Authors and Creators
Erle Stanley Gardner
(1889-1970)
Also wrote as A.A. Fair, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenney, Charles M. Green

Although many critics felt that Erle Stanley Gardner was not a very good novelist (Rex Stout, for example, once claimed that the Perry Mason books weren't even novels!), Gardner was one of the best selling writers of all times, and certainly one of the best-selling mystery authors ever. He was best known for creating the world's most famous fictional lawyer, Perry Mason. If that were all he ever did, he'd probably still rank a bio on this site, given that Mason, in his earliest books, was little more than a private eye licensed to practise law. But he did more, much more...

Gardner was born in Massachusetts, but his father's job as a mining engineer took the family all over--sometimes as far as the Klondike. A bit of a roughneck as a lad, he was constantly getting into brawls. He once boasted he was kicked out of Indiana's Valparaiso university for "slugging a professor." He also participated and organized several illegal boxing matches. At this point, young Erle eventually decided that a little knowledge of the law might come in handy, so he landed a gig as a typist at an Oxnard, California law firm. He stuck around, picking up what legal knowledge he could, and three years later, without any formal training, he passed the bar in 1911, and began to practise law himself. The fledgling lawyer soon found himself gaining a rep among the Chinese and Mexican communities, with whom he developed some long-standing friendships. (To his credit, characters from these communities who appeared in his fiction were not the usual stereotypical villains so popular at the time, but actually appeared as real people, or at least as real as any of Gardner's characters ever were. Let's just say in-depth characterization wasn't his strong suit.)

Always on the eye to increase his income, Gardner abandoned the law for a short stint, working as a tire salesman, but soon realized he missed the law and returned, this time signing on with a Ventura, Californuia firm. About this time, he also began to write, forcing himself to churn out four thousand words a night. It took two years, but he made his first sale to the pulps. It wouldn't be the last.

The fact is, before he'd even written a single novel, Gardner was one of America's most successful writers. He was truly the king of the pulps, writing millions and millions of words, cranking out a steady barrage of characters in everything from Black Mask to Argosy. Most of his stories dealt with one side or the other of the law (and often, both). A contemporary of Carroll John Daly and Dashiell Hammett, Gardner had the longest run of any author in Black Mask, and wrote more stories for the magazine (more than a few under pseudonyms) than any other author. In fact, he probably created more characters, particularly continuing characters, for the magazine than any one else. Asked once why he wrote, Gardner confessed that "I write to make money, and I write to give the reader sheer fun." He succeeded on both counts. He favoured action and dialogue over characterization or overly-complicated plots, and tended to stress "speed, situation and suspense." It was just what the pulps wanted.

And although his greatesr creation, Mason , never appeared in its pages, in the early 1930s Black Mask published a string of six short stories starring crusading defense lawyer Ken Corning who fought against injustice in a corrupt city. In many ways, Corning served as a rough template for Mason.

He created at least three dozen characters for the pulps alone. Here they are, and the pulps they mostly appeared in:

• Sheriff Billy Bales (Clues)
• Jerry Bane (another name for Paul Pry; Argosy)
• Dave Barker
• Black Barr (Western gunslinger/detective, AKA "Fate's Executioner)
• Dred Bart
• Dudley Bell (All Detective)
• Bob Crowder
• Dick Bentley (Dime Detective)
• Jax Bowman (Argosy)
• Major Copley Brane (Argosy; a freelance diplomat)
• Perry Burke (Clues)
• Ken Corning (slick attorney who predated Mason; Black Mask)
• Bob Crowder (All Detective)
• Speed Dash, The Human Fly
• Senor Arnaz de Lobo (soldier of fortune)
• Double Decker (Detective Story)
• Fong Dei
• Go Get 'Em Garver (Dime Detective)
• Hard Rock Hogan
• Ed Jenkins (con artist/thief, Black Mask)
• Rex Kane (Detective Action Stories)
• Jax Keen (Double Detective)
• Barney Killigen (Clues)
• Bob Larkin (adventurer-at-large and amateur juggler, whose only weapon is a pool cue)
• Win Layton (This Week)
• Lester Leith (gentleman con artist/thief, has his own butler, a "jauntyfigure of assured indifference.")
• Señor Lobo (Detective Fiction Weekly)
• The Man in the Silver Mask (Detective Fiction Weekly)
• The Man Who Couldn't Forget, Mr. Manse (Detective Action Stories)
• Fish Mouth McGinnis
• Ed Migraine, the Headache
• Sam Moraine (written under the pseudonym of Charles Kenny)
• The Patent Leather Kid
• Old Walrus (West and some other cowboy pulps)
• El Paisano (he can see in the dark; Argosy)
• The Patent Leather Kid (mostly Detective Fiction Weekly)
• Paul Pry (con artist)
• Steve Raney (Clues)
• Rapp
• Buck Riley
• Snowy Shane (an unorthodox P.I.)
• Dane Skarle
• Small, Weston & Burke (or is it Smith, Weston & Burke? Dime Detective)
• Pete Wennick (Black Mask)
• Whispering Sands
• Slicker Williams (an ex-convict who uses the tricks of crookery to rescue a damsel in distress)
• Yee Dooey Wah
• Sidney Zoom (millionaire adventurer and his police dog; Detective Fiction Weekly)

