Marvin H. Albert (January 22, 1924 – March 25, 1996)[1] was an American writer of mystery, crime and adventure novels including ones featuring Pete (Pierre-Ange [French: Stone Angel]) Sawyer, a French-American private investigator living and working in France.

Marvin Albert
Born
Marvin H. Albert

(1924-01-22)January 22, 1924
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
DiedMarch 25, 1996(1996-03-25) (aged 72)
Occupation(s)Novelist, screenwriter
Years active1956–1992

Biography

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During World War II Albert served in the United States Merchant Marine as a radio operator. After working as the director of a Philadelphia children's theater troupe he moved to New York in 1950 and began writing and editing for Quick[2] and Look magazines.

He began writing full-time over the success of his 1956 Western novel The Law and Jake Wade. He sometimes wrote under pseudonyms such as Albert Conroy, Ian McAlister, Nick Quarry and Anthony Rome.[3] Settings for his novels include France (where he lived for some time), Miami and the Old West. A 1975 international suspense thriller, The Gargoyle Conspiracy, written under his own name, was an Edgar nominee in the category of Best Mystery Novel.

Novels

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Westerns

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Westerns written under the name Al Conroy

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A series featuring the common character Clayburn. They were later reprinted in 1989-90 under Marvin Albert's own name.

Detective novels written under the name Al Conroy

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  • The Road's End (1952)
  • The Chiselers (1953)
  • Nice Guys Finish Dead (1957) (filmed as À Corps À Cris (1989)
  • Murder in Room 13 (1958) (filmed as Adieu Marin! (1993)
  • The Mob Says Murder (1958)
  • Devil in Dungarees (1960)

Jake Barrow Private Eye written under the name Nick Quarry

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  • The Hoods Come Calling (1958)
  • The Girl with No Place to Hide (1959)
  • Trail of a Tramp (1960)
  • Till It Hurts (1960)
  • No Chance in Hell (1960)
  • Some Die Hard (1961)

Tony Rome series

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A series featuring the private detective Tony Rome.

  • Miami Mayhem (As Anthony Rome - 1960), filmed as Tony Rome (1967)
  • The Lady in Cement, (As Anthony Rome, but published in England - 1961) filmed as Lady in Cement (1968)
  • My Kind of Game (As Anthony Rome - 1962)

A 1967 television pilot under the name Nick Quarry was based on Tony Rome[4]

as Nick Quarry

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Mafia fiction as Al Conroy

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Series character: Johnny Morini, Soldato: Man Against the Mafia.

  • Soldato! (1972)
  • Death Grip! (1972)
  • Strangle Hold! (1973)
  • Murder Mission! (1973)
  • Blood Run! (1973)

Stone Angel series

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A series featuring the common character Pete Sawyer.

  • The Dark Goddess (1978)
  • Stone Angel (1986)
  • Back in the Real World (1986)
  • Get Off at Babylon (1987)
  • Long Teeth (1987)
  • The Last Smile (1988)
  • The Midnight Sister (1989)
  • Bimbo Heaven (1990)
  • The Zig-Zag Man (1991)
  • The Riviera Contract (1992)

as Ian McAlister

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  • Skylark Mission (1973)
  • Driscoll's Diamonds (1973)
  • Strike Force 7 (1974)
  • Valley of the Assassins (1975)

Other crime thrillers

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  • Lie Down with Lions (1959)
  • The Looters (as Albert Conroy - 1961), filmed as Estouffade à la Caraïbe (1966)
  • The Gargoyle Conspiracy (1975)

Non fiction works

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  • The Long White Road a biography of the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton
  • Broadsides and Boarders a history of great sea captains
  • The Divorce (1965) about Henry VIII

Film novelizations

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TV tie-ins

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  • Mr. Lucky (1959), an original novel based on the TV series as by Al Conroy
  • Storefront Lawyers (1970), novelization of the pilot teleplay as by A.L. Conroy [sic]

Screenplays

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Other works

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As J. D. Christilian - "Scarlet Women" (1996).

As Marvin H. Albert - "Operation Lila" (1983), "The Medusa Complex", "Dancer's Progress and Schrodingers Cat"(1993 - possibly two stories in one volume) and "Hidden Lives" (1981).

Personal life

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He was survived by his artist wife Xenia Klar, one son, and one grandchild.

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In the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the character Rick Dalton is seen reading and discussing a western-themed paperback novel that features a character named Tom Breezy. The novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood includes an ad for the fictitious Tom Breezy book, which is identified as Ride a Wild Bronc by Marvin H. Albert.

References

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  1. ^ "matchID - Marvin Albert". Fichier des décès (in French). Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. ^ "About".
  3. ^ Grimes, William (31 March 1996). "Marvin H. Albert, 73, an Author Of Mysteries and Biographies". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  4. ^ Goldberg, Lee Unsold Television Pilots: 1955-1989 Adventures in Television, 5 Jul 2015
  5. ^ Dell Publishing, OCLC 23181101
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