Cameron Hawley was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 writer of fiction from Howard, South Dakota

Howard, South Dakota

Howard is a city in Miner County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 858 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Miner County.-Geography:Howard is located at ....

. Much of Hawley's output concerned the pressures of modern life, particularly in a business setting. He published numerous novels and short stories.

Hawley's novel Executive Suite

Executive Suite

Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...

was the first title published by Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books

Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...

 in 1952. Ian Ballantine

Ian Ballantine

Ian Keith Ballantine was a pioneering American publisher who founded and published the innovative paperback line of Ballantine Books from 1952 to 1974 with his wife, Betty Ballantine....

 announced that he would "offer trade publishers a plan for simultaneous publishing of original titles in two editions, a hardcover 'regular' edition for bookstore sale, and a paper-cover, 'newsstand' size, low-priced edition for mass market sale." The publishing industry sat up and took notice, because the simultaneous hardcover and paperback editions of Executive Suite were obvious successes. Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...

 published the $3.00 hardcover at the same time Ballantine distributed its 35¢ paperback. By February 1953 Ballantine had sold 375,000 copies and was preparing to print 100,000 more. Houghton Mifflin sold 20,500 hardback copies. Instead of hurting hardback sales, the paperback edition gave the book more publicity.

Film adaptations

Movie rights were sold to MGM, and Robert Wise

Robert Wise

Robert Earl Wise was an American sound effects editor, film editor, film producer and director...

 directed the 1954 film, featuring William Holden

William Holden

William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...

, June Allyson

June Allyson

June Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...

, Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck

Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...

, Fredric March

Fredric March

Fredric March was an American stage and film actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1932 for Dr. Jekyll and Mr...

, Walter Pidgeon

Walter Pidgeon

Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...

, Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters

Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...

 and Nina Foch

Nina Foch

Nina Foch was a Dutch-born American actress and leading lady in many 1940s and 1950s films.- Personal life :...

. It was nominated for four Academy Awards.

Hawley's novel Cash McCall

Cash McCall

Cash McCall is a 1960 movie starring James Garner and Natalie Wood, based upon the novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley about a man who buys businesses in order to sell them at a profit...

was made into a film in 1960 starring James Garner

James Garner

James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...

 and Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood, born Natalia Nikolaevna Zacharenko was an American film and television actress. After first working in films as a child, Wood became a successful Hollywood star as a young adult, receiving three Academy Award nominations before she was 25 years old.Wood began acting in movies at the...

.

A short-lived television series based on Executive Suite lasted only six months for a total of 18 episodes. It was telecast on CBS from September 20, 1976 until February 11, 1977.

Selected bibliography

• Executive Suite
  Executive Suite
  Executive Suite is a 1954 MGM drama film depicting the transfer of power in a corporation in trouble. The film stars William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, and Walter Pidgeon. It was directed by Robert Wise and produced by John Houseman from a screenplay by Ernest Lehman based on the...
  
  (1952)
• Cash McCall
  Cash McCall
  Cash McCall is a 1960 movie starring James Garner and Natalie Wood, based upon the novel of the same name by Cameron Hawley about a man who buys businesses in order to sell them at a profit...
  
  (1955)
• The Lincoln Lords (1960)
• The Hurricane Years (1968)