in the process of a detailed revision this year. As online archives are expanded and "historical" information becomes more available, profiles can be updated. Online searches often bring me back to my own site. Some actors already have multiple pages paying tribute to them. In such cases, it's essential to look beyond just the factual information and search for that extra something: amusing anecdotes, family photos, and so on, ultimately adding value. You would truly be surprised at how often information is misrepresented (and subsequently copied), making it difficult to discern the truth. Don't get me wrong, mistakes happen (I've made a few)... but thorough fact-checking can prevent this. However, this takes time, and in this fast-paced world, it seems too much to expect from every webmaster, blogger, ... As an exception to the rule sometimes a great many biographies are found. This was so for both Peter Lawford and his co-star Harry Morgan in Ellery Queen Don't Look Behind You (Universal, Nov 19. 1971). But what is the real story behind the original name of Harry Morgan who became best known as Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H? What is truly known about the beginning of his career, his studies, or his start with theater companies? There are many aspects to clarify... This has now been done, with representative photos accompanying each section... So, without claiming to be exhaustive, we can certainly assert that this is the most comprehensive overview online for this actor, as described by Alan Alda as "a treasure as a person, an imp at times, and always a true professional." Click here to read his full profile ... Another example is the biography of yet another actor who portrayed Inspector Queen, but this time in the TV series The Further Adventures of Ellery Queen (NBC, 1958-59), with a very distinctive voice and highly active on radio. While Harry Morgan had an equally expressive voice, he was much less active on radio compared to Les Tremayne. It's difficult to ascertain why this is the case, but sometimes things unfold as they do. While Morgan achieved quick success in other media, Tremayne faced more challenges. We have been able to reconstruct his life before his breakthrough, from a very young age, starting from his departure from London aboard the S.S. Saint Paul bound for the U.S., up to his major breakthrough with the program First Nighter (1937). Furthermore, you will notice that Tremayne was married three times, with one marriage garnering more media attention than the others. Click here to read his full profile ... |
Perhaps one of the most celebrated actors to appear in an
Ellery Queen
series has to be the 2x Tony award-winning
David Wayne. For many the
ultimate portrayal of Inspector Queen,
Ellery's
father. Wayne had a very extensive career and had obviously lost his heart
to the stage. This time a multitude of footage from which the right choices
were made. Certainly about his early beginnings in show business, in stage
companies here and there and, in marionette theater,... there was still
something to clarify. Few actors were given the chance to play opposite
Marilyn Monroe no less than three times! There was nothing short of drama in
David's life that began early with the death of his mother. His skills
included sword swallowing, and he once drove his ambulance into a mine and
could recount it.... Click here to read his full profile ... |
February 25. 2024 |
As
we have already discussed elsewhere in the
pages of this website, Ellery Queen's
popularity is world wide. While it has ebbed
in some parts of the globe, it remains
perhaps at its highest among the mystery
readers of China and Japan. It is therefore
fitting that our next inductee into the
fraternity of the
West 87th Street
Irregulars is Nathanael T. Booth, Associate
Professor in the School of Foreign Languages
at Huazhong University of Science and
Technology in Wuhan, China. Nathanael is not only an avid reader of the Queen oeuvre, he is also truly a scholar of those works. His relationship with Ellery Queen has been a long one, stretching back to the time when, as a teenager, he discovered The Dutch Shoe Mystery at a library book sale. He has written extensively about Ellery Queen in both of his books: American Small-Town Fiction, 1940-1960: A Critical Study (McFarland, 2019) and recently God and the Great Detective: Ellery Queen's Struggle with the Divine, 1945-1965 (McFarland, 2023). As the newest member of the West 87th Street Irregulars, Nathanael introduces himself with an essay -- in this case his scholarly analysis of the transformation and humanizing of Ellery that began with the introduction of the small New England town of Wrightsville. Somehow, we suspect that Nathanael is not done with Ellery yet. Welcome to our latest West 87th Street Irregular! Read Nathanael's essay here... |
A challenge to the reader: if you think you could add additional information (even corrections) please do so... You can reach us by clicking the "Uncle Sam" icon (right). We've always appreciate corrections and additional information, however small the detail may be... |
January 26. 2024 |
Names. Any Ellery Queen fan could take at least a 15-minute run-up before talking about the works. Who is Ellery Queen? That run-up would then cover original names, stage names, aliases, ... This cult of names was not that uncommon in the United States. Name changes were made as early as immigration. Usually to make them easier to pronounce, but sometimes also because there already existed artists with the same name. In the case of some of the biographies on this site, this does matter a great deal. To this day, achievements of actors are assigned to namesakes. Thus (at least) 2 biographies were reviewed and completed. Extra attention was paid to the exact changes of persons. Carleton G. Young and Carleton S. Young were both actors. The former once took the role of Ellery Queen. Despite their markedly different appearances, they are still sometimes confused in many descriptions. This confusion is a bit self-seeking because, for both, the role description used the name Carleton Young. Our research revealed, in addition to details from his early career, that Carleton G. was married not once but twice. Carleton S. Young starred once as a drunkard in The Mandarin Mystery, but that is where all Ellery Queen connections end. Click here to read his full profile ... Sydney G. Smith at one point also played Ellery Queen in the radio series. It came as a surprise that his father, who was a doctor, first took to the stage. Sydney H. Smith performed before the birth of our Sydney on Broadway. All Broadway references before 1905 pertain to his father. Sydney took the name Sydney Goffe Smith, perhaps when his parents divorced, and Sydney and his sister were raised by their mother. Again, the text, images, and content were liberally adapted. It is also clearly indicated in the notes what remains to be discovered ... . Click here to read his full profile ... Some like crosswords. I find making these much more fun ... ;-) |
December 14. 2023 |
News that comes as an early Christmas present! Next year (Aug 6. 2024) Otto Penzler's American Mystery Classics will add Cat of Many Tails to its series of Ellery Queen reprints. Richard Dannay will provide the introduction.
