Raymond Leslie Goldman

Raymond Leslie Goldman
Born1895
Died1950 (aged 54–55)
Relatives

Raymond Leslie Goldman (1895-1950) was an American author of short stories and detective novels. He almost always signed his works R. L. Goldman.

Some of Raymond Leslie Goldman's books

Biography

Goldman had polio as a child, he wrote about in his memoirs The Good Fight (1935)[1] and Victory Over Pain (1947).[2] As a result of the disease, he had atrophied muscles in his legs. He became deaf when he was 19 years old. He also had diabetes and followed a limited diet.[3]

Goldman served in World War I, after which he held several jobs in radio and with pulp magazines.[4]

In 1917, he published his first short story in Collier's Weekly. He later settled in Nashville, Tennessee.[5] He regularly contributed short stories, often humorous, to The Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.[5] In 1922, he wrote Bing Bang Boom!, a novel in the same vein that was adapted into a silent film. Other works of Goldman's adapted into films included Battling Bunyan (1924), from a short story in the Saturday Evening Post, and That Red-Headed Hussy (1929).

Commencing in 1929 with The Hartwell Case,[5] Goldman gradually transitioned from short stories to detective fiction, notably a six-title series whose protagonists were newspaper editor Asaph Clume and fiery, red-headed reporter Rufus Reed.[6] Rufus often narrated their investigations, which took place in a fictional small town in the American Midwest.[7]

Goldman died in 1950.[6] His books remain sought after by collectors.[8]

Personal

His nephews Louis L. Goldman and Ben F. Goldman Jr. and great-grandnephew Jeffrey D. Goldman were noted entertainment attorneys.

Writings

Asaph Clume and Rufus Reed series

  • The Murder of Harvey Blake (1931)
  • Murder Without Motive (1938)
  • Death Plays Solitaire (1939)
  • The Snatch (1940)
  • Murder Behind the Mike (1942)
  • The Purple Shells (1947)

Other detective novels

  • The Hartwell Case (1929)
  • Judge Robinson Murdered! (1936)
  • Out on Bail (1937)

Comic novel

  • Bing Bang Boom! (1922)

Memoirs

  • The Good Fight (1935)
  • Even The Night (1947)

Short stories

  • The Smell of the Sawdust (1917)
  • The Fourth Degree (1920)
  • The Rainbow Chasers (1921)
  • Quince or Prince? (1921)
  • The House of the Crying Child (1922)
  • The Man Who Forgot to Forget (1923)
  • Battling Bunyan Ceases to be Funny (1924)
  • Kid Webber Does His Best (1925)
  • Malowan (1925)
  • Packy Makes the Weight (1926)
  • Muggy’s Talisman (1928)
  • Hushaby, My Abie (1929)
  • The Glory of the Kildones (1929)
  • My Old Unlocky Home (1929)
  • Yankee Noodles (1929)
  • Then I’ll Remember You (1929)
  • Grandfather’s Stock (1929)
  • Knock ‘em Down, Moe Closky (1929)
  • For the Sake of Old Man Stein (1929)
  • Silver Weds Among the Goldbergs (1929)
  • Dolling, We are Growing Thinner (1930)
  • Bread on the Water (1930)

Adaptations

  • 1922: Bing Bang Boom, silent film by Fred J. Butler, based on the novel of the same name, with David Butler and Doris Pawn.
  • 1924: Battling Bunyan, silent film by Paul Hurst, based on Saturday Evening Post short story Battling Bunyan Ceases to be Funny, with Wesley Barry, Frank Campeau and Molly Malone.[7]

References

  1. ^ "The Happy Warrior". Nashville Banner: 29. 22 September 1935.
  2. ^ Lask, Thomas (19 October 1947). "Victory Over Pain". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  3. ^ McBride, Mary Margaret (17 October 1935). "Deaf, Crippled, Ill, Yet Happy". Arizona Daily Star: 8.
  4. ^ Pronzini, Bill; Berch, Victor; Lewis, Steve. "A Complete Set of Fingerprints". www.mysteryfile.com. Mystery File. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Author: R.L. Goldman". www.bookerworm.com. BookerWorm. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Goldman, Raymond Leslie, 1895-1950". archives-manuscripts.dartmouth.edu. Dartmouth Libraries. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  7. ^ a b Baudou, Jacques; Schleret, Jean-Jacques (1984). Le Vrai Visage du Masque (The True Face of the Mask). Futuropolis. p. 221.
  8. ^ "Classic Crime Fiction: R.L. Goldman Autobiography". www.classiccrimefiction.com. Classic Crime Fiction. Retrieved 31 January 2024.