Ted Johnstone
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

David Edward McDaniel (16 June 1939 – 1 November 1977) was an American
science fiction author This is a list of notable science-fiction authors, in alphabetical order: A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) * Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) * Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan ...
, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based on the television series ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, p ...
''


Biography

David McDaniel was born on 16 June 1939, in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...
. He studied cinematography at
San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...
and then moved to
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, ...
. While living in Los Angeles, he joined
science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...
, where he used the pseudonym Ted Johnstone. This makes him one of the few authors to write under his real name but conduct his social life under a pseudonym. He was also known by the nickname "Tedron",http://www.lasfsinc.info/newdeprof/deprof439.pdf the name of his character in a
shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where one or more writers (or other artists) independently contribute works that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, charact ...
fantasy called ''Coventry''.http://fancyclopedia.org/coventry and http://www.conchord.org/xeno/rainbowaffair.htm David McDaniel died sometime in the early morning of 1 November 1977 while alone at his home. At the time of his death he was contracted to fly to
Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...
, for freelance work as a cameraman.


Professional career

McDaniel sold two stories while still an undergraduate. Pulp writer
Noel Loomis Noel Loomis (April 3, 1905 – September 7, 1969) was an American writer, principally of western, mystery and science-fiction. Born and raised in the American West, he was sufficiently familiar with that territory to write a useful history of t ...
was teaching a course on writing at San Diego State, and offered an automatic "A" to any student who sold a story. McDaniel found a boy's magazine whose requirements he could meet, sent them two stories and they accepted both: * A young English boy sees Vikings about to attack his village. He rouses the village and helps drive off the Vikings. * A short science fiction story set in space about a teenage boy. McDaniel wrote his first science fiction novel, titled ''The Weapons of XXX'', and submitted it to
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 ...
in early 1965.
Terry Carr Terry Gene Carr (February 19, 1937 – April 7, 1987) was an American science fiction fan, author, editor, and writing instructor. Background and discovery of fandom Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon. He attended the City College of S ...
, a junior editor at Ace, liked it, but the chief editor, Don Wollheim, wasn't convinced, so they returned it. Ace then signed a contract to publish original novels based on the
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
television series ''
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents Napoleon Solo, played by Robert Vaughn, and Illya Kuryakin, p ...
''. Carr remembered McDaniel's ''The Weapons of XXX'' and knew McDaniel was a big fan of the television show, so he asked him to submit a novel for ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' project. The fourth novel to appear in the series was the result, ''The Dagger Affair'' (1965), which was one of the biggest sellers in the series. Carr asked him to write another, ''The Vampire Affair'', and then signed him to a contract for six more. Royalty statements received from
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 ...
showed ''The Vampire Affair'' as the biggest seller of the six ''U.N.C.L.E.'' novels that McDaniel wrote. McDaniel's first novel, ''The Weapons of XXX'', eventually was published by Ace in 1967 under the title ''The Arsenal Out of Time''. The book as originally written was slightly longer than Ace's standard book length at the time, so he was asked to shorten it by about 2000 words. He deleted a scene which did nothing to advance the plot but humorously depicted ( Tuckerized) a personal friend of McDaniel's. The missing scene was later published in the fanzine ''The Best of Apa-L #3''. His last novel, ''The Final Affair'', was intended to by Carr to be the final book in ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' series. However, McDaniel was several months late finishing the book, and by that time the series was no longer on TV and ''The Final Affair'' was never published, but it can be found online (see
External links An internal link is a type of hyperlink on a web page to another page or resource, such as an image or document, on the same website or domain. It is the opposite of an external link, a link that directs a user to content that is outside its d ...
below). More details can be found in
The inside story of how DMcDaniel became involved in UNCLE
'' ic' at ''The Fans From U.N.C.L.E.'' website.


