Earl Derr Biggers (August 26, 1884 – April 5, 1933) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

. His novels featuring the fictional

Chinese American Chinese Americans are Americans of Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans have ancestors from mainland China, Hong Kong ...

detective

Charlie Chan Charlie Chan is a fictional Honolulu Police Department, Honolulu police detective created by author Earl Derr Biggers for a series of mystery novels. Biggers loosely based Chan on Hawaiian detective Chang Apana. The benevolent and heroic Chan ...

were adapted into popular films made in the United States and China.

Biography

The son of Robert J. and Emma E. (Derr) Biggers, Earl Derr Biggers was born in

Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...

, and graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1907, where he was a member of ''The Lampoon''. He worked briefly as a journalist for ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' in 1907, and then for the '' Boston Traveller'' until 1912, before turning to fiction. Many of his plays and novels were made into movies. His first novel, ''Seven Keys to Baldpate'', was published in 1913, and

George M. Cohan George Michael Cohan (July 3, 1878November 5, 1942) was an American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer and theatrical producer. Cohan began his career as a child, performing with his parents and sister in a vaudev ...

quickly adapted the novel as a hit Broadway stage play of the same name. Cohan starred in the 1917 film version, one of seven film versions of the play, and a 1935 revival.Warburton, Eileen
"Keeper of the Keys to Old Broadway: Geroge (sic) M. Cohan's ''Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (1913)"
, 2nd Story Theatre, January 32, 2014, accessed October 14, 2014. See als
"Play Reviews for ''Seven Keys to Baldpate''"
, 2nd Story Theatre, accessed October 14, 2014 The novel was also adapted into two films with different titles, '' House of the Long Shadows'' and '' Haunted Honeymoon'', but they had essentially equivalent plots. On the day that his first novel was accepted for publication, Biggers proposed to Eleanor Ladd, his girlfriend and fellow writer at the Boston Traveller, and they married in 1914; one year later, his son Robert was born. A decade later, Biggers had even greater success with his series of

detective novels. The popularity of Charlie Chan extended even to China, where audiences in Shanghai appreciated the Hollywood films. Chinese companies made films starring this fictional character. Derr Biggers publicly acknowledged the real-life detective Chang Apana as the inspiration for the character of Charlie Chan in his letter to the ''

Honolulu Advertiser ''The Honolulu Advertiser'' was a daily newspaper published in Honolulu, Hawaii. At the time publication ceased on June 6, 2010, it was the largest daily newspaper in Hawaii. It published daily with special Sunday and Internet editions. ''The ...

'' of June 28, 1932. (The letter was published in the 11 September 1932 issue of the ''Advertiser.''

Biggers lived in

San Marino, California San Marino is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2020 United States census the population was 12,513, a decline from the 2010 United States census. History Origin of name Th ...

, and died in a

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commerci ...

hospital after suffering a heart attack in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

. He was 48.

The Charlie Chan series

* '' The House Without a Key'' (1925) * ''

The Chinese Parrot ''The Chinese Parrot'' (1926) is the second novel in the Charlie Chan series of mystery novels by Earl Derr Biggers and is the first in which Chan travels from Hawaii to mainland California. The story concerns a valuable string of pearls whic ...

'' (1926) * '' Behind That Curtain'' (1928) * '' The Black Camel'' (1929) * '' Charlie Chan Carries On'' (1930) * '' Keeper of the Keys'' (1932)

Other works

* '' Seven Keys to Baldpate'' (1913) *
Love Insurance
' (1914); film version: '' One Night in the Tropics'' (1940) *
Inside the Lines
' (1915) (with Robert Welles Ritchie) *
The Agony Column
' (1916) (also published as ''Second Floor Mystery'') * ''Fifty Candles'' (1921) * ''Earl Derr Biggers Tells Ten Stories'' (short stories, 1933)

References

External links

* * *

a
Project Gutenberg of Australia
* * * *
Play by Derr Biggers on Great War Theatre
{{DEFAULTSORT:Derr Biggers, Earl American mystery writers 01 1884 births 1933 deaths The Harvard Lampoon alumni People from San Marino, California People from Warren, Ohio Writers from Los Angeles Writers of the Golden Age of Detective Fiction Novelists from Ohio American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American novelists Novelists from California American detective fiction writers Warren G. Harding High School alumni