Leslie Edgley
BornLeslie John Edgley
(1912-10-14)October 14, 1912
London, England, U.K.
DiedMarch 12, 2002(2002-03-12) (aged 89)
Pen nameRobert Bloomfield, Michael Gillian,[1] Brook Hastings[lower-alpha 1]
OccupationNovelist, radio dramatist, screenwriter
GenreMystery
Notable worksPerry Mason
SpouseMary Anna Gustaitis[4]
Children3[5][6]

Leslie John Edgley (October 14, 1912[7] – August 9, 2002)[8] was an English-born American mystery fiction writer, radio dramatist screenwriter and playwright. Among the works for which he became known are the scripts for many episodes of Perry Mason, written as "Robert Bloomfield".[7]

Early life and career

Edgley was born in London in 1912, but emigrated with his parents to Canada in 1918; four years later, they came to the United States, finally putting down roots in East Chicago, Indiana. Edgley spent his formative years in the Marktown district, graduating from Washington High School in 1930.[9][7] In 1936, one year after marrying East Chicago native Mary Anna Gustaitis;[10][4] Edgley attained United States citizenship.[11] In 1944, the couple relocated to California.[7][12]

Beginning his writing career in the 1940s, Edgley published work under his own name, but also started using the name "Robert Bloomfield" as a pen name on some of his work as early as 1947.

In 1952, Edgley was named as a former member of the Communist Party USA[13] by Roy Huggins, in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. [14][15] From 1956 forward, in order to work around being on the Hollywood blacklist, all of Edgley's television work was credited to his already established alias of Robert Bloomfield.

As Robert Bloomfield, Edgley had a prolific TV writing career between 1956 and 1968, writing episodes of Lassie, Climax!, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Wild Wild West, and many other US TV series.

Works

as Leslie Edgley

  • No Birds Sing, New York, Farrar & Rinehart, 1940, 328 pp.[16]
  • Fear No More, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1946, 202 pp.
    • Reprinted by Ace, 1953, bound dos-à-dos with Hal Braham (as Mel Colton), Never Kill A Cop
  • False Face, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1946, 202 pp.
  • The Angry Heart, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1947, 190 pp.
    • Reprinted as Tracked Down by Ace, 1954, bound dos-à-dos with Martin L. Weiss, Death Hitches A Ride
  • The Judas Goat, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1952, 190 pp.
  • The Runaway Pigeon, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1953, 188 pp.
    • Also published as One Blonde Died, Lawrence E. Pivak, N.Y., 1953, Bestseller Mystery B171
    • Published in UK as Diamonds Spell Death, Arthur Barker, 1954, Museum Street Thriller series
  • A Dirty Business, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969, 182 pp.[17]

as Robert Bloomfield

  • Shadow of Guilt, New York, Doubleday, 1947
  • From This Day Forward, New York, Doubleday, 1952
  • Lust for Vengeance, New York, Doubleday, 1952, 189 pp.
  • Russian Roulette, New York, Harcourt, 1955
  • When Strangers Meet, New York, Doubleday, 1956
  • Kill With Kindness, New York, Doubleday, 1962

as Michael Gillian

  • Warrant for a Wanton, New York, Mill-William Morrow & Company, 1952, 246 pp.

with Mary Edgley (as Brook Hastings)

