Harold Norling Swanson (August 28, 1899 – May 31, 1991) was a

literary agent A literary agent is an agent who represents writers and their written works to publishers, theatrical producers, film producers, and film studios, and assists in sale and deal negotiation. Literary agents most often represent novelists, screenwr ...

who represented Frank Buck,

F. Scott Fitzgerald Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940), widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and exces ...

and many other well-known American writers. He was a member of the

Cliff Dwellers Club The Cliff Dwellers Club is a private civic arts organization in Chicago, Illinois. The Club was founded in 1907 by Chicago author Hamlin Garland as "The Attic Club", On January 18, 1909, the name was formally changed to The Cliff Dwellers. In 190 ...

and was one of the founding members of the Tavern Club in Chicago.

Career

Swanson graduated from

Grinnell College Grinnell College ( ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of Congregationalism in the United States, Congregationalis ...

, class of 1922. He began his career as a writer
Corn; moods from Mid-America, by Harold Norling Swanson.
but achieved more success as the editor, for eight years during the 1920s, of '' College Humor'', a Chicago-based monthly magazine. In 1931, he moved to Hollywood, where he received a few minor story credits and then spent a period as an associate producer at

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Kei ...

, with eight films to his credit, including two

Wheeler and Woolsey Wheeler & Woolsey were an American vaudeville comedy double act who performed together in comedy films from the late 1920s. The team comprised Bert Wheeler (1895–1968) of New Jersey and Robert Woolsey (1888–1938) of Illinois. Collaboration T ...

comedies, '' Hips, Hips, Hooray!'' and ''Kentucky Kernels''. In 1934, Swanson opened his eponymous agency on Sunset Boulevard. He began representing adventurer-writer Frank Buck in 1935, soon after Buck's appearance in '' Fang and Claw'', the documentary film based on his book of the same name. Swanson's efforts led to Buck's first appearance in a dramatic role, in the 15-chapter serial ''

Jungle Menace ''Jungle Menace'' (1937) is the first serial released by Columbia Pictures. Based on the success of Republic Pictures's 1936 serial ''Darkest Africa'', starring real-life animal trainer Clyde Beatty, Columbia made this exotic jungle serial ...

'', released by Columbia Pictures in 1937. The Swanson Agency was unique at that time in its exclusive focus on the sale of motion picture (and later television and radio) rights to literary properties, as well as representation of the writers (including screenwriters) themselves. His dominance in this area is illustrated by the fact that by 1939 his client list reportedly included 80 of the 110 writers then working for

Twentieth Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

. At one time or another, he represented

, James M. Cain,

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

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. ( ...

, Katharine Brush,

Frank Gruber Frank Gruber (born February 2, 1904, Elmer, Minnesota, died December 9, 1969, Santa Monica, California) was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Included in his work are stories for pulp fiction magazines, dozens of ...

Paul Gallico Paul William Gallico (July 26, 1897 – July 15, 1976) was an American novelist and short story and sports writer.Ivins, Molly,, ''The New York Times'', July 17, 1976. Retrieved Oct. 25, 2020. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures. ...

, Charles Bennett,

MacKinlay Kantor MacKinlay Kantor (February 4, 1904 – October 11, 1977), born Benjamin McKinlay Kantor, was an American journalist, novelist and screenwriter. He wrote more than 30 novels, several set during the American Civil War, and was awarded the ...

, Kenneth Millar (

Ross Macdonald Ross Macdonald was the main pseudonym used by the American-Canadian writer of crime fiction Kenneth Millar (; December 13, 1915 – July 11, 1983). He is best known for his series of hardboiled novels set in Southern California and featur ...

Pearl Buck Pearl Comfort Sydenstricker Buck (June 26, 1892 – March 6, 1973) was an American writer and novelist. She is best known for ''The Good Earth'', the best-selling novel in the United States in 1931 and 1932 and which won her the Pulitzer Prize ...

Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...

, Steve Fisher,

Elmore Leonard Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest no ...

John O'Hara John Henry O'Hara (January 31, 1905 – April 11, 1970) was an American writer. He was one of America's most prolific writers of Short story, short stories, credited with helping to invent ''The New Yorker'' magazine short story style.John O'H ...

, Luke Short (Frederick Glidden),

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

Paul Theroux Paul Edward Theroux ( ; born April 10, 1941) is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue '' The Great Railway Bazaar'' (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films ...

Joseph Wambaugh Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh Jr. (January 22, 1937 – February 28, 2025) was an American writer known for his fictional and nonfictional accounts of police work in the United States. Many of his novels are set in Los Angeles and its surroundings an ...

Philip Wylie Philip Gordon Wylie (May 12, 1902 – October 25, 1971) was an American writer of works ranging from pulp science fiction, mysteries, social diatribes and satire to ecology and the threat of nuclear holocaust. Early life and career Born in Bever ...

and

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich the ...

. Among the many books he sold to the Hollywood studios were '' The Postman Always Rings Twice'', ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los A ...

'', ''

Old Yeller ''Old Yeller'' is a 1956 children's novel written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger. It received a Newbery Honor in 1957. In 1957, Walt Disney released a film adaptation starring Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, Kevi ...

'', ''

Butterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same ...

'' and '' The Mosquito Coast''.

Final years

Swanson published an autobiography, ''Sprinkled with Ruby Dust'', in 1989.Swanson, H.N. ''Sprinkled with Ruby Dust''. Warner Books; 1st Edition, December 1989 He worked in his agency until shortly before his death from a stroke. He is buried in

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Forest Lawn may refer to: Cemeteries California * Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries, a chain of cemeteries in southern California * Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City), California * Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale), California * Fore ...

References

External links

"H.N. Swanson, the Agent Who Made Gatsby 'Great,' Is a Past Master of the Hollywood Deal"
''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'', January 8, 1990
Obituary
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 3, 1991 {{DEFAULTSORT:Swanson, H. N. 1899 births 1991 deaths American literary agents People from Centerville, Iowa American male screenwriters American magazine editors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) American male non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Iowa Film producers from Iowa 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters