Dwight Bennett Newton (January 14, 1916 – June 30, 2013) was an American writer of

westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...

. He also wrote under the names Dwight Bennett, Clement Hardin, Ford Logan, Hank Mitchum and Dan Temple. Newton was one of the six founder members of the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in th ...

. He was a writer and story consultant for various television shows including ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'' and ''

Tales of Wells Fargo ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' is an American Westerns on television, Western television series starring Dale Robertson in 201 episodes that aired from 1957 to 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until i ...

''.

Biography

Newton was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, and began to write short stories for Western magazines while studying history at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. After graduating with a master's degree in 1942, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers until 1946, being based at Camp Abbot, a training center near

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...

, in 1943. After the war he settled in Bend, and became a professional writer, publishing 74 novels under various names, including one, ''Range Boss'' (

Pocket Books Pocket Books is a division of Simon & Schuster that primarily publishes paperback books. History Pocket Books produced the first Paperback#Mass market paperback, mass-market, pocket-sized paperback books in the United States in early 1939 and ...

, 1949), that was the first work of fiction issued in paperback, without having first appeared in hardcovers. In 1952 Newton was one of the six founder members of

, Inc., serving as its first secretary-treasurer, and as a board member for ten years. In the late 1950s, Newton moved to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

to work as a writer and story consultant for several television shows, before returning to Bend in 1965. During the 1970s, he gave classes in fiction writing at

Central Oregon Community College Central Oregon Community College is a public community college in Bend, Oregon. It primarily serves residents of Deschutes, Jefferson, and Crook Counties. Its service district also includes portions of Klamath, Lake, and Wasco counties. His ...

, and at the Haystack summer school at

Cannon Beach Cannon Beach is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. Its population was 1,690 at the 2010 census. It is a popular coastal Oregon tourist destination, famous for Haystack Rock, a sea stack that juts out along the coast. In 2013, ''Na ...

Personal life

Newton married Mary Jane Kregel of Nebraska City, Nebraska, on January 29, 1941. They had two daughters. He died at his home in Bend, aged 97, and is buried at Tumalo Cemetery,

Deschutes County, Oregon Deschutes County ( ) is one of the Oregon counties, 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 198,253. The county seat is Bend, Oregon, Bend. The county was created in 1916 out ...

Bibliography

Novels

Short stories

;As "D. B. Newton" *"Swing High, Nester!", ''Lariat Story'' (March 1949) *"White Thunder of the Cherokees", ''Frontier Stories'', (Summer 1949) *"Three Guns and a Girl", ''Best Western'' (September 1951) *"Rogue's Rendezvous", ''Rio Kid Western'' (January 1952) *"Stage Coach West", ''Frontier Stories'' (Spring 1952) *"The Slack Rein", ''Western Short Stories'' (June 1952) *"The Kid Who Wouldn't Talk", ''Best Western'', (July 1952) *"The Kid That Satan Sent", ''Western Novels and Short Stories'' (April 1953) *"Mule Tracks", ''Bad Men and Good'' (WWA anthology), Dodd, Mead, (1953) *"Chain of Command", ''With Guidons Flying'' (WWA anthology), edited by Charles N. Heckelmann. Doubleday & Co., (1970) *"The Storm Riders", ''Zane Grey Western'' (October 1970) ;As "Dwight Bennett" *"Trail's End at the Hangtree", ''Five Western Novels'' (October 1951) ;As "Jackson Cole" *"The Barbed Barrier", ''Texas Rangers'' (July 1953)

Teleplays

* '' Cimarron City'' ** "Kid on a Calico Horse". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and Thomas Thompson. Story by E. Jack Neuman (April 28, 1958) * '' Colt .45'' ** "Under False Pretenses". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by

Elmer Kelton Elmer Kelton (April 29, 1926Kelton, Elmer (2007). - ''Sandhills Boy: The Winding Trail of a Texas Writer''. - New York, New York: Forge. - p.26. - . – August 22, 2009) was an American author, known for his Westerns. He was born in Andrews ...

(October 3, 1959) * ''

Overland Trail The Overland Trail (also known as the Overland Stage Line) was a stagecoach and wagon trail in the American West during the 19th century. While portions of the route had been used by explorers and trappers since the 1820s, the Overland Trail w ...

'' ** "Daughter of the Sioux". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (January 6, 1960) * ''

Shotgun Slade ''Shotgun Slade'' is an American western mystery television series starring Scott Brady that aired seventy-eight episodes in syndication from 1959 to 1961 Created by Frank Gruber, the stories were written by John Berardino, Charissa Hughes, ...

'' ** "Mesa of Missing Men". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (June 19, 1959) ** "Barbed Wire". Teleplay by

Frank Bonham Frank Bonham (February 25, 1914 – December 16, 1988) was an author of Westerns and young adult novels. Bonham wrote 48 novels, as well as TV scripts. Bonham was born in Los Angeles. He was a UCLA graduate. Bonham was known for his works f ...

and Dwight Newton (July 17, 1959) ** "Major Trouble". Teleplay by Bob Mitchell and Dwight Newton. Story by Ralph Conger (July 30, 1959) ** "Bob Ford". Teleplay by Tod Ballard and Dwight Newton (August 24, 1959) *''

'' ** "The Hasty Gun". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (January 28, 1957) ** "Shotgun Messenger". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and

Sloan Nibley Alexander Sloan Nibley (June 23, 1908 – April 3, 1990) was an American screenwriter. He was the older brother of famed Latter Day Saint scholar Hugh Nibley. Career Born in Portland, Oregon to Alexander ("El") and Agnes "Sloanie" Nibley, Ni ...

(February 26, 1957) ** "Jesse James". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (March 5, 1957) ** "Ride With a Killer". Teleplay by Verne Athanas and Dwight Newton (March 19, 1957) ** "Fort Massacre". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and David Chandler. Story by David Chandler (April 8, 1957) ** "Luke Frazer". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by T. T. Flynn (July 9, 1958) ** "The Branding Iron". Teleplay by

A. I. Bezzerides Albert Isaac "Buzz" Bezzerides ( August 9, 1908 – January 1, 2007) was an American novelist and screenwriter, best known for writing film noir, films noir and action film, motion pictures, especially several of Warners' "social conscience" film ...

and Dwight Newton (August 6, 1958) ** "Wild Cargo". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by Steve Fisher (August 14, 1958) ** "The House I Enter". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by William F. Leicester (October 31, 1958) ** "The Last Stand". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by John Cunningham (November 21, 1958) ** "Tall Texan". Teleplay by D. D. Beauchamp, Mary Beauchamp and Dwight Newton (January 13, 1959) ** "Kid Curry". Teleplay by D. D. Beauchamp and Dwight Newton. Story by D. D. Beauchamp (March 6, 1959) ** "The Daltons". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (April 9, 1959) ** "The Dynamite Kid". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (September 1, 1959) ** "Frightened Witness". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and Barney Slater. Story by Dwight Newton (October 27, 1960) *''

'' ** "The Jesse Cowan Story". Story and teleplay by Dwight Newton (October 28, 1957) ** "The Bill Tawnee Story". Teleplay by Rik Vollaerts and Dwight Newton. Story by Rik Vollaerts (February 12, 1958) * '' Whiplash'' ** "Convict Town". By Dwight Newton (September 17, 1960)

Legacy

Nineteen linear feet of the author's papers are held at the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...

Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, D. B. 1916 births 2013 deaths Writers from Kansas City, Missouri University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel 20th-century American novelists American Western (genre) novelists American television writers American male television writers 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Missouri