In this early serial killer novel, Ellery Queen stalks a mass murderer through the streets of 1940s New York. In the dog days of August, it is no surprise to see New Yorkers perspire. But this summer, a killer called the Cat gives the city a new reason to sweat. He selects his victims seemingly at random and strangles them, then escapes without leaving a clue. As the death toll climbs and the press whips the public into a horrified frenzy, Gotham teeters on the edge of anarchy. Ellery Queen, the brilliant amateur sleuth, has gone into retirement when the Cat begins to kill. As his father, a seasoned homicide detective, leads the investigation into the murders, Ellery tries to avoid getting involved. When Queen discovers a clue that could hold the secret to untangling the puzzling crimes, he pounces on the opportunity to crack the case. But unfortunately for him—and for the citizens of 1940s New York City—he’s barely scratched the surface.… Combining gobsmacking deduction with plenty of period detail, Cat of Many Tails is among the most beloved of Ellery Queen’s timeless mystery novels. Reissued for the first time in nearly half a century, the book retains a place in popular culture as one of the first serial killer novels ever written; and, to this day, it’s still one of the best. Click here to read more ... |
When Eddie Quillan was cast as Ellery Queen in 1937's
The
Mandarin Mystery there was some novelty value in the fact that an actor
whose initials were E.Q. was cast as intellectual sleuth. Eddie, who though a
talented and appealing performer was woefully miscast as Queen.
Right:
The role for which Eddie is probably best known is Tommy Elison, the most
endearing and tragic character of the ill-fated crew, in the movie,
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935). The film starred
Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, and Franchot Tone. |
December 4. 2023 |
Howard Irving Smith is one of those actors who, aside from some brief descriptions online, would remain a bit of a mystery had he not had an Ellery Queen connection. He played Sergeant Velie in the hour-long first radio series, The Adventures of Ellery Queen. Typical for that time, Smith came from the vaudeville circuit. Realizing its reign came to an end, he made the switch to theater, radio, and later TV. His private life has been puzzled together piece by piece. A few mysteries remain. He was married two times and must have had an extramarital relationship early on during his second marriage. Although many career descriptions mention his meeting with Enrico Caruso, no exact details were found. We've updated his biography with extra information and pictures. |
November 10. 2023 |
New Book on Ellery Queen! God and the Great Detective,
Ellery Queen’s Struggle with the Divine, 1945–1965 by
Nathanael T. Booth an associate professor in the School of Foreign Languages at
Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The problem of human evil is never far beneath the surface of mystery fiction. This was particularly true in the wake of the horrific events of World War II. One figure who set out to investigate this crisis was Ellery Queen. This book provides a much-needed intervention in the study of detective fiction by giving sustained attention to Ellery Queen as well as suggesting possible directions for broader discussions of the genre. After the war, Queen mounted an inquiry into the state of masculinity and of the world in the wake of unimaginable horrors represented by the death camps and the atomic bomb. During his investigation, Ellery rummaged through the ruins of culture, invoking and evoking figures such as Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and (naturally) Edgar Allan Poe. Ultimately, this quest brought him up against an unexpected foe: God himself. This book examines the ways Queen pushes against the boundaries of what was (and, in some circles, still is) considered possible or desirable in the genre. You can buy it here... Other recommended reading here... |
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Recommended
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|
Introduction |
Floor Plan | Q.B.I. |
List of Suspects | Whodunit?
| Q.E.D. | Kill as
directed | New |
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