Earl Derr Biggers
Encyclopedia
Earl Derr Biggers was an American
novelist and playwright
. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese
-American detective Charlie Chan
.
, and graduated from Harvard University
in 1907. Many of his plays and novels were made into movies. He was posthumously inducted into the Warren City Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.
His novel Seven Keys to Baldpate led to seven films of the same title and at least two with different titles (House of the Long Shadows
, Haunted Honeymoon
) but essentially equivalent plots. George M. Cohan
adapted the novel as an occasionally revived stage play of the same name. Cohan starred in the 1917 film version (one of his rare screen appearances) and the film version he later wrote (released in 1935) is perhaps the best known of the seven film versions.
Biggers lived in San Marino, California
, and died in a Pasadena, California
, hospital after suffering a heart attack in Palm Springs, California
. He was 48.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. He is remembered primarily for adaptations of his novels, especially those featuring the Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-American detective Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan
Charlie Chan is a fictional Chinese-American detective created by Earl Derr Biggers in 1919. Loosely based on Honolulu detective Chang Apana, Biggers conceived of the benevolent and heroic Chan as an alternative to Yellow Peril stereotypes, such as villains like Fu Manchu...
.
Biography
The son of Robert J. and Emma E. (Derr) Biggers, Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, OhioWarren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
, and graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1907. Many of his plays and novels were made into movies. He was posthumously inducted into the Warren City Schools Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.
His novel Seven Keys to Baldpate led to seven films of the same title and at least two with different titles (House of the Long Shadows
House of the Long Shadows
House of the Long Shadows is a horror-parody film directed by Pete Walker. The screenplay by Michael Armstrong is based on the novel Seven Keys to Baldpate by Earl Derr Biggers. The original music score is composed by Richard Harvey....
, Haunted Honeymoon
Haunted Honeymoon
Haunted Honeymoon is a 1986 comedy movie starring Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, Dom Deluise, and Jonathan Pryce. Wilder also served as the film's writer and director. The film also marked Radner's final appearance prior to her death of ovarian cancer in 1989....
) but essentially equivalent plots. George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
adapted the novel as an occasionally revived stage play of the same name. Cohan starred in the 1917 film version (one of his rare screen appearances) and the film version he later wrote (released in 1935) is perhaps the best known of the seven film versions.
Biggers lived in San Marino, California
San Marino, California
San Marino is a small, affluent city in Los Angeles County, California. Incorporated in 1913, the City founders designed the community to be uniquely residential, with expansive properties surrounded by beautiful gardens, wide streets, and well maintained parkways...
, and died in a Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, hospital after suffering a heart attack in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...
. He was 48.
The Charlie Chan series
- The House Without a KeyThe House Without a KeyThe House Without a Key is a novel that was written in 1925 by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first of the Charlie Chan mysteries written by Biggers....
(1925) - The Chinese ParrotThe Chinese ParrotThe Chinese Parrot is the second novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers. It is the first in which Chan travels from Hawaii to mainland California, and involves a crime whose exposure is hastened by the death of a parrot.The story concerns a valuable string of...
(1926) - Behind That CurtainBehind That CurtainBehind That Curtain is the third novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers.-Plot summary:It is set almost exclusively in California , and tells the story of the former head of Scotland Yard, a detective who is pursuing the long-cold trail of a murderer...
(1928) - The Black CamelThe Black CamelThe Black Camel is the fourth of the Charlie Chan novels by Earl Derr Biggers.-Plot summary:It tells the story of a Hollywood star , who is stopping in Hawaii after she finished shooting a film on location in Tahiti. She is murdered in the pavilion of her renter house in Waikiki during her stay...
(1929) - Charlie Chan Carries OnCharlie Chan Carries OnCharlie Chan Carries On is the fifth novel in the Charlie Chan series by Earl Derr Biggers.-Plot summary:Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend of Chan's, first introduced in Behind That Curtain, is pursuing a murderer on an around-the-world voyage; so far, there have been murders in...
(1930) - Keeper of the KeysKeeper of the KeysKeeper of the Keys is the sixth and last mystery in the Charlie Chan series of Earl Derr Biggers; Biggers was planning on continuing the series, but died in 1933 before he could.-Plot summary:...
(1932)
Other works
- Seven Keys to BaldpateSeven Keys to BaldpateSeven Keys to Baldpate is a 1917 silent film mystery produced by George M. Cohan and distributed by Artcraft Pictures, an affiliate of Paramount. It is based on Cohan's play of the novel by Earl Derr Biggers. Cohan himself stars in this silent version along with Anna Q. Nilsson and Hedda Hopper,...
(1913) - Love Insurance (1914)
- Inside the Lines (1915) (with Robert Welles Ritchie)
- The Agony Column (1916) (also published as Second Floor Mystery)
- Fifty Candles (1926)
- Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories (short storiesShort StoriesShort Stories may refer to:*A plural for Short story*Short Stories , an American pulp magazine published from 1890-1959*Short Stories, a 1954 collection by O. E...
) (1933)
External links
- Works by Earl Derr Biggers at Project Gutenberg of Australia
- Earl Derr Biggers, at wikilivres.info