Henry Wilson Allen

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Henry "Heck" Allen (born September 12, 1912 in Kansas City , Missouri , † October 26, 1991 in Van Nuys , California ) was an American author. Everyone was known under the pseudonyms "Will Henry" and "Clay Fisher" for novels, short stories and short stories that dealt with the subject of the so-called "Wild West". Under the name "Heck Allen" he wrote animation scripts for Tex Avery .

Life

Henry Wilson Allen grew up as one of five children in a not exactly poor family. His father was a leading ear, nose and throat surgeon and his mother an artist. He discovered his talent for writing at the age of eleven and wrote his first short story, which was published by Liberty Magazine . After graduating from high school, he attended University in Kansas City, but dropped out of college in 1930 at the start of the Great Dust Bowl Depression and moved to California like tens of thousands of other people in the Midwest. However, unable to find work there, he went back to Kansas and continued his studies. The landscapes and impressions he saw on his journey through the American West did not leave him calm and so he dropped out again in the second year.

He hitchhiked back west on the legendary Route 66 . In Colorado he worked as a handyman in a gold mine for five months. In the late winter of 1932 he reached California again with $ 30 in his pocket, well-worn cowboy boots, a black Miller-Stetson on his head and a tin suitcase. In the first few years he had to make do with odd jobs such as stable and shop assistant. In 1937 he was employed by MGM as a scriptwriter for cartoons.

1950, his first novel No Survivors (German The Last Man ), of the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn discussed. From now on he had found his profession and over the coming decades many novels, short stories and short stories from all sorts of topics related to the “Wild West” followed.

Some of his works were successfully filmed, so u. a. Yellowstone Kelly , Mackenna's Gold with Gregory Peck or I, Tom Horn (German Ich, Tom Horn ) with Steve McQueen .

Filmography (selection)

script
  • 1944: Screwball Squirrel (cartoon, directed by Tex Avery )
  • 1945: Swing Shift Cinderella (animation, director: Tex Avery)
  • 1947: Slap Happy Lion
  • 1948: Wild and Woody!
  • 1953: Little Johnny Jet
  • 1954: Homesteader Droopy - Droopy in the Wild West (animation, director: Tex Avery)
  • 1960: Adventures in the Wild West ( Zane Gray Theater ) (TV series, episode)
Literary template

literature

  • Tales of Taylor, Texas - Interview with Heck Allen, in: Joe Adamson: Tex Avery - King of Cartoons. The Man Who Created Bugs Bunny, and the Story Behind Those Lunatic Looney Tunes , Da Capo Press, New York 1985, pp. 137-149 ISBN 0-306-80248-1 . (English)
  • Thomas Jeier (Ed.): The Will Henry Western Reader . Heyne, Munich 1987, ISBN 3-453-00147-8 (With an exclusive interview: Thomas Jeier: "Will Henry / Clay Fisher. Two names - one author" ).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Allen, Henry Wilson
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fisher, Clay; Henry, Will; Allen, heck
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author of novels, short stories, and short stories
DATE OF BIRTH September 12, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH Kansas City (Missouri) , Missouri, United States
DATE OF DEATH October 26, 1991
Place of death Van Nuys , California, United States