Walter Braden "Jack" Finney (born John Finney; October 2, 1911 – November 14, 1995) was an American writer. His best-known works are

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

s, including '' The Body Snatchers'' and '' Time and Again''. The former was the basis for the 1956 film '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' and its remakes.

Personal life

Finney was born in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

, and given the name John Finney. After his father died when Finney was three years old, he was renamed Walter Braden Finney in honor of his father, but continued to be known as "Jack". He attended Knox College in

Galesburg, Illinois Galesburg is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States. The city is northwest of Peoria. At the 2010 census, its population was 32,195. It is the county seat of Knox County and the principal city of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistic ...

, graduating in 1934. He married Marguerite Guest, and they had two children, Kenneth and Marguerite. After living in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and working for an

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generally ...

there, he moved with his family to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

in the early 1950s. He lived in

Mill Valley, California Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge and from Napa Valley. The population was 14,231 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, and died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

and

emphysema Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alv ...

in Greenbrae, California, at the age of 84.

Writing career

Finney's first article, "Someone Who Knows Told Me …", published in the December 1943 issue of

Cosmopolitan Cosmopolitan may refer to: Food and drink * Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo" History * Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953 Hotels and resorts * Cosmopoli ...

, reflects the message of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and othe ...

's (OWI) "Loose Lips Sink Ships" campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. As an advertising copywriter, Finney was doing his part, driving home the point that careless remarks by otherwise patriotic citizens can aid enemy agents, resulting in the death of US servicemen. His story "The Widow's Walk" won a contest sponsored by ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fict ...

'' in 1946. His first novel, ''5 Against the House'', was published in 1954. It was made into a movie the following year. Finney's novel '' The Body Snatchers'' (1955) was the basis for the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

movie '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' and multiple remakes. Another novel, ''Assault on a Queen'' (1959), became the film '' Assault on a Queen'' with

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

as the leader of a gang that pulls a daring robbery of the RMS ''Queen Mary''. Finney's greatest success came with his science fiction novel '' Time and Again'' (1970). It involves

time travel Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a ...

to the past, a theme he had experimented with previously in short stories. Its protagonist, Simon Morley, is working in advertising in New York City when he is recruited for a secret government project to achieve time travel. Morley travels to the New York City of 1882. The novel is notable for Finney's vivid and detailed picture of life in the city at that time and for the art and photographs supposedly made by Morley during his experiences, which are reproduced in the pages of the novel. Morley sees many actual historical sites, some now gone (e.g., the post office that, until 1939, stood in what is now the southern tip of City Hall Park) and some still existing (e.g., St. Patrick's Cathedral, then the tallest building in its

Fifth Avenue Fifth Avenue is a major and prominent thoroughfare in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It stretches north from Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village to West 143rd Street in Harlem. It is one of the most expensive shopping ...

neighborhood). In 1987, Finney was given the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Life Achievement at the World Fantasy Convention, held in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. Finney's story "

Such Interesting Neighbors "Such Interesting Neighbors" is a science fiction short story by the American writer Jack Finney, first published in 1951. Versions of the story adapted for television aired as episodes of '' Science Fiction Theatre'' and ''Amazing Stories''. Pl ...

" (''Collier's'', 6 January 1951) was the basis for the second episode of '' Science Fiction Theatre'', entitled "Time Is Just a Place". It was first broadcast on 16 April 1955. It co-starred Don DeFore and Warren Stevens; it was then published in 1957, in the collection ''The Third Level'' by Rhinehart and Company; later, the story appeared as an episode of the

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...

-created anthology series ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

'', starring

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...

and

Marcia Strassman Marcia Ann Strassman (April 28, 1948 – October 24, 2014) was an American actress and singer. She played Nurse Margie Cutler on ''M*A*S*H'', Julie Kotter on '' Welcome Back, Kotter'', and Diane Szalinski in the film ''Honey, I Shrunk the Ki ...

. Spielberg's version was first broadcast on 20 March 1987. In 1995, twenty-five years after ''Time and Again'', Finney published a sequel called '' From Time to Time'' featuring the further adventures of Morley, this time centering on

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

in 1912. Finney died at the age of 84 not long after finishing the book. The 1998

television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

'' The Love Letter'', starring

Campbell Scott Campbell Scott (born July 19, 1961) is an American actor, producer and director. His roles include Steve Dunne in '' Singles'', Mark Usher in '' House of Cards'', Joseph Tobin in ''Damages'', and Richard Parker in '' The Amazing Spider-Man'' an ...

and Jennifer Jason Leigh, is based on Finney's short story of the same name, which appeared in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' in 1959. ''The Third Level'', Knox College's science fiction and fantasy publication, is named for Finney's short story "The Third Level", published in ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy and science fiction magazine first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence Spivak's Mercury Press. Editors Anthony Boucher ...

