Hal Braham (1911-1994) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, pla ...

primarily known for his work in

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

and

western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

. He has a film credit for the story in the 1942

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

movie ''

Tramp, Tramp, Tramp ''Tramp, Tramp, Tramp'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Harry Edwards and starring Harry Langdon and Joan Crawford. Premise The film tells of Harry (Langdon) a ne'er-do-well who falls in love with Betty (Crawford), a girl o ...

''. His published work was mostly released under the pseudonym "Mel Colton". Another pseudonym he used was "Merrill Trask", when he published his western short-stories in "True" and "Look" Magazines.

Career

As Mel Colton, Braham wrote for ''Black Mask'' magazine. In the 1950s, four of his novels were republished by

Ace Books Ace Books is a publisher of science fiction (SF) and fantasy books founded in New York City in 1952 by A. A. Wyn, Aaron A. Wyn. It began as a genre publisher of mystery fiction, mysteries and western (genre), westerns, and soon branched out int ...

as a part of their doubles series from 1952–1965. Titles from this series include: ''The Big Fix'' (1952), ''Never Kill a Cop'' (1953), ''Double Take'' (1953) and ''Point of No Escape'' (1955).

The Fictioneers

Braham was also a member of the Fictioneers, a group of writers based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

who specialized in mystery and western novels. The authors would meet monthly to discuss their work over dinner and drinks. As a member of this group, he was a dedicatee of

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

writer

Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...

's ''Journal of the Gun Years'' (1991), along with fellow Fictioneer writers such as William Campbell Gault,

William R. Cox William Robert Cox (March 14, 1901 – July 7, 1988) was an American writer. He was a prolific writer of short stories and Western and Mystery novels mainly for the pulp and paperback markets. He wrote under at least six pseudonyms: Willard ...

Henry Kuttner Henry Kuttner (April 7, 1915 – February 3, 1958) was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror. Early life Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. Kuttner (1829–1903) and Amelia Bush (c. 1834–1911), the ...

, Les Savage Jr., Joe Brennan, Malden Grange Bishop, Chick Coombs, Dean Owens, Bill Fay, Willard Temple,

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 ...

Todhunter Ballard Willis Todhunter Ballard (December 13, 1903 – December 27, 1980) was an American writer, known for his Westerns and mystery novels. Pseudonyms Ballard was a prolific pulp writer, most notably for the legendary mystery magazine '' Black Mask'' ...

and Wilbur S. Peacock.

Death

Braham died in 1994, in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

, the day after his 83rd birthday.

Books

*''Call Me Deadly'' (Graphic, 1957) *''Murder in Brief'' (Bouregy, 1956) (as Merrill Trask) *''Point of No Escape'' (Ace, 1955) (as Mel Colton) *''Never Kill A Cop'' (Ace, 1953) (as Mel Colton) *''Double Take'' (Ace, 1953) (as Mel Colton) *''The Big Woman'' (Rainbow, 1953) (as Mel Colton) *''The Big Fix'' (Ace, 1952) (as Mel Colton) *''Camp Nuts'' (Columbia, 1941) (with Shannon Day and Marian Grant)

Film and theatre

* ''

'' (1942) *''Loveable Scamp: A Play in 27 Scenes'' (1934)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Braham, Hal American male screenwriters 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 1911 births 1994 deaths American male novelists 20th-century American screenwriters