Gardner wrote for all kinds of pulps, not just Black Mask and Argosy, but also Clues, All Detective, Dime Detective, Detective Story, Dime Detective, Detective Action Stories, Double Detective, This Week, Detective Fiction Weekly, West and some other cowboy pulps). He also wrote for slicks such as Country Gentleman, Cosmopolitan and The Saturday Evening Post.

The last year that he wrote exclusively for the pulps, 1932, saw Gardner earning around 20,000 bucks, and that's at a few cents a word! Maybe not a fortune these days, but this was the Depression. To put it in perspective, those are Stephen King-like numbers.

In his pulp days, Gardner was notorious for killing off the final heavies with the last bullet in the hero's gun, which led to some editors teasing him about how all his good guys seemed to be such bad shots. Gardner's alleged explanation? "At three cents a word, every time I say 'Bang' in the story I get three cents. If you think I'm going to finish the gun battle while my hero still has fifteen cents worth of unexploded ammunition in his gun, you're nuts."

In 1933, Gardner unleashed his first novel, The Case of the Velvet Claws, which introduced hard-boiled attorney Perry Mason. But Gardner gradually softened the character, mostly to make him more palatable to the editors of Saturday Evening Post, a market he was eager to crack. From the early fifties on, many of the Mason novels were serialized or excerpted in the Post prior to book publication, a fact that no doubt contributed to the series success, though successful movies, radio shows, comic strips and a hit TV show certainly played their part as well.

The Mason series proved even more popular than his short fiction. So Gardner started to write novels. But Gardner, workaholic that he was, continued with his short fiction. Besides the long-running Mason seres, he wrote a series of novels featurng the memorably mismatched private eye team of Bertha Cool and Donald Lam, as well as novels featuring Doug Selby (District Attorney) and Sherriff Bill Eldon. Around this time, to keep up with demand, Garner chucked his typewriter for a bevy of six secretaries. He subsequently dictated everything!

NOTE: This bio and bibliography is very much a mere work in progress, so feel free to contribute any comments or additions you have. They'll be more than welcome.

UNDER OATH

• "The popularity of Mason overshadows his other creations and that's a shame in many ways. Don't get me wrong. I am a
  sucker for the Mason novels. I just finished The Case of the Terrified Typist (1955) and could not stand any interruption as I neared the conclusion. Whatever his faults, Gardner is a master of pace and I find him compulsively readable....
  .
  Even if Gardner had not created Perry Mason, he would be considered a giant of the Black Mask "school" of writing. In fact, I think the bland, watered down last decade of Perry Masons did considerable damage to the writer's reputation."
  (Richard Moore)
  .