Bibliography


U.N.C.L.E. novels

* ''The Dagger Affair'' (#4 in the series) (1966) * ''The Vampire Affair'' (#6) (1966) * ''The Monster Wheel Affair'' (#8) (1967) * ''The Rainbow Affair'' (#13) (1967) * ''The Utopia Affair'' (#15) (1968) * ''The Hollow Crown Affair'' (#17) (1969) * ''The Final Affair'' (unpublished)


Other TV related novels

* "The Prisoner" series: ''The Prisoner: Number Two'', (1969) also known as ''Who is Number Two'', the second book in the series based on the TV series


Stand alone novels

* ''The Arsenal Out of Time'',
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 ...
, 1967 (Ace G-667, SBN 020-07667) (cover by
Frank Kelly Freas Frank Kelly Freas (August 27, 1922 – January 2, 2005) was an American artist known for his work in science fiction and fantasy, with a career spanning more than 50 years. He was known as the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists" and he was the s ...
)


Short stories

* "Quiet Village", a short story set in the same fictional history published in Analog in 1970 and reprinted in the collection ''There Will Be War'', edited by
Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...
,
Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles. History Tor was founded by Tom Doherty, ...
, 1983. * "Prognosis: Terminal," in ''2020 Vision'',
Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and ergonomics, human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. ...
, ed.
Avon Books Avon Publications is a leading publisher of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reaching and ma ...
, 1974.


Fan career

Under his fan name of Ted Johnstone, McDaniel served as Official Arbiter of an SF fan APA called ''The Cult''. He served as editor of the
LASFS The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be found on thLASFS website LASFS is the oldest continuously operating scienc ...
's Official Organ, ''Shangri L'Affaires'' (aka "Shaggy"), in 1964-5. He was active in the LASFS's weekly Amateur Press Association, ''APA-L'', for over a year, publishing a weekly zine titled "B-Roll Negative". In addition, he wrote a column, "A Slow Train through Gondor". At various times he served as "Director" (presiding officer) and as "Scribe" (secretary) of the LASFS,"Menace (minutes) of the LASFS", 1963-1975 and is remembered as a "Patron Saint" (substantial donor).http://www.lasfsinc.info///index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=49&Itemid=172 Patron Saints & Other Donors,
LASFS The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, Inc., or LASFS, is a science fiction and fantasy fan society that meets in the Los Angeles area. The current meeting place can be found on thLASFS website LASFS is the oldest continuously operating scienc ...
official website
He was Chairman of
Westercon Westercon (occasionally WesterCon; long version West Coast Science Fantasy Conference) is a regional science fiction and fantasy convention founded in September 1948 by Walter J. Daugherty of the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society. The original ...
XX in 1967 (officially called "Shere-Con" because it was held at the Sheraton-West hotel in Los Angeles, but also referred to as "Double-Cross Con" because of internal fights within the operating committee. Shortly before the convention actually began, Brandon Lamont was named acting chairman by the committee for the duration of the convention.) McDaniel wrote several
filk Filk music is a musical culture, genre, and community tied to science fiction, fantasy, and horror fandom and a type of fan labor. The genre has existed since the early 1950s and been played primarily since the mid-1970s. The genre has a ni ...
songs, including "High Fly the Nazgul-O" (tune: "Green Grow the Rushes-O) and "The Mimeo Crank Chanty" (tune: "Haul Away Joe").''The Filksong Manual'', Bruce E. Pelz ed. & pub., originally published in four volumes, 1965-1972, later republished as a single volume and now available from
Lee Gold Lee Gold is a member of California science fiction fandom and a writer and editor in the role-playing game and filk music communities. Role-playing games Gold became prominent after 1975 as the editor of ''Alarums and Excursions'', a monthly ...
Some photos of McDaniel/Johnstone can be found on th
LASFS website


References


External links

*


Key to David McDaniel's novels


{{DEFAULTSORT:McDaniel, David 1939 births 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Writers from Toledo, Ohio 1977 deaths 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Ohio