  • The Demon Within, New York, Doubleday, 1953

Notes

  1. ↑ "Brook Hastings" is the pseudonym employed for books authored jointly by Edgley and his wife, the former Mary Anna Gustaitis.[2][1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 Gorman, Ed; Greenberg, Martin H. (2004). The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 5: Fifth Annual Collection. New York : Tom Doherty Associates. p. 30. ISBN 0-765-31146-1.
  2. ↑ "Brooke Hastings; Disambiguation Notice". LibraryThing.
  3. ↑ Copyright Office (1954). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1953: July-December. Washington : Library of Congress. p. 284. OCLC 3864098.
  4. 1 2 "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL9S-ZYD8 : 27 March 2017), Leslie John Edgley in entry for Michael Edgley, 11 Nov 1937; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 42492, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
  5. ↑ Ault, George T. (June 25, 1950). "Sideshow; Hollywood Note". The Times (Munster, Indiana). p. 39. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  6. ↑ Montgomery, Marge (September 13, 1958). "Families Adopt Exchange Students for Academic Year; Jill's Idea Too; Diet Fad". Los Angeles Citizen-News. p. 10. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Region's most accomplished mystery writer". Times of Northwest Indiana. 1990-11-08. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
  8. ↑ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JP5B-D6F : 9 January 2021), Leslie J Edgley, 29 Aug 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
  9. ↑ "192 Seniors Leave School on Wednesday". The Times (Munster, Indiana). June 5, 1930. p. 16. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Gustaitis-Edgley". The Hammond Times. July 11, 1935. p. 6. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Indiana Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1848-1993," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVM8-7GMN : 8 November 2017), Leslie John Edgley, 1936; citing Naturalization, Hammond, Lake, Indiana, United States, NARA NAID 5682644, National Archives at Chicago, Illinois, n.d.
  12. ↑ Kott, Anthony J. (February 16, 1940). "East Chicago Is Locale of Novel's Plot; Former Harbor Youth Author of Powerful New Work of Fiction". The Hammond Times. p. 45. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  13. ↑ Roy Huggins on joining the Communist Party on YouTube
  14. ↑ Sherman, Gene (September 30, 1952). "Film Director Huggins Tells Own Red Links". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. "Huggins, a crisp, crew-cut UCLA graduate, gave a well-worded, unfaltering recitation of his Communist Party activities. He included names of 22 persons he knew when he was a member of Red organizations." Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Pictures: 3 Writers Added To Red Pix List At L.A. Hearings". Variety. October 1, 1952. p. 4. ProQuest 963145770.
  16. ↑ Clayton, Robert (March 10, 1940). "Depression and War Form Background for Novel of Today by Leslie Edgley". Chattanooga Daily Times.
  17. ↑ "Last of Judge Dee Series?; Also Recommended". The Boston Globe. p. 80-B. Retrieved June 1, 2022.

Further reading

  • "Son and Father Held in East Chicago Death". The Times (Munster, Indiana). April 21, 1930. p. 3.
  • Edgley, Leslie (April 12, 1932). "An Honest Man". Shamokin News-Dispatch. p. 3
  • Edgley, Leslie (April 20, 1933). "Valor's a Name". Shamokin News-Dispatch. p. 6
  • Edgley, Leslie (January 9, 1944). "Solid Citizen". New York Daily News. p. C24
  • "TV Films in Production as of Friday, Aug. 29: Federal Telefilm, Inc.". Variety. September 3, 1952. p. 18
  • "Drama Editor's Son Begins Trip to London for Study". Los Angeles Times. September 27, 1952. p. B20. ProQuest 166408392.
  • United Press (September 30, 1952). "Ex-Red Bares More Film Names". New York Daily News. p. 34
  • United Press (September 30, 1952). "Film Writer Lists Movie 'Marxists'; Says It Is Impossible to Be Red and Loyal American". New York Herald Tribune. ProQuest 1319920514.
  • "Pictures: 3 Writers Added To Red Pix List At L.A. Hearings". Variety. October 1, 1952. p. 4. ProQuest 963145770.
  • Hughes, Dorothy B. (January 30, 1953). "Report Card of Crime". The Albuquerque Tribune. p. 14
  • Fink, John (December 30, 1956). "In TV Dramas, The Certainty Is Uncertainty". Chicago Tribune. Pt. 3, p. 6
  • "TV Writing Deals". The Hollywood Reporter. May 18, 1959. p. 8. ProQuest 2338226753.
  • "Joan O'Brien Draws Gun". The Hollywood Reporter. May 22, 1959. p. 11. ProQuest 2338217938.
  • "Television Reviews: Checkmate". The Hollywood Reporter. November 21, 1960. p. 9. ProQuest 2338100545.
  • "A New Thriller". The Stage and Television Today. October 17, 1963. p. 14. ProQuest 1040475168.
  • "See 'Portrait of Murder' Paying Off by February". Variety. January 1, 1964. p. 3. ProQuest 964059658.
  • Nightingale, Benedict (August 24, 1964). "Review: 'Portrait of Murder' at Derby Playhouse". The Guardian. p. 3. ProQuest 964059658.
  • Hughes, Dorothy B. (March 2, 1969). "The Crime File: Suspense Novels Await Scrutiny". Los Angeles Times. Calendar, p. 38.
  • "7 Pix Pend for Levy-Gardner-Laven". Variety. October 6, 1971. p. 20. ProQuest 1017163618. Company has also acquired 'Final Reckoning' by Robert Bloomfield for projected shooting in summer or fall of next year. Budget is $2,500,000 for suspended drama with two backgrounds, onecontemporary and the other the Prohibition era. Novel is being published by Robert Hale in England in October.
  • Grant, Hank (April 7, 1980). "Rambling Reporter". The Hollywood Reporter. p. 9. ProQuest 2338100545. Also on the book beat: Film rights to Robert Bloomfield's suspense novel, 'Kill With Kindness,' have gone to London's Witzend Productions. (Sounds like one of my spies.)
  • MaGuire, Mary (September 28, 1998). "Communities: At Home in East Chicago". The Chicago Tribune. p. 1. ProQuest 418715031.


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