SHORT STORIES

• "The Shrieking Skeleton" (December 15, 1923, Black Mask; as Charles M. Green)
• "The Serpent's Coils" (January 1, 1934, Black Mask; as Green)
• "The Verdict" (February 1, 1934, Black Mask; as Green)
• "A Fair Trial" (June 1924, Black Mask; no byline)
• "Accomodatin' a Lady" (September 1924, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Without No Reindeer" (December 1924, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Beyond the Law" (September 1925; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hard As Nails" (March 1925,; Ed Jenkins)
• "Painless Extraction" May 1925, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Not So Darn Bad" (June 1925; Ed Jenkins)
• "Three O'Clock in the Morning" (July 1925; Ed Jenkins)
• "Ham, Eggs and Coffee" (August 1925, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "The Girl Goes With Me" (November 1925, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "The Triple Cross" (December 1925; Ed Jenkins)
• "According to Law" (January 1926; Ed Jenkins)
• "Goin' Into Action" (February 1926, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Register Rage" (April 1926; Ed Jenkins)
• "Thisissosudden!" (May 1926; Ed Jenkins)
• "Forget 'em All" (June 1926; Ed Jenkins)
• "Laugh That Off" (September 1926; Ed Jenkins)
• "Buzzard Bait" (October 1926, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "Money, Marble and Chalk" (November 1926, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Dead Men's Letters" (December 1926, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Whispering Sand" (January 1927, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "The Cat-Woman" (February 1927; Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "This Way Out" " (March 1927; Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Come and Get It" " (April 1927; Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "In Full of Account" (May 1927; Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Where the Buzzards Circle" (September 1927, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "The Wax Dragon" (November 1927, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Grinning Gods" (December 1927, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Yellow Shadows" (February 1928, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Whispering Feet" (March 1928, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Snow Bird" (April 1928, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Out of the Shadows" (May 1928, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Fangs of Fate" (August 1928, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "The Devil's Deputy" (September 1928, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "Curse of the Killers" (November 1928, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "Thec Next Stiff" (December 1928, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "One Crook to Another" (January 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Bracelets for Two" (February 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hooking the Crooks" (March 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "No Questions Asked" (April 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Scum of the Border" June 1929, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "All the Way" (July 1929, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Spawn of the Night" (August 1929, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Hanging Friday" (September 1929, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Straight from the Shoulder" (October 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Brass Tacks" (November 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Triple Treachery" (December 1929, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Double or Quits" (January 1930, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Crime Crusher" (May 1930, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hell's Kettle" (June 1930, Black Mask; also 1985, The Black Mask Boys; Ed Jenkins)
• "Big Shot" (July 1930, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Valley of Little Fears" (September 3, 1930, Argosy Weekly)
  "The Crime Juggler" (October 1930, Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "The Racket Buster" (November1930, Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "In Round Figures" (1930, Detective Fiction Weekly; Lester Leith)
• "The Daisy-Pusher" (December 1930 , Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "Wiker Gets the Works" (January 1931, Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "A Double Deal in Diamonds" (February 1931, Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "Hot Cash"(May 23, 1931, Detective Fiction Weekly; Lester Leith)
• "Slick and Clean" (April 1931, Gang World; Paul Pry)
