Wayne D. Overholser (September 4, 1906, in

Pomeroy, Washington Pomeroy is the county seat of Garfield County, Washington, United States and is the only incorporated city in the county. The population was 1,389 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census B ...

– August 27, 1996, in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

), was an American Western writer. Overholser won the 1953 First Spur Award for Best Western Novel for ''Law Man'' using the pseudonym Lee Leighton. ''Law Man'' was made into the motion picture ''

Star in the Dust ''Star in the Dust'' is a 1956 American Technicolor Western film directed by Charles F. Haas and starring John Agar, Mamie Van Doren and Richard Boone. It was based on the 1953 Lee Leighton novel ''Law Man''. In the town of Gunlock, sheriff B ...

'', starring

John Agar John George Agar Jr. (January 31, 1921 – April 7, 2002) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for starring alongside John Wayne in the films ''Sands of Iwo Jima'', '' Fort Apache'', and '' She Wore a Yellow Ribbon''. In h ...

and

Richard Boone Richard Allen Boone (June 18, 1917 – January 10, 1981) was an American actor who starred in over 50 films and was notable for his roles in Westerns, including his starring role in the television series ''Have Gun – Will Travel''. Early lif ...

(and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

in his first - uncredited -

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

role), in 1956. In 1955 he won the 1954 (second)

Spur Award Spur Awards are literary prizes given annually by the Western Writers of America (WWA). The purpose of the Spur Awards is to honor writers for distinguished writing about the American West. The Spur Awards began in 1953, the same year the WWA wa ...

for ''The Violent Land.'' He won the Spur Award for a third time in 1969 for his juvenile novel about the

Meeker Massacre Meeker Massacre, or Meeker Incident, White River War, Ute War, or the Ute Campaign), took place on September 29, 1879 in Colorado. Members of a band of Ute people, Ute Indians (Native Americans of the United States, Native Americans) attacked t ...

, with Lewis Patten. Three additional pseudonyms were John S. Daniels, Dan J. Stevens and Joseph Wayne; combinations of his three sons' names.

Early life

Overholser grew up on two different farms in the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, the ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. He graduated from Pleasant Hill High School in 1924. He first attended

Albany College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1867 and is situated on the historic M. Lloyd Frank Estate in South Portland's Collins View neighborhood. It is composed of three distinct but adjac ...

, then the Oregon Normal School. He taught school in Tillamook and Bend. Overholser attended summer school from 1927-1934, taking botany classes and studying under writing professor W. F. G. Thacher (who also mentored

Ernest Haycox Ernest James Haycox (October 1, 1899 – October 13, 1950) was an American writer of Western fiction. Biography Haycox was born in Portland, Oregon, to William James Haycox and the former Martha Burghardt on October 1, 1899.Corning, Howard M. ( ...

, whom Overholser cited as an influence) 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 ...

, graduating in 1934 with a bachelor of science degree. He married Evaleth Miller in 1934, and the couple traveled to

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

in 1935 where Wayne studied with E. Douglas Branch and

Robert Penn Warren Robert Penn Warren (April 24, 1905 – September 15, 1989) was an American poet, novelist, literary critic and professor at Yale University. He was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern ...

. He sold his first story to ''Popular Western'', a

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

, in 1936.

In popular culture

Overholser was referenced in

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

's novel '' Wolves of the Calla'', part of King's '' Dark Tower'', in which he was both mentioned explicitly, and is the namesake of a character in the town of Calla Bryn Sturgis.

Work

Collections * ''The Best Western Stories of Wayne D. Overholser'' (1984) aka ''The Best Western Stories''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overholser, Wayne D. 1906 births 1996 deaths People from Eugene, Oregon People from Pomeroy, Washington University of Oregon people Western (genre) writers Writers from Oregon