Robert Lloyd Fish (August 21, 1912 – February 23, 1981) was an American writer of

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 ...

Biography

Early life

Fish was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, and studied engineering at

Case School of Applied Science The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. The school was endowed ...

, where he graduated in 1933. Thereafter, he had a successful career in engineering management and consultancy,Vizzier, Anne R, "Robert L. Fish", in working in several countries that he later used as settings for his stories. He served for three years with the

Ohio National Guard The Ohio National Guard comprises the Ohio Army National Guard and the Ohio Air National Guard. The commander-in-chief of the Ohio Army National Guard is the List of governors of Ohio, governor of the U.S. state of Ohio. If the Ohio Army Nation ...

37th Infantry Division.

Writing career

In 1953 he travelled to

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, as an engineering consultant to a Brazilian vinyl plastics factory In 1960, Fish submitted his first short story to ''

Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine ''Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine'' is a bi-monthly American digest size fiction magazine specializing in crime fiction, particularly detective fiction, and mystery fiction. Launched in fall 1941 by Mercury Press, ''EQMM'' is named after the fic ...

''. He subsequently wrote over 30 novels and numerous short stories. His

first novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''The Fugitive'', gained him the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...

Edgar Allan Poe Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America which is based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor ...

for best first novel in 1962, and his short story "Moonlight Gardener" was awarded the Edgar for best short story in 1972. His 1963 novel ''Mute Witness'', written under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike, was filmed in 1968 as ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American action thriller film directed by Peter Yates from a screenplay by Alan Trustman, Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleiner and based on the 1963 crime novel ''Mute Witness'' by Robert L. Fish. It stars Steve McQueen, Ro ...

'', starring

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

. The same happened with his 1967 novel ''Always Kill A Stranger'', which was filmed in 1972 as Missão: Matar, starring Tarcisio Meira, Yvonne Buchingham. He also wrote the novel ''Pursuit'' (adapted into a two-part TV miniseries '' Twist of Fate''), and the

Holmes Holmes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Holmes (surname), a list of people and fictional characters ** Sherlock Holmes, a fictional detective * Holmes (given name), a list of people * Gordon Holmes, a penname used by Louis Trac ...

parody A parody is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satire, satirical or irony, ironic imitation. Often its subject is an Originality, original work or some aspect of it (theme/content, author, style, e ...

''The Memoirs of Schlock Homes''. In 1963, Fish completed

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

's unfinished novel ''

The Assassination Bureau, Ltd ''The Assassination Bureau, Ltd'' is a thriller novel, begun by Jack London and finished after his death by Robert L. Fish.Pöhlmann, Sascha. ''Vote with a Bullet: Assassination in American Fiction''. Boydell & Brewer, Incorporated, 2021. 47. ...

'' based on the unfinished manuscript with additional notes by London and an ending outline done by London's wife Charmian shortly before her death in 1955.

Death

Fish died in February 1981 at his home in Trumbull,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Awards

* 1962

for best first novel: ''The Fugitive'' * 1972 Edgar Allan Poe Award for best short story: "Moonlight Gardener", '' Argosy'', December 1971 Two other short stories, "Double Entry" (''EQMM'', January 1969) and "Hijack" (''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'', August 1972), were nominated for Edgars in the "best short story" category, but did not win the award.

Legacy

The Robert L. Fish Memorial Award, sponsored by the author's estate, has been awarded annually since 1984 by the Mystery Writers of America for the best first short story by an American author.

Selected bibliography

* ''The Fugitive'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #1), (1962) * ''Mute Witness'', (1963) written under the pseudonym Robert L. Pike, was filmed in 1968 as ''

'' * ''Isle of the Snakes'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #2), (1963) * ''The Shrunken Head'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #3), (1963) * ''Brazilian Sleigh Ride'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #4), (1988) * ''The Diamond Bubble'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #5), (1966) * ''Always Kill A Stranger'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #6 (1967), was filmed in 1972 in Brazil as Missão: Matar! directed by * ''The Murder League'' (1968) * ''The Bridge That Went Nowhere'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #7), (1968) * ''The Xavier Affair'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #8), (1970) * ''The Green Hell Treasure'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #9), (1971) * ''Trouble in Paradise'' (Captain Jose Da Silva Mystery #10), (1975) * ''Pursuit'' (1978); was made into a British TV miniseries '' Twist of Fate'' in 1989. *''My life and the beautiful game'', with

Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

(Edson Arantes do Nascimento), an autobiography (1978). *''Schlock Homes: The Complete Bagel Street Saga'' ), (1990)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Robert L. 1912 births 1981 deaths American mystery writers 20th-century American novelists Edgar Award winners Writers from Cleveland American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers People from Trumbull, Connecticut 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio Case Western Reserve University alumni