• "Tommy Talk" (July 1931, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hairy Hands" (August 1931, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Promise to Pay" (September 1931, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Hot Squat" (October 1931, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Strictly Personal" (December 1931, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Face Up" (January 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Feet First" (March 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Straight Crooks" (April 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Under the Guns" (May 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Crooking Crooks" (June 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hell's Danger Signal" (June 1932, Blue Steel Magazine; Paul Pry)
• "Rough Stuff" (July 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Black and White" (September 1932, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "On Two Feet" (October 1932, Black Mask; Bob Larkin)
• "Honest Money" (November 1932, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "The Top Comes Off" (December 1932, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "The Bird in the Hand" (1932, Detective Fiction Weekly; Lester Leith)
• "Close Call" (January 1933, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "The Hour of the Rat" (February 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Red Jade" (March 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Chinatown Murder" (April 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Weapons of a Crook" (May 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Making the Breaks" (June 1933, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "The Hand of Horror" (July 1, 1933, Dime Detective)
• "Devil's Fire" (July 1933, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "Blackmail With Lead" (August 1933, Black Mask; Ken Corning)
• "Dressed to Kill" (September 1,1933, Dime Detective; Paul Pry)
• "Whispering Justice" (September 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Murder Push (October 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Cross-Stitch Killer" (November 15, 1933, Dime Detective; Paul Pry)
• "Dead Men's Shoes" (December 1933, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Time for Murder" (1933; also 2004 The Danger Zone and Other Stories)
• "A Guest of the House" (January 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Cop Killers" (March 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "New Twenties" (April 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Kid Clips a Coupon" (April 21, 1934, Detective Fiction Weekly)
• "Burnt Fingers" (June 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Heavenly Rat" (September 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Hot Cash" (November 1934, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Case of the Howling Dog" (1934; also by Perry Mason)
• "Winged Lead" (January 1935, Black Mask; Black Barr)
• "A Chance to Cheat" May 1935, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Crash and Carry" (October 1935, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Above the Law" (December 1935, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Beating the Bulls" (May 1936, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "This Way Out" (March 1937, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Among Thieves" (September 1937, Black Mask; Pete Wennick)
• "Leg Man" (February 1938, Black Mask; Pete Wennick)
• "Muscle Out" (April 1938, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Take It or Leave It" (March 1939, Black Mask; Pete Wennick)
• "Dark Alleys" (September 1939, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "A Thousand to One" (1939, Detective Fiction Weekly; Lester Leith)
• "Lester Leith, Magician" (1939, Detective Fiction Weekly; AKA "The Hand is Quicker Than the Eye" Lester Leith)
• "Tong Trouble" (June 1940, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Jade Sanctuary" (December 1940, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Chinese People" (May 1941, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "Rain Check" (December 1941, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Exact Opposite" (1941, Detective Fiction Weekly; Lester Leith)
• "Two Dead Hands" (April 1942, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Incredible Mr. Smith" (March 1943, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Gong of Vengeance" (September 1943, Black Mask; Ed Jenkins)
• "The Clue of the Hungry Horse" (February 1947, The Country Gentleman; Sheriff Bill Eldon)
• "The Clue of the Screaming Woman" (January 1949, The Country Gentleman)
• "The Affair of the Reluctant Witness" (1949; also March 25, EQMM)
• "Flight Into Disaster" (May 11, 1952, This Week May; AKA "Only by Running")
• "The Case of the Irate Witness" (January 17, 1953, Colliers; Perry Mason)
• "Danger Out of the Past" (May 1955, Manhunt; AKA "Protection")
• "Escape to Danger" (1960)
• "The Blonde in Lower Six" (September 1961, Argosy; Ed Jenkins)
  .
• Undated
• "The Case of the Crimson Kiss" (Perry Mason)
• "The Case of the Crying Swallow" (Perry Mason)
• "The Candy Kid" (Lester Leith)
• "The Jeweled Bride"

