Sunday, November 12, 2006

Franklin W. Dixon


Thanks to George Kelley for the link. Check out the whole article. Very interesting stuff.

Buffalo News - Daughter remembers a Hardy writer: "LEWISTON - Local author Norah A. Perez is the daughter of one of Canada's most famous writers.

Under the pen name Franklin W. Dixon - one of the most recognized names in authorship - her father, Leslie McFarlane was responsible for the 'Hardy Boys' series.

McFarlane wrote the first 21 'Hardy Boys' books from 1927 to 1947, but never received any royalties or fan mail from the popular series, his daughter said."

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Somehow I always thought James wrote these also.

Unknown said...

He hasn't denied it.

Brent McKee said...

Leslie Mcfarlane's son Brian is widely known as one of the more prolific writers on the game of Hockey around, most for a younger audience. For many years he was one of the primary commentators on CBC's Hockey Night In Canada. He also wrote a biography of his father which actually revealed that Leslie McFarlane was the original "Franklin W. Dixon." Leslie McFarlane would later go on to be nominated for an Oscar in 1953 in the Best Live Action Short Film category for an National Film Board documentary that he did, and he wrote at least one episode of the TV series Bonanza for his friend (and frequent NFB film narrator) Lorne Greene.

Unknown said...

Great stuff, Brent. Thanks.

James Reasoner said...

I love those early Hardy Boys books where they're racing around in a roadster with their chums. Read every one I could get my hands on and hated the updated and rewritten versions. I ought to reread some of them.

Unknown said...

I never read any of the updated or the new ones. Neal Barrett wrote a couple of the latter, I hear. Don't know if that's true. For me, the Hardy Boys will always drive a roadster, hand out with Chet, and banter with Aunt Gertrude. Probably best not to read them again, though.