Tom Curry (writer)

Tom Curry
BornThomas Albert Curry
(1900-11-04)November 4, 1900
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedOctober 7, 1976(1976-10-07) (aged 75)
Norwalk, Connecticut, U.S.
OccupationWriter
LanguageEnglish
Alma materColumbia University
GenrePulp fiction
Years active1923–1974
SpouseLouise Moore
Children2
Parents
  • Thomas Albert Curry Sr.
  • Sarah Jefferies
Relatives
Signature

Thomas Albert Curry (1900–1976[1]), was a 20th-century American pulp fiction writer who began writing crime and detective stories but went on to become one of the more prolific western writers in the genre.[2]

Early life

Curry was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on November 4, 1900. He attended Columbia College in 1920 and graduated in 1922.[1] In 1923, he worked as a crime reporter for William Randolph Hearst's newspaper the New York American.[3] Some of his early crime stories were taken from this experience.[4]

Curry's sister was actress Helen Curry who was married to fellow pulp fiction author F.R. Buckley.[3]

Writing career

Curry was paid $25.00 for his first story to be published, "Diamond in the Rough", which appeared in the March 1921 edition of pulp magazine People's Favorite[5]

In 1923 he was a crime reporter for the New York American.[6]

Curry's stories have appeared in over 400 pulp magazines including Argosy, Black Mask, The Blue Book Magazine, Short Stories and several Thrilling Publications including Texas Rangers,[7] Thrilling Adventures, Thrilling Ranch Stories and Thrilling Western[8][9]

The Rio Kid

In 1939 Curry created his most well known character, The Rio Kid, bringing an element of historical fiction to the genre with his lead character interacting with actual historical events and people. This series had its own magazine devoted to it from 1939 through 1953[8]

As was not uncommon in the genre, in addition to writing under his own name Curry would also write under pseudonyms including Jackson Cole, Bradford Scott (house names for Texas Ranger Magazine) and John Benton (house name for Thrilling Publications[5] and sometimes ghostwrite for others such as Romer Zane Grey, eldest son of Zane Grey.[8]

Curry was a prominent member of Western Writers of America for 50 years.[3]

Selected works

title published
The Bandits Of Boise 1965
The Buffalo Hunters - A Rio Kid Western
Blood on the Plains - A Captain Mesquite Novel 1947
Captain Mesquite
Chaparral Marauders 1939
Colorado Gold 1974
The Comstock Load
Drifter 1973
From an Amber Block 1930
Frontier Massacre 1974
Gunfighters Way
Gunfighters Holiday
Guns Of Dodge City
Hate Along The Rio 1938
Hell's Dimension 1931
Indian Outpost 1971
Kit Carson's Way
Land of Challenge 1965
Land Pirates, The 1976
Leadville Avengers - A Rio Kid Western 1970
Marshal Of Wichita 1946
The Montana Vigilantes - A Rio Kid Western 1941
The Mormon Trail - A Captain Mesquite Story 1942
Octopus Guns 1950
On To Cheyenne 1976
Outlaws Brand 1969
Pards of Buffalo Bill - A Rio Kid Western 1941
Raiders of the Valley 1946
Range Of Doom 1966
Riding For Custer - A Captain Mesquite Novel 1947
Round Up Guns
Trail Blazers, The - A Rio Kid Western
Trail Town Guns 1948
Wagons To California 1972

State register

Curry's former home in Norwalk, CT is listed on the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Thomas A. Curry, Writer Of Western Novels, Dies". New York Times. October 8, 1976.
  2. ^ "Western Pulp Writers". CowboyJamboreeMagazine.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Tom Curry - Author, Engineer, Sportsman PulpFlakes
  4. ^ Existentialism, Film Noir, and Hard-Boiled Fiction. Cambria Press. ISBN 9781621969280. Retrieved March 21, 2017 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b G. M. Farley, Tom Curry - A Biography, 1975, The Zane Grey Collector
  6. ^ "Tom Curry - Author, Engineer, Sportsman". The Hour. Norwalk, CT: The Hour. 24 Nov 1971.
  7. ^ Nick Carr, The Western Pulp Hero: An Investigation Into the Psyche of an American Legend, 1989, Starmont House, Inc.
  8. ^ a b c John Dinan, Sports in the Pulp Magazines, 1998, McFarland & Company, Inc.
  9. ^ Tom Curry Fiction Mag Index
  10. ^ Preservation Connecticut. "Frederick R. Buckley & Thomas A. Curry House". Creative Place: Arts & Letters in 20th Century Connecticut. Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
  • Tom Curry, Guiana Trap Dime Adventure Magazine, October 1939