Gary Phil Brandner (May 31, 1930 – September 22, 2013) was an American

horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...

author best known for his werewolf themed trilogy of

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s, ''

The Howling ''The Howling'' is a 1977 horror novel by Gary Brandner, first published by Fawcett as a paperback original. It was the inspiration for the film '' The Howling'' (1981), although the plot of the film was only vaguely similar to that of the boo ...

''. The first book of the series was adapted loosely as a motion picture in 1981. Brandner's second and third Howling novels, published in 1979 and 1985 respectively, have no association with the film series, though he was involved with writing the screenplay for the second ''Howling'' film, '' Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf''. The fourth film of the Howling series, '' Howling IV: The Original Nightmare'', is actually the closest adaptation of Brandner's original novel, though this too varies to some degree. Brandner's novel ''Walkers'' was adapted and filmed for television as ''From The Dead Of Night''. He also wrote the screenplay for the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit physical or psychological fear in its viewers. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with Transgressive art, transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements of the genre include Mo ...

Cameron's Closet ''Cameron's Closet'', also known as ''Cameron's Terror'', is a 1989 American supernatural horror film. The film was directed by Armand Mastroianni and stars Scott Curtis, Cotter Smith, Mel Harris, Tab Hunter, Kim Lankford, Gary Hudson and W ...

''.

Life and career

Born in the Midwest and much traveled during his formative years, Brandner published more than 30 novels, more than 100 short stories, and also wrote a few screenplays. He attended college at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

where he was a member of fraternity

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic Fraternities and sororities, fraternity with approximately 74 List of Phi Sigma Kappa chapters#Chapters, active chapters and provisional chapters in North Am ...

. After graduating in 1955, he worked as an amateur boxer,

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep or barman or barmaid or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the Bar (establishment), bar, usually in a licensed bar (establishment), establishment as ...

, surveyor, loan company investigator, advertising copywriter, and

technical writer A technical writer is a professional communicator whose task is to convey complex information in simple terms to an audience of the general public or a very select group of readers. Technical writers research and create information through a vari ...

before turning to fiction writing. Brandner lived with his wife, Martine Wood Brandner, and several cats in

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

. He died of

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

in 2013.

Novels

The Big Brain series

The Howling series

Standalones

References

External links

* * 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American horror writers American male novelists 1930 births 2013 deaths American male short story writers People from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Novelists from Michigan 20th-century American short story writers {{US-fiction-writer-stub