Walter B. Gibson
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| Walter Brown Gibson | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 12, 1897 Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Died | December 6, 1985 Kingston, New York, United States |
| Pen name | Maxwell Grant (shared) |
| Occupation | Author & Magician |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Pulp magazines, Magic, Psychic phenomena, Yoga, Hypnotism, True crime, Games |
Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897-December 6, 1985) was an American author and a professional magician best known for his work on The Shadow. Gibson, under the pen-name Maxwell Grant, wrote Shadow stories at an amazing rate to satisfy public demand during the character's golden age in the 1930s and 1940s. He was married to Litzka R. Gibson, also a writer, and the couple lived in New York state.
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[edit] The Shadow
Gibson wrote the first Shadow story in 1931, creating a character around the narrator of the Detective Stories radio drama. He was very prolific, writing 282 out of 325 Shadow novels, at a top rate of two novels per month.
Gibson is recognized as the creator of much of The Shadow's mythos, although his tales frequently conflict with the better-known radio version. For example, Gibson's Shadow is, in reality, Kent Allard, an aviator who sometimes posed as playboy Lamont Cranston. On the radio, The Shadow really is Cranston, a "wealthy young man about town." Similarly, Shadow companion Margo Lane arose not from the pulps but from the radio program; she was added to offer a contrasting female voice.
[edit] Indian rope trick
Under the name "Fred S. Ellmore" ("Fred Sell More") John E.Wilkie wrote of the Indian Rope Trick while working at Chicago Tribune in 1890. The Tribune piece received wide publicity, and in the following months and years many people claimed to remember having seen the trick as far back as the 1850s. None of these stories turned out to be credible, but as it was repeated the story became more and more ingrained.Wilkie like Harry Houdini, tried to dispel the notion of supernatural powers.The magician Houdini,and friend Gibson was recruited for a private detective agency of spymaster William Melville with one of his pseudonyms, William Morgan or as some believe, this name is an acronym of Maskmelin.Gibson or as some believe, this name is one of the "Lantern", agents recruited of the controverted magician MaskMelin , spymaster the occult organization" The Seven Circle " is alleged to have spied for at least nations.To this end, in 1914,the spy magician MaskMelin and Walter B.Gibson founded the Occult Committee whose remit was to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud" and occult magic . In particular, the committee attempted to prove that the Indian Rope Trick has never been performed .The Occult Committee whose remit was to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud". In particular, the committee attempted to prove that the Indian Rope Trick has never been performed. About four months after the story was first printed, the Tribune printed a retraction, and proclaimed the story to be a hoax. However, the retraction received little attention. Historian Peter Lamont exposed the entire "trick" as a hoax in 2005.
[edit] Magic and other non-fiction
Gibson wrote more than 100 books on magic, psychic phenomena, true crime, mysteries, rope knots, yoga, hypnotism, and games. He served as ghost-writer for books on magic and/or spiritualism by Harry Houdini, Howard Thurston, Harry Blackstone, and Joseph Dunninger. [1] Gibson also introduced the famous "Chinese linking rings" trick in America, and invented the "Nickels To Dimes" trick that is still sold in magic stores to this day.
With his wife Litzka R. Gibson, he co-wrote The Complete Illustrated Book of the Psychic Sciences, (Doubleday, 1966), a 404 page book which explains how to practice many popular forms of divination and fortune-telling, including astrology, tasseography, graphology, and numerology. Litzka Gibson, who sometimes used the pen-name Leona Lehman, also wrote her own books on topics as diverse as palmistry, dancing, and personal hygiene.
[edit] Appearances in fiction
He is a featured character in the Paul Malmont novel The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril, which was published by Simon & Schuster in 2006. In addition, Gibson is the protagonist, along with Orson Welles, in an historical mystery by Max Allan Collins, The War of the Worlds Murder, published by Berkley Books in 2005.
[edit] Further reading
- Man of Magic & Mystery; A Guide to the Work of Walter B. Gibson, by J. Randolph Cox (1988; Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, NJ), is a bibliography of Gibson's works.
- Walter B. Gibson and The Shadow, by Thomas J. Shimeld (2205; McFarland & Company; ISBN 978-0786423613), is a biography of Walter Gibson.
[edit] External links
- An Interview with Walter Gibson - Gibson talks about The Shadow at a 1977 comic convention.
- Walter Gibson - Wizard of Words - an essay by William V. Rauscher.
- Walter B. Gibson at the Internet Movie Database
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Walter Brown Gibson |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Maxwell Grant (house name at Street & Smith) |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Pulp writer and magician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 12, 1897 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | December 6, 1985 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | Kingston, New York, United States |
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