Henry Slesar

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Henry Slesar (* 12. June 1927 in New York (NY) ; † 2. April 2002 ibid), born as Henry Schlosser , was an American copywriter , Thriller - Crime - and science fiction - author , playwright and screenwriter German - of Russian origin.

Life

Henry Slesar was born in New York in 1927 as the son of German and Russian immigrants . At the age of 17, he began his career as a copywriter for the New York agency Young & Rubicam , an activity that he carried out until the 1990s , only interrupted by military service 1946–1949. First he was artistic director at Robert W. Orr & Associates until 1957 , held other managerial positions in the advertising industry and finally founded his own agency in 1964, Slesar & Kanzer , and another in 1974, Slesar & Manuela .

From 1955 Slesar published short stories in various magazines, including Playboy and Imaginative Tales magazine . He also wrote under the pseudonyms O. H. Leslie, Eli Jerome, Jay Street and the (almost) anagram Sley Harson (together with his friend Harlan Ellison ), as well as publishing pseudonyms shared with various other authors , such as Lawrence Chandler, EK Jarvis, Ivar Jorgensen, Clyde Mitchell and Gerald Vance .

Slesar died on April 2, 2002 in New York from complications following an operation.

plant

Henry Slesar published around 500 short stories , 55 radio plays , six novels and was involved in more than 50 screenplays , including for Alfred Hitchcock , Batman and various television series .

Slesar mainly wrote detective novels and thrillers as well as the scripts for corresponding films. In doing so, he also ventured into the spheres of science fiction, although he never completely detached himself from the thriller. Most of his novels and short stories in German-speaking countries were published by Diogenes Verlag Zurich, initially with introductions by Alfred Hitchcock. The German translations were mostly done by Günther Eichel, Thomas Schlück , Barbara Rojahn-Deyk, Jobst-Christian Rojahn, Jürgen Bürger, Paul Baudisch, Christa Hotz and Thomas Bodmer.

Despite the serious subject matter of his works, Slesar's texts are often full of humor. His lyrics can not be denied a certain self-irony about his mystery novel, " Murder at Heartbreak Hospital " (dt. Murders in the tearjerker Clinic ), which in Fernsehserien- milieu plays.

Works (selection)

prose

Novels

  • 20 Million Miles to Earth (Eng. The Beast from Space . ( Utopia-Großband # 58) Erich Pabel Verlag, Rastatt 1957)
  • The Gray Flannel Shroud (German, whoever does not advertise, dies . Goldmann Verlag, Munich 1961; new translation as The gray distinguished shroud , 1974, ISBN 3-257-20139-7 )
  • The Bridge of Lions (German Action Löwenbrücke . Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 1970, ISBN 3-257-20656-9 )
  • The Seventh Mask (German: The Seventh Mask , 1971; from 1987 under ISBN 3-257-21518-5 )
  • Enter Murderers (German curtain up, we play murder , 1975, ISBN 3-257-20216-4 )
  • The Thing at the Door ( behind the door , 1978, ISBN 3-257-20540-6 )
  • Murder at Heartbreak Hospital (German Mord in der Schnulzenklinik , 1990, ISBN 3-257-01862-2 ; 1993 edition under ISBN 3-257-22560-1 )

German-language anthologies of short stories

Scripts

Movies

  • The Magician's Testament; also: The guillotine ( Two on a Guillotine , 1965; also template)
  • War of the Spies ( One of Our Spies Is Missing , 1966)
  • Murders in the Rue Morgue ( Murders in the Rue Morgue , 1971)
  • The Psychopath ( The Maddening , 1995)
  • Heartbreak Hospital (2002, also based on a novel)

TV series and films

  • Alfred Hitchcock shows ( Alfred Hitchcock Presents , 1961; partly also template)
  • Alfred Hitchcock shows ( The Alfred Hitchcock Hour , 1962–1964; partly also template)
  • Solo for ONKEL ( The Man from UNCLE , 1966)
  • Batman ( Batman , 1966)
  • The Edge of Night (1968-1983)
  • One Life to Live (1968)
  • Honeymoon with a Stranger (1969)
  • Somerset (1971-1973)
  • Ghost story ; aka: Circle of Fear (1972)
  • Het Bloed kruipt (1985)
  • The Crime Lesson (TV Series)
  • Park Hotel Stern (1997)

Films based on his templates

  • Terror from the Year 5000 (1958, story)
  • Incredible Stories ( The Twilight Zone , 1963-1964; Stories)
  • The Eyes of Annie Jones (1964, story)
  • Curtain up, we're playing murder (TV 1978; based on a novel)
  • Death Comes through the Door (TV, 1983; based on a novel)
  • Kaitô Ruby (1988; story)
  • Il Sorvegliante (1993; history)
  • The Big Laugh (1997; story)
  • The Trial (2000) (History)

Awards

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Slesar, Henry
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schlosser, Henry (maiden name); Leslie, OH (pen name); Street, Jay (pseudonym); Jerome, Eli (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American author
DATE OF BIRTH June 12, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH New York , (NY)
DATE OF DEATH April 2, 2002
Place of death New York , (NY)