Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/Emerson LaSalle
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Emerson LaSalle
Emerson LaSalle, although a fictional character, has had a lengthy and controversial history of his own nonetheless. The character started as an idea by novelists Victor Gischler and Anthony Neil Smith, and the character started appearing in his creator's blogs sometime in 2007 presented as an "actual" person.[1] However, it was not meant to deliberately fool people into thinking LaSalle was real, as his larger-than-life history, titles, and personality were presented with a decidedly tongue-in-cheek tone, especially when Gischler and Smith had killed him off in November of 2007 when the 108 year old character was apparently mauled by a bear.[2]
Eventually, a large Emerson LaSalle fan-base had grown from readers of the blogs, as LaSalle's ridiculous story continued to unfold. Readers were encouraged to post titles of their favorite LaSalle books along with favorite LaSalle quotes, getting them involved in actually creating some of the fictional history of Emerson LaSalle. A website dedicated to Emerson LaSalle's character appearedonline with more centralized information about the character. Meanwhile, fans, or someone who showed a strong enough interest in Emerson LaSalle deemed it appropriate to create an entry on Wikipedia.org detailing the available "information" on LaSalle, presented as fact.
Emerson LaSalle's character's history doesn't always line up because much of it is a mish-mash of information made up by dozens, if not hundreds of people involved in playing along with the story through memes, blog posts, and comments, however the supposed "facts" about LaSalle were always cited as coming from Gischler and Smith, who played the character roles of having worked closely with LaSalle before his death.
Victor Gischler and Anthony Neil Smith developed a screenplay based on the character of Emerson LaSalle, entitled PULP BOY. Independent producer Jacob Lee Dickey began discussion with Gischler about the script in September of 2008 and later optioned the rights to the screenplay early in 2009 with the intention of producing a feature film.[3],
When the information about PULP BOY being in pre-production was announced through various blogs and an interview for an article in CrimeSpree Magazine, interest reached new heights for Emerson LaSalle's name. People who did not understand the tongue-in-cheek nature of LaSalle and his ridiculous history began to search for external information such as publication information for his books, award nominations, etc. Naturally, they found no such information. Some became upset and called the information on LaSalle out as a hoax, as noted in the articles for deletion section of this entry.
The hoax implications were also endangering the upcoming feature film. Gischler, Smith, and Dickey wanted to make sure that people did not think that the announcement of PULP BOY getting optioned for the big screen was part of the fictional story, as it was becoming increasingly difficult to tell fact from fiction.
In response, Gischler verified on his blog that the information about LaSalle's history was naturally false.[4] The idea was never to fool people into thinking the character existed. LaSalle was simply an interesting, very like-able character that many people liked to believe in, like Santa Clause.
As the debate continues on about whether or not the obviously fake Emerson LaSalle actually existed, a quick google search of his name with thousands of hits still shows that he is alive and well in the hearts of his true fans.
The Fictional History of Emerson LaSalle
NOTE: The following information is purely fictional and is not to be taken as fact. It is part of the ever growing MEME of fictional history behind the Emerson LaSalle story.
Emerson S. LaSalle (May 27, 1894 – November 17, 2007) was an American author of hardboiled detective novels and short stories, science fiction, and horror. He was born in Le Fils de Vainqueur, Missouri [5]
Most notable among the reputed hundreds of books he wrote are Vixen Shamus, Guns of Old Mars, Zeppelins of the Sea, We Were Seamen, Men Called Him Trevor, It Rhymes with Martian, Never Again, Forever and The Mutants of Dr. Zeus, which was awarded a Nebula Award [6] The Reluctant Enthusiast was the title of a 1951 effort by LaSalle at "serious literary fiction," which predictably bombed. Later in life some aspersions were cast on whether LaSalle had indeed written the sex-soaked Sheriff Dracula and Whorebots of Planet Vegas [5]
LaSalle served in the French Foreign Legion before losing a hand to an Arab in the Sudan. The hand was replaced by a hook which added to the theatrical nature of his readings and panel discussions at science fiction conventions and other events. His parents we killed in a blimp accident over Inverness.
There are many unsubstantiated rumors of how Mr. LaSalle died but it is highly unlikely that it was via bear; rather, he more likely passed fitfully in an alcohol-induced haze. Others have proposed that his alcohol-induced-state actually caused him to pick a fight with the bear.
References
- ^ (Gischler, 2007)Emerson LaSalle
- ^ (Gischler, 2007) Emerson LaSalle R.I.P.
- ^ CrimeSpree Magazine online edition
- ^ (Gischler, 2009)pulling the plug on the hoax
- ^ a b (Smith 1987).
- ^ (Terrence 1992).
Fictional References
Note: These referenses do not exist. They are made up as part of the ever-growing MEME that makes up the fictional LaSalle story.
1. Smith, Anthony Neil. Emerson LaSalle: A Life in Letters and Leathers. Boston: Twayne, 1987.
2. Terrence, Julia. "Emerson LaSalle: A Premature Retrospective." Science Fiction Fanzine. March 1992. 22-27.
3. Garland, Phineas. "We Were ‘Semen’: The Phallic Hellscapes of Emerson LaSalle.” MLA presentation, 1988.
4. Openheimer, Adam. A Twisted Cosmos: Emerson LaSalle, World Building and World Destruction. Oxford U P, 1996.
External links
- Victor Gischler's blog.
- PULP BOY movie website [1].
- Notes on LaSalle's 1951 "literary" novel The Reluctant Enthusiast
- Essay on LaSalle's attempt at a cyberpunk novel.
- Consideration of the LaSalle novel Never Again, Forever.
- "Remembering Emerson LaSalle, Novelist"
- Bill Crider remembers Emerson LaSalle.
- Sean Doolittle remembers Emerson LaSalle .
- The official Emerson LaSalle blog, In Last Mine Heart Is Murder, supported by former LaSalle associates.