NOVELS

• The Case of the Velvet Claws (1933; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Sulky Girl (1933; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Curious Bride (1934; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Howling Dog (1934; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Lucky Legs (1934; Perry Mason)
• The Clew of the Forgotten Murderer (1935, as Carleton Kendrake)
• This Is Murder (1935, as Charles J. Kenney)
• The Case of the Caretaker's Cat (1935; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Counterfeit Eye (1935; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Sleepwalker's Niece (1936; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1936; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Dangerous Dowager (1937; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Lame Canary (1937; Perry Mason)
• Murder Up My Sleeve (1937)
• The Case of the Shoplifter's Shoe (1938; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Substitute Face (1938; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Perjured Parrot (1939; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Rolling Bones (1939; Perry Mason)
• The Bigger They Come (1939; written as A.A. Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• Turn on the Heat (1940; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• Gold Comes in Bricks (1940; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Baited Hook (1940; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Silent Partner (1940; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Empty Tin (1941; Perry Mason)
• Spill the Jackpot (1941; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Haunted Husband (1941; Perry Mason)
• Double or Quits (1941; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Careless Kitten (1942; Perry Mason)
• Owls Don't Blink (1942; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Drowning Duck (1942; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Turning Tide (1942)
• Bats Fly at Dusk (1942; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Smoking Chimney (1943)
• The Case of the Buried Clock (1943; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito (1943; Perry Mason)
• Cats Prowl at Night (1943; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• Give 'em the Ax (1944; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Black-Eyed Blonde (1944; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Crooked Candle (1944; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Golddigger's Purse (1945; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Half-Wakened Wife (1945; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Borrowed Brunette (1946; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Backward Mule (1946)
• Crows Can't Count (1946; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• Fools Die on Friday (1947; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Fan-Dancer's Horse (1947; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Lazy Lover (1947; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Lonely Heiress (1948; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Vagabond Virgin (1948; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Cautious Coquette (1949; Perry Mason)
• Bedrooms Have Windows (1949; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Dubious Bridegroom (1949; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Negligent Nymph (1950; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Musical Cow (1950)
• The Case of the One-Eyed Witness (1950; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Musical Cow (1950)
• The Case of the Angry Mourner (1951; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Fiery Fingers (1951; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Grinning Gorilla (1952; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink (1952; Perry Mason)
• Top of the Heap (1952; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)...Buy this book
• The Case of the Green-Eyed Sister (1953; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Hesitant Hostess (1953; Perry Mason)
• Some Women Won't Wait (1953; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Fugitive Nurse (1954; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Restless Redhead (1954; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Runaway Corpse (1954; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Glamorous Ghost (1955; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Nervous Accomplice (1955; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Sun Bather's Diary (1955; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Demure Defendant (1956; AKA The Case of the Missing Poison; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Gilded Lily (1956; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Terrified Typist (1956; Perry Mason)
• Beware the Curves (1956; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• You Can Die Laughing (1957; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Daring Decoy (1957; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Lucky Loser (1957; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Screaming Woman (1957; Perry Mason)
• Some Slips Don't Show (1957; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Calendar Girl (1958; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Footloose Doll (1958; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Long-Legged Models (1958; AKA The Case of the Dead Man's Daughters; Perry Mason)
• The Count of Nine (1958; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Deadly Toy (1959; AKA The Case of the Greedy Grandpa; Perry Mason)
• Pass the Gravy (1959; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Mythical Monkeys (1959; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Singing Skirt (1959; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Waylaid Wolf (1959; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Duplicate Daughter (1960; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Shapely Shadow (1960; Perry Mason)
• Kept Women Can't Quit (1960; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• Bachelors Get Lonely (1961; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Bigamous Spouse (1961; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Spurious Spinster (1961; Perry Mason)
• Shills Can't Cash Chips (1961; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Blonde Bonanza (1962; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Ice-Cold Hands (1962; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Reluctant Model (1962; Perry Mason)
• Try Anything Once (1962; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Amorous Aunt (1963; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Mischievous Doll (1963; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Step-Daughter's Secret (1963; Perry Mason)
• Fish or Cut Bait (1963; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Daring Divorcee (1964; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Horrified Heirs (1964; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Phantom Fortune (1964; Perry Mason)
• Up for Grabs (1964; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Beautiful Beggar (1965; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Troubled Trustee (1965; Perry Mason)
• Cut Thin to Win (1965; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Worried Waitress (1966; Perry Mason)
• Widows Wear Weeds (1966; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Queenly Contestant (1967; Perry Mason)
• Traps Need Fresh Bait (1967; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Careless Cupid (1968; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Fabulous Fake (1969; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Crimson Kiss (1970; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Crying Swallow (1971; Perry Mason)
• All Grass Isn't Green (1970; as Fair; Bertha Cool & Donald Lam)
• The Case of the Fenced-In Woman (1972; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Irate Witness (1972; Perry Mason)
• The Case of the Postponed Murder (1973; Perry Mason)
  
• The series was continued in a few books written in the eighties by Thomas Chastain, who created New York eye J.T. SPanner.

