Horace McCoy
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Horace Stanley McCoy (April 14, 1897 – December 15, 1955) was an American writer whose mostly
hardboiled Hardboiled (or hard-boiled) fiction is a literary genre that shares some of its characters and settings with crime fiction (especially detective fiction and noir fiction). The genre's typical protagonist is a detective who battles the violence o ...
stories took place during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
. His best-known novel is '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1935), which was made into a movie of the same name in 1969, fourteen years after McCoy's death.


Early life

McCoy was born in
Pegram, Tennessee Pegram is a town completely in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,072. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land. Demographics ...
. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
he served in the
United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...
, flying several missions behind enemy lines as a bombardier and
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
photographer. He was wounded and received the
Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...
for heroism from the government of France.


Post-war

From 1919 to 1930, he worked as a sports editor for the ''Dallas Journal'' in Texas. In 1924, he did the
play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...
of a baseball game for radio broadcast. In the late 1920s he began getting stories published in various pulp mystery magazines. He performed as an actor with the Dallas Little Theater. He had a prominent role in Philip Barry's ''The Youngest''. He described the acting experience in a ''
Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...
'' piece. His acting was good enough for him to be cast in the leads in Molnár's '' Liliom'' (1928), and
Sidney Howard Sidney Coe Howard (June 26, 1891 – August 23, 1939) was an American playwright, dramatist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for '' Gone with the Wind'' ...
's '' They Knew What They Wanted'' (1929)."Horace S. McCoy, Writer, Ex-Newsman, Dies at 58," ''The Dallas Morning News'', December 17, 1955. A 1928 column in the ''Morning News'' described McCoy as "a sort of enfant terrible of journalism and amateur theatricals in Dallas."


California

When Oliver Hinsdell, director of the Dallas Little Theater from 1923–31, was engaged as an acting coach for
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...
, McCoy followed him to Hollywood to become a film actor. He appeared in a short, "The Hollywood Handicap" (1932), then moved on to screenwriting. McCoy also worked a number of odd jobs. For example, he washed cars, picked lettuce in the
Imperial Valley The Imperial Valley ( or ''Valle Imperial'') of Southern California lies in Imperial and Riverside counties, with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the S ...
, and served as a bouncer at the
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
pier.


Novels and film work

The bouncer job inspired '' They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'', the story of a Depression-era dance marathon. His novel ''I Should Have Stayed Home'' dealt with the experiences of a young Southern actor attempting to find work in 1930s Hollywood. Another novel, ''No Pockets in a Shroud'', featured a heroic, misunderstood reporter as the protagonist. In 1948, McCoy published the hard-boiled classic ''Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye''. The story is narrated by the amoral protagonist, Ralph Cotter. It was made into a
James Cagney James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor and dancer. On stage and in film, he was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He won acclaim and maj ...
movie of the same name. Its influence—McCoy's influence—on the French filmmakers who love pulp fiction and film noir can be seen, for example, in
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...
's film '' Made in U.S.A.'', in which one character is reading this novel in its French translation, ''Adieu la vie, adieu l'amour''. In Hollywood, McCoy wrote westerns, crime melodramas, and other films for various studios. McCoy worked with such movie directors as
Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Western (genre), Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven f ...
,
Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent cinema actor George Walsh. He wa ...
, and Nicholas Ray. He was also an uncredited script assistant for ''
King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...
'' (1933). The film '' Bad for Each Other'' (1953), for which McCoy received co-screenwriting credit (with Irving Wallace), was based on his novel ''Scalpel'' (1952) which was uncredited. McCoy was also recognized for the story, in the closing credits, of the Samantha Crawford character debut in the '' Maverick'' television series titled " According to Hoyle" starring
James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...
, Diane Brewster and Leo Gordon.


Personal life

He was married to Helen Vinmont McCoy, with whom he had two sons, Horace Stanley McCoy II and Peter McCoy; and a daughter, Amanda McCoy. He died in
Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...
of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
.


Works


Novels

*''They Shoot Horses, Don't They?'' (1935) *''No Pockets in a Shroud'' (1937; revised 1948) *''I Should Have Stayed Home'' (1938) *''Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye'' (1948) *''Scalpel'' (1952) *''Corruption City'' (unfinished; completed by a ghostwriter and published posthumously in 1959)


Short stories

''All-Star Detective Stories'': *"Two Smart Guys" (November 1931) ''Black Mask'': *"The Devil Man" (December 1927) *"Dirty Work" (September 1929) *"Hell's Stepsons" (October 1929) *"Renegades of the Rio" (December 1929) *"The Little Black Book" (January 1930) *"Frost Rides Alone" (March 1930) *"Somewhere in Mexico" (July 1930) *"The Gun-Runners" (August 1930) *"The Mailed Fist" (December 1930) *"Headfirst into Hell" (May 1931) *"The Mopper Up" (November 1931) *"The Trail to the Tropics" (March 1932) *"The Golden Rule" (June 1932) *"Murder in Error" (August 1932) *"Wings Over Texas" (October 1932) *"Flight at Sunrise" (May 1934) *"Somebody Must Die" (October 1934 ''Detective-Dragnet Magazine'': *"Killer's Killer" (December 1930) *"Death Alley" (March 1931) *"Juggernaut of Justice" (August 1931) ''Detective Action Stories'': *"Night Club" (February 1931) ''Man Stories'': *"A Matter of Honor" (July 1931) ''Nickel Detective'': *"Trapped By Silver" (August 1933) ''Popular Fiction'': *"Bombs for the General" (February 1932)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Horace 1897 births 1955 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers American crime fiction writers American male novelists American male short story writers American male screenwriters United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Novelists from Tennessee People from Cheatham County, Tennessee Pulp fiction writers American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Screenwriters from Tennessee United States Army officers 20th-century American screenwriters