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Raymond Chandler

Raymond Chandler

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Also Known As: Raymond Thornton Chandler Died: March 26, 1959
Born: July 23, 1888 Cause of Death: pneumonia
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA Profession: novelist, screenwriter, journalist, businessman, bookkeeper

Biography CLOSE THE FULL BIOGRAPHY

Intelligent, hard-hitting crime writer whose highly cinematic novels had a direct influence on the emergence of film noir. Though often written in collaboration, Chandler's screenplays bear all the trademarks of his books, from lightning-quick dialogue to labyrinthine plots. "The Big Sleep" was published in 1939, and "Farewell, My Lovely" (published 1940), was filmed as "The Falcon Takes Over" (1942) and "Murder My Sweet" (1944) before being brought to the screen in 1975 with its title intact. Chandler's private eye Philip Marlowe has been portrayed on the screen by actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, Elliott Gould and, most definitively, Humphrey Bogart in the noir masterpiece "The Big Sleep" (1946).

Intelligent, hard-hitting crime writer whose highly cinematic novels had a direct influence on the emergence of film noir. Though often written in collaboration, Chandler's screenplays bear all the trademarks of his books, from lightning-quick dialogue to labyrinthine plots. "The Big Sleep" was published in 1939, and "Farewell, My Lovely" (published 1940), was filmed as "The Falcon Takes Over" (1942) and "Murder My Sweet" (1944) before being brought to the screen in 1975 with its title intact. Chandler's private eye Philip Marlowe has been portrayed on the screen by actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, Dick Powell, Elliott Gould and, most definitively, Humphrey Bogart in the noir masterpiece "The Big Sleep" (1946).

Filmographyclose complete filmography

CAST: (feature film)

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Milestones close milestones

:
Born in Chicago but raised in England after parents' divorce
1907:
Became a naturalized British citizen and went to work at the Admiralty
1908:
Published first poem in <i>Chamber's Journal</i>
:
Worked as a teacher at Dulwich College Prepatory School
:
Was a journalist for the <i>Daily Express</i> and the <i>Western Gazette</i>
:
Published book of poetry in England called "The Rose-Leaf Romance"
1912:
Moved back to the USA
1917:
Served in the Canadian Army and later the Royal Air Force during WWI
:
Worked as a bank clerk, a reporter for San Francisco's <i>Daily Express</i> , and as a bookkeeper; eventually fired as a result of his alcoholism
1933:
Sold first story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot," to <i>Black Mask</i> magazine; published in December issue
:
Wrote 19 stories published in <i>Black Mask, Dime Detective</i> and <i>Detective Fiction Week</i>
1939:
Published first novel "The Big Sleep" which had detective Philip Marlowe as protagonist
1940:
"Farewell, My Lovely" published; sold film rights the following year to RKO for $2000
1942:
First film credit "The Falcon Takes Over", based on "Farewell, My Lovely"
1944:
First film as co-writer (with director Billy Wilder), "Double Indemnity"; the 1972 TV version credits original screenplay as partial basis
1945:
Only film as solo writer, "The Blue Dahlia"
1951:
Co-wrote the screenplay for "Strangers on a Train", directed by Alfred Hitchcock; last produced script
1953:
Published sixth Marlowe novel, "The Long Goodbye"
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Education

Dulwich College Prepatory School: - 1900 - 1905

Companions close complete companion listing

wife:
Pearl Eugenie Hurlburt. Born in October 29, 1870; was married at time they began relationship in 1919; had already been married and divorced once; divorced second husband to be with Chandler; married on February 6, 1924; at time of wedding, claimed to have been born in 1881; died on December 12, 1954.
companion:
Jessica Tyndale. Banker. Met on a cruise to England in 1955.
companion:
Helga Greene. Literary agent. Chandler proposed to her in February 1959.

Family close complete family listing

mother:
Florence Chandler. Divorced from Chandler's father in 1895; died in January 1924.

Bibliography close complete biography

"The Big Sleep" Alfred A. Knopf
"Farewell, My Lovely" Alfred A. Knopf
"The High Window" Alfred A. Knopf
"The Lady in the Lake" Alfred A. Knopf
"The Little Sister" Hamish Hamilton
"The Long Goodbye" Hamish Hamilton
"Playback" Hamish Hamilton
"Chandler Before Marlowe: Raymond Chandler's Early Prose and Poetry" University of South Carolina Press
"The Life of Raymond Chandler" Dutton
"Raymond Chandler: A Descriptive Bibliography" University of Pittsburgh Press
"Raymond Chandler and Film" Frederick Hungar
"Raymond Chandler in Hollywood" Silman-James Press
"Raymond Chandler: A Biography" Atlantic Monthly Press
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