COLLECTIONS

• Over the Hump (1945)
• Two Clues (1947)
• The Case of the Murderer's Bride and Other Stories (1969; Edited by Ellery Queen, AKA Ellery Queen Presents #1)
• The Case of the Crimson Kiss, A Perry Mason Novelette and Other Stories. (1970)
• The Case of the Crying Swallow, A Perry Mason Novelette and Other Stories (1971)
• The Case of the Irate Witness, A Perry Mason Mystery and Other Stories (1972)
• The Amazing Adventures of Lester Leith (1980; edited by Ellery Queen, AKA Ellery Queen Presents #8)
• The Bird in the Hand and Four Other Stories (1980)
• Four Cases of Murder (1989; comic strips, Perry Mason)
• The Adventures of Paul Pry (1990)
• Dead Mens Letter's (1990; Ed Jenkins)
• The Blonde in Lower Six (1990, Ed Jenkins)
• Honest Money and Other Short Novels (1991, Ken Corning)
• The Danger Zone and Other Stories (2004) ...Buy this book
• The Casebook of Sidney Zoom (2006; edited and introduced by Bill Pronzini) ...Buy this book

FILM

• THE CASE OF THE HOWLING DOG
  (1934, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by Alan Crosland
  Starring Warren William as PERRY MASON
  with Helen Trenholm as Della
  .
• THE CASE OF THE CURIOUS BRIDE
  (1935, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by Michael Curtiz
  Starring Warren William as PERRY MASON
  with Claire Dodds as Della
  .
• THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS
  (1935, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by Archie L. Mayo
  Starring Warren William as PERRY MASON
  with Genevieve Tobin as Della
  .
• THE CASE OF THE VELVET CLAWS
  (1936, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by William Clemens
  Starring Warren William as PERRY MASON
  with Claire Dodds as Della
  .
• THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT
  (1936, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel "The Case of the Caretaker's Cat" by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by William McGann
  Starring Richard Cortez as PERRY MASON
  with June Travis as Della
  .
• THE CASE OF THE STUTTERING BISHOP
  (1937, Warner Brothers)
  Based on the novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Directed by William Clemens
  Starring Donald Woods as PERRY MASON.

RADIO

• PERRY MASON
  (AKA The New Adventures of Perry Mason)
  (1943-1955, CBS)
  Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Starring Barlett Robinson as PERRY MASON
  (also played by Santos Ortega, Donald Biggs, and John Larkin)
  .
• CHRISTOPHER LONDON
  (1950, NBC)
  Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Starring Glenn Ford as CHRISTOPHER LONDON

COMIC BOOKS

• PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE LUCKY LEGS
  (1946, Feature Books #49)
  Based on the 1934 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner
  .
• PERRY MASON: THE CASE OF THE SHOPLIFTER'S SHOE
  (1947, Feature Books #50)
  Based on the 1938 novel by Erle Stanley Gardner

COMIC STRIP

• PERRY MASON
  (October 16, 1950-June 21, 1952, Universal Syndicate)
  Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Written by: Erle Stanley Gardner? (it's possible -- he liked to keep a hand in things)

TELEVISION

• PERRY MASON
  (1957-1966, CBS)
  Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Starring Raymond Burr as PERRY MASON
  .
• PERRY MASON
  AKA The New Adventures of Perry Mason
  (1973-1974, CBS)
  Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner
  Starring Monte Markham as PERRY MASON

REFERENCE BOOKS

• Fugate, Francis L. and Roberta B.,
  Secrets of the World's Best-Selling Writer: The Storytelling Techniques of Erle Stanley Gardner
  New York, New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc., 1980....Buy this book
  Using the mountain of personal papers, journals, notebooks and scraps of paper, coctail napkins, matchbook covers and Lord knows what else that Erle Stanley Gardner left behind, the authors try to explain his phenomenal success. A fascinating insight to the man, but I'm not sure how practical the advice is for writers. Still, it's well worth reading.
  .
• Hughes, Dorothy,
  The Case of the Real Perry Mason
  New York: William Morrow & Company.. Buy this book
  One great mystery writer's nod to another.

RELATED LINKS

• Erlestanleygardner.com
  It bills itself as "the Official Web site of Ventura, California's most famous son, author of Perry Mason and Champion of Human Rights" but it's essentially a plug for the Gardner Museum in Ventura and a solicitation for funds to keep the site going.
  
  
• The Gooseberry Lay
  An excerpt from Erle Stanley Gardner's article "Getting Away with Murder," which talks about Hammett's use of"gunsel," "gooseberry lay" and so on. Part of the Rara-Avis site.

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Radio info by Jack French. And thanks to Ed Collins, Monte Herridge and Jim Doherty for some help here.