'' in October 1952.

Works

Short stories

* "Someone Who Knows Told Me …", ''Cosmopolitan'' (Non-Fiction) (December 1943) * "The Widow's Walk", ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' (July 1947) * "Manhattan Idyl", ''Collier's'' (April 1947) * "I'm Mad at You", ''Collier's'' (December 1947) * "Breakfast in Bed", ''Collier's'' (May 1948) * "It Wouldn't Be Fair", ''Collier's'' (August 1948) - Also published in ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' * "You Haven't Changed a Bit", ''Colliers'' (April 1949) * "The Little Courtesies", ''Collier's'' (June 1949) * "A Dash of Spring", ''Cosmopolitan'' (June 1949) * "Week-end Genius", ''Colliers'' (May 1950) * "I Like It This Way", ''Collier's'' (June 1950) * "My Cigarette Loves Your Cigarette", ''Collier's'' (September 1950) * "

", ''Collier's'' (January 1951) * "One Man Show", ''Collier's'' (June 1951) * " I'm Scared", ''Collier's'' (September 1951) * "It Wouldn't be Fair", ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' (November 1951) * "Obituary" (co-written with C.J. Durban), ''Collier's'' (February 1952) * "The Third Level", ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (October 1952) * "Quit Zoomin' Those Hands Through the Air", ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (December 1952) * " Of Missing Persons" (1955) * "Man of Confidence", ''Good Housekeeping'' (September 1955) * "Second Chance", ''Good Housekeeping'' (April 1956) * "Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket", ''Good Housekeeping'' (June 1956) * "The Love Letter", ''Saturday Evening Post'' (August 1, 1959) lso re-published in January/February 1988 issue of ''Saturday Evening Post''* "The U-19’s Last Kill", ''Saturday Evening Post'' (six-part series, beginning August 22, 1959, and ending September 26, 1959) * "The Other Wife" (also known as "The Coin Collector"), ''Saturday Evening Post'' (January 30, 1960) * "An Old Tune" (also known as "Home Alone"), ''McCall's'' (October 1961) * "Old Enough for Love", ''McCall's'' (May 1962) * "The Sunny Side of the Street", ''McCall's'' (October 1962) * "Time Has No Boundaries" (also known as "The Face in the Photo"), ''Saturday Evening Post'' (October 13, 1962) * "Hey, Look at Me!" (1962) * "Lunch Hour Magic" (1962) * "Where the Cluetts Are" (1962)

Novels

* ''5 Against the House'' (1954) * '' The Body Snatchers'' (1955) * ''The House of Numbers'' (1957) (for film, see '' House of Numbers'') * ''Assault on a Queen'' (1959) * ''Good Neighbor Sam'' (1963) * ''The Woodrow Wilson Dime'' (1968) * '' Time and Again'' (1970) * ''Marion's Wall'' (1973) * ''The Night People'' (1977) * '' From Time to Time'' (1995)

Collections

* ''The Third Level'' (1957), short story collection, in England as ''The Clock of Time'' (1958) * ''I Love Galesburg in the Springtime'' (1963), short story collection * ''Forgotten News: The Crime of the Century and Other Lost Stories'' (1983), nonfiction * ''About Time'' (1986), short story collection, a subset of only the time stories from ''The Third Level'' and ''I Love Galesburg in the Springtime'' * ''Three by Finney'' (1987), an omnibus edition of ''The Woodrow Wilson Dime'', ''Marion's Wall'', and ''The Night People''

Plays

* ''Telephone Roulette: A Comedy in One Act'' (1956) * ''This Winter's Hobby: A Play'' (1966)

Film adaptations

* ''

5 Against the House ''5 Against the House'' is a 1955 American heist film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Guy Madison, Kim Novak and Brian Keith. The supporting cast includes William Conrad. The screenplay is based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1955

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and '' Hell's Island'', all with actor John Payne, in the early 1950s ...

film starring Guy Madison,

Kim Novak Marilyn Pauline "Kim" Novak (born February 13, 1933) is an American retired film and television actress and painter. Novak began her career in 1954 after signing with Columbia Pictures and quickly became one of Hollywood's top box office stars, ...

, and

Brian Keith Brian Keith (born Robert Alba Keith, November 14, 1921 – June 24, 1997) was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his six-decade career gained recognition for his work in films such as the Disney family film '' The Parent T ...

