My Scrapbook
Carroll John Daly’s Obituary
CARROLL JOHN DALY was one of the most pivotal figures in the development of hard-boiled crime fiction and pretty much created the “private eye” as we now understand the term, but even now, all these years later, he still can’t get no respect. But he apparently never got much even when he was still around, as this brief obituary, little more than a space filler from the Associated Press, clearly shows.
Although a few minor short stories are mentioned (none of them published in the Saturday Evening Post, coincidentally, and none of them “books”), there’s not a word about Black Mask, his many other series characters, or how large Daly’s influence was on American popular literature…
The Importance of Being Ernie? I mean, really? That’s the best the AP could do?
No mention of “The False Burton Combs”? “Three Gun Terry”? “Knights of the Open Palm”? They had so little to say that they jammed in an unintentionally ironic proverb?
Okay, Daly wasn’t Hammett. Or Chandler. Or even Spillane. But he deserved better.
FURTHER INVESTIGATION
- My Scrapbook
A Cornucopia of Tear Sheets, Illustrations, Photos, Scribbles & Other Crap That I Think is Cool. - Carroll John Daly
Our entry on the man.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. I have no idea where this clip came from, or which newspaper it appeared in. Someone sent it to me.
