Heinz Werner Höber
Encyclopedia
Heinz Werner Höber was a very prolific pulp fiction author who produced many novels about the fictitious FBI-agent Jerry Cotton
and eventually sued his publisher because he felt he had been entitled to receive royalties.
, Heinz Werner Höber was born in Saxony
. He also had in common with Karl May that he had been born into a rather poor family. His father introduced him to the works of Karl May in order to give him an incentive to improve his reading skills. Consequently the young Heinz Werner Höber started writing early his own Wild West stories, dreaming about having a career like Karl May, who had finally escaped poverty for good once he had published his famous tales about the fictional Wild West pioneer Old Shatterhand
and the Native American
Winnetou
. After the war Heinz Werner Höber befriended a Russian officer and on his way to West Germany he had the opportunity to visit the Karl May museum in Radebeul
. According to "Der Mann, der Jerry Cotton war" ("The man who had been Jerry Cotton") the museum had been closed down for an unknown period of time, but the administrator gave him a sightseeing tour anyway after his Russian friend had emphasised that he carried a gun. But before Höber became a published writer he accomplished his school education.
. The first author of Jerry Cotton had grown tired of his creation and of writing pulp fiction in general. Höber became his predecessor and led Jerry Cotton to new heights. He worked diligently on the new stories and driven by his ambitions to walk in the footsteps of Karl May he did not only a very big deal of research on the FBI and on New York, but also invented an American Indian
sidekick
called Zeerokah for Jerry Cotton. But in opposite to Karl May he didn't reach any fame because allegedly the G-man
Jerry Cotton wrote all his tales himself. Also Höber received only an all-inclusive fee for each novel, not considering the amplitude of the publisher's profit. So Heinz Werner Höber followed his cherished idol Karl May another time by meeting his own publisher at court. He demanded recognition as the main author of Jerry Cotton and a significant part of the profit. Since he was neither the actual creator of Jerry Cotton nor at any time the only author of this series (although he was considered the probably most productive and certainly most committed of the altogether about 100 writers) and because he had never been promised to get named or to obtain royalties, the trial did not make him rich but ruined him. Still he had eventually reached a high profile, could publish books under his real name and won the highly accredited Glauser
Award.
Jerry Cotton
Jerry Cotton is the fictional character in a series of crime novels by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland.- Overview :...
and eventually sued his publisher because he felt he had been entitled to receive royalties.
Early life
Like Karl MayKarl May
Karl Friedrich May was a popular German writer, noted mainly for adventure novels set in the American Old West, and similar books set in the Orient and Middle East . In addition, he wrote stories set in his native Germany, in China and in South America...
, Heinz Werner Höber was born in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
. He also had in common with Karl May that he had been born into a rather poor family. His father introduced him to the works of Karl May in order to give him an incentive to improve his reading skills. Consequently the young Heinz Werner Höber started writing early his own Wild West stories, dreaming about having a career like Karl May, who had finally escaped poverty for good once he had published his famous tales about the fictional Wild West pioneer Old Shatterhand
Old Shatterhand
Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in western novels by German writer Karl May . He is the German friend and blood brother of Winnetou, the fictional chief of the Mescalero tribe of the Apache...
and the Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
Winnetou
Winnetou
Winnetou is a fictional Native American hero of several novels written by Karl May in German, including the sequels Winnetou I through Winnetou IV....
. After the war Heinz Werner Höber befriended a Russian officer and on his way to West Germany he had the opportunity to visit the Karl May museum in Radebeul
Radebeul
Radebeul is a town in the Elbe valley in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, a suburb of Dresden. It is well-known for its viticulture, a museum dedicated to writer Karl May and a narrow gauge railway connecting Radebeul with the castle of Moritzburg and the town of Radeburg...
. According to "Der Mann, der Jerry Cotton war" ("The man who had been Jerry Cotton") the museum had been closed down for an unknown period of time, but the administrator gave him a sightseeing tour anyway after his Russian friend had emphasised that he carried a gun. But before Höber became a published writer he accomplished his school education.
Career
After some futile attempts to thrive as an actor, a comedian or a playwright he started writing pulp fiction. Those were the times when a gret deal of Germans read pulp fiction on a regular basis because there was only one TV programme. Höber gained the attention of Gustav Lübbe when he was looking for somebody who could deliver new adventures of Jerry CottonJerry Cotton
Jerry Cotton is the fictional character in a series of crime novels by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland.- Overview :...
. The first author of Jerry Cotton had grown tired of his creation and of writing pulp fiction in general. Höber became his predecessor and led Jerry Cotton to new heights. He worked diligently on the new stories and driven by his ambitions to walk in the footsteps of Karl May he did not only a very big deal of research on the FBI and on New York, but also invented an American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
called Zeerokah for Jerry Cotton. But in opposite to Karl May he didn't reach any fame because allegedly the G-man
G-Man (slang)
G-Man is a slang term for Special agents of the United States Government. It is specifically used as a term for a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent....
Jerry Cotton wrote all his tales himself. Also Höber received only an all-inclusive fee for each novel, not considering the amplitude of the publisher's profit. So Heinz Werner Höber followed his cherished idol Karl May another time by meeting his own publisher at court. He demanded recognition as the main author of Jerry Cotton and a significant part of the profit. Since he was neither the actual creator of Jerry Cotton nor at any time the only author of this series (although he was considered the probably most productive and certainly most committed of the altogether about 100 writers) and because he had never been promised to get named or to obtain royalties, the trial did not make him rich but ruined him. Still he had eventually reached a high profile, could publish books under his real name and won the highly accredited Glauser
Friedrich Glauser
Friedrich Glauser was a German-language Swiss writer. He was a morphine and opium addict for most of his life. In his first novel Gourrama, written between 1928 and 1930, he treated his own experiences at the French Foreign Legion...
Award.