) * '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1956

Don Siegel Donald Siegel ( ; October 26, 1912 – April 20, 1991) was an American film and television director and producer. Siegel was described by ''The New York Times'' as "a director of tough, cynical and forthright action-adventure films whose taut ...

film starring Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter and

Larry Gates Lawrence Wheaton Gates (September 24, 1915December 12, 1996) was an American actor. His notable roles include H.B. Lewis on daytime's '' Guiding Light'' and Doc Baugh in the film version of ''Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' (1958). He played the role ...

) * '' House of Numbers'' (1957 Russell Rouse film noir starring

Jack Palance Jack Palance ( ; born Volodymyr Palahniuk ( uk, Володимир Палагню́к); February 18, 1919 – November 10, 2006) was an American actor known for playing tough guys and villains. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, all fo ...

) * ''

Good Neighbor Sam ''Good Neighbor Sam'' is a 1964 American Eastman Color screwball comedy film co-written and directed by David Swift, based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Jack Finney. The film stars Jack Lemmon, Romy Schneider, Dorothy Provine, Michael ...

'' (1964 David Swift film starring

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadi ...

, Romy Schneider, and

Dorothy Provine Dorothy Michelle Provine (January 20, 1935 – April 25, 2010) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Born in 1935 in Deadwood, South Dakota, she grew up in Seattle, Washington, and was hired in 1958 by Warner Bros., after which she firs ...

) * '' Assault on a Queen'' (1966 Jack Donohue film based on ''The U-19's Last Kill'' starring

, Virna Lisi, and Anthony Franciosa) * '' Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' (1978 remake by Philip Kaufman starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams, Jeff Goldblum, and

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

) * ''

Maxie Maxie is a given name, a nickname and a surname which may refer to: People Given name * Max Baer (boxer) (1909–1959), American world champion heavyweight boxer, nicknamed "Madcap Maxie" * Max Maxie Anderson (1934–1983), American hot air balloo ...

'' (1985 Paul Aaron film starring Glenn Close,

Mandy Patinkin Mandel Bruce Patinkin (; born November 30, 1952) is an American actor and singer, known for his work in musical theatre, television and film. He is a critically acclaimed Broadway performer, having received three Tony Award nominations, winning ...

, and Ruth Gordon; based on ''Marion's Wall'') * '' Body Snatchers'' (1993 remake of ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'') * '' The Love Letter'' (1998 Dan Curtis TV movie starring

, Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Dukes, and

Estelle Parsons Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American actress, singer and stage director. After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program '' Today'' and ...

; based on the story of the same name) * '' The Invasion'' (2007 remake of ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'' starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

and

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

) * '' Crayon Shin-chan: The Legend Called: Dance! Amigo!'' (2006

Shin-Ei Animation is a Japanese animation studio owned by TV Asahi and founded in Tokyo in 1965 as A-Production by Daikichirō Kusube, who was previously an animator for Toei Animation. Shin-Ei is known for being the animation studio behind two of the anime tele ...

film starring

Akiko Yajima is a Japanese voice actress from Kashiwazaki, Niigata. Her best-known role is as the title character Shinnosuke Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan''. She also voices Mipple in the original '' Futari wa Pretty Cure'', ...

, Miki Narahashi,

Keiji Fujiwara was a Japanese actor and voice actor. His best known works are voicing Shinnosuke's father Hiroshi Nohara in the long-running anime series '' Crayon Shin-chan'', Maes Hughes in '' Fullmetal Alchemist'', Holland in '' Eureka Seven'', Axel in '' ...

Akeno Watanabe is a Japanese voice actress and narrator affiliated with Office Osawa. Some of her notable voice roles include Robin Sena in ''Witch Hunter Robin'', Chachamaru Karakuri in ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', Halle Lidner in ''Death Note'', Rito ...

; based on Yoshito Usui's original

manga Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

that was inspired by ''The Body Snatchers'')

References

External links

* * * Obituary. * bituaries from ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,'' ''San Francisco Examiner,'' ''Dayton Daily News,'' and ''The New York Times''!-- The Wayback Machine does not currently have any copies of the page --> * Academic journal article on time-slip in science fiction, with special reference to ''Time and Again'' and ''The Love Letter''. * An appreciation of Jack Finney on the 100th anniversary of his birth. * Annotated bibliography with other materials.
The Dell Paperback Collection
at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

has first edition paperbacks of Finney's works. {{DEFAULTSORT:Finney, Jack 1911 births 1995 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers American thriller writers Deaths from emphysema Knox College (Illinois) alumni People from Mill Valley, California World Fantasy Award-winning writers Writers from Milwaukee Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from California Novelists from Wisconsin