Richard S. Prather

Richard Scott Prather (born September 9, 1921, died February 14, 2007 [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2308391.ece "The Independent" (Feb. 27, 2007): "Richard S. Prather: Creator of the private eye Shell Scott", by Jack Adrian] ] ) was an American mystery novelist, best known for creating the "Shell Scott" series. He additionally wrote under the pseudonyms David Knight and Douglas Ring.

Biography

Early life and career

Richard Scott Prather was born in Santa Ana, California. He spent a year at Riverside Junior College (now Riverside Community College). He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II, from 1942 through the end of the war in 1945. That year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He left that that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. The first Shell Scott mystery, "Case of the Vanishing Beauty" was published in 1950.

Later career

Prather had a disagreement with his publisher Pocket Books and sued them in 1975. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. 1986 he returned with "The Amber Effect". Prather's final book, "Shellshock", was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books. He donated his papers to the Richard S. Prather Manuscript Collection at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, Wyoming.

Personal

Prather's wife died in April 2004, after 58 years of marriage.

Awards and honors

* Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award (1986)
* Twice served on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America.

Bibliography

hell Scott novels

*"Case of the Vanishing Beauty" — 1950
*"Bodies in Bedlam" — 1951
*"Everybody Had a Gun" — 1951
*"Find This Woman" — 1951
*"Dagger of Flesh" — 1952
*"Darling, It's Death" — 1952
*"Pattern for Murder" a.k.a. "The Scrambled Yeggs" (as David Knight) — 1952
*"Way of a Wanton" — 1952
*" Always Leave 'em Dying" — 1954
*"Pattern for Panic" — 1954
*"Over Her Dead Body" — 1955
*"Ride a High Horse" a.k.a. "Too Many Crooks" —1956
*" Strip for Murder" — 1956
*"The Wailing Frail" — 1956
*"The Deadly Darling" — 1957
*"Have Gat - Will Travel" (short stories) — 1957
*" Three's a Shroud" (novelettes) — 1957
*" Slab Happy" — 1958
*" Take a Murder" — 1958
*" Double in Trouble" (with Stephen Marlowe) — 1959
*" Dance with the Dead" — 1960
*"Dig That Crazy Grave" — 1961
*"Shell Scott's Seven Slaughters" (short stories) — 1961
*" Kill the Clown" — 1962
*" Dead Heat" — 1963
*" The Cockeyed Corpse" — 1964
*"Joker in the Deck" — 1964
*" The Trojan Hearse" — 1964
*" Dead Man's Walk" — 1965
*" Kill Him Twice" — 1965
*"The Meandering Corpse" — 1965
*" The Kubla Khan Caper" — 1966
*" Gat Heat" — 1967
*" The Cheim Manuscript" — 1969
*" Kill Me Tomorrow" — 1969
*" The Shell Scott Sampler" (short stories) — 1969
*" Dead-Bang" — 1971
*"The Sweet Ride" — 1972
*" The Sure Thing" — 1975
*"The Amber Effect" — 1986
*"Shellshock" — 1987

=Other novels=
*"Lie Down, Killer" — 1952As David Knight
*"Dragnet: Case No. 561" — UK title: "Case No. 561" — 1956As Douglas Ring
*"The Peddler"

Footnotes

References

*Reilly, John M., editor. "Twentieth Century Crime and Mystery Writers" (St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1980): entry
*"Marquis Who’s Who in America" (2002 edition): entry
* [http://user.dtcc.edu/~dean/ The Richard S. Prather / Shell Scott Website] (includes interview)
* [http://www.donpendleton.com "An Exclusive Interview with Richard S. Prather, Author of the Shell Scott Mystery Series", by Linda Pendleton]

External links

* [http://www.iblist.com/author3379.htm Richard S. Prather] at the Internet Book List