Hal Braham (1911–1994) was an American

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

primarily known for his work in

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

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 Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

movie '' Tramp, Tramp, Tramp''. 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 to 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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

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 (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

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 ficti ...

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

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

, Les Savage Jr., Joe Brennan, Malden Grange Bishop, Chick Coombs, Dean Owens, Bill Fay, Willard Temple, Frank Bonham, Todhunter Ballard and Wilbur S. Peacock.

Death

Braham died in 1994, in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, 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

* '' Tramp, Tramp, Tramp'' (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