Bill S. Ballinger
Encyclopedia
Bill S. Ballinger was a prolific American author and screenwriter. He was educated at the University of Wisconsin and was an associate professor of writing at the California State University
Northridge, Los Angeles, California
.
Working in radio and advertising in the early 1940s, Ballinger wrote 81 radio scripts and produced The Dinah Shore Show
, The Breakfast Club, and Lowell Thomas
broadcasts. After Ballinger moved from New York to Los Angeles he began writing full time.
The author of 30 books, Ballinger also used the names B.S. Sanborn and Frederic Fryer. The first was The Body in the Bed in 1948. His most famous work was 1950s Portrait in Smoke that received a Les Grands Maîtres du Roman Policier Award and was filmed in 1956 as Wicked as they Come
. Ballinger's two main fictional characters in his novels were Chicago
private investigator
Barr Breed and Native American
Central Intelligence Agency
Agent Joaquin Hawke. He received an Edgar Allan Poe Award
for The Longest Second in 1958.
Ballinger was a frequent writer for American television with 150 teleplays to his name. These included seven teleplays for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, two episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker
, several police television shows such as Tightrope
and Ironside
and the episode "The Mice" for The Outer Limits
.
In addition to his books and teleplays, Ballinger wrote screenplays for Burt Topper
's The Strangler (1963) and Operation CIA (1965), a Burt Reynolds
spy film set in Vietnam but filmed in Thailand.
California State University
The California State University is a public university system in the state of California. It is one of three public higher education systems in the state, the other two being the University of California system and the California Community College system. It is incorporated as The Trustees of the...
Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Northridge, Los Angeles, California
Northridge is a community located in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California, United States.The 1994 Northridge earthquake is named for the place based on early estimates of the location of the quake's epicenter; however, further refinements showed it to be technically...
.
Working in radio and advertising in the early 1940s, Ballinger wrote 81 radio scripts and produced The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show
The Dinah Shore Show is an American variety show which was broadcast by NBC from November 1951 to January 1956, sponsored by General Motors' Chevrolet division...
, The Breakfast Club, and Lowell Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowell Jackson Thomas was an American writer, broadcaster, and traveler, best known as the man who made Lawrence of Arabia famous...
broadcasts. After Ballinger moved from New York to Los Angeles he began writing full time.
The author of 30 books, Ballinger also used the names B.S. Sanborn and Frederic Fryer. The first was The Body in the Bed in 1948. His most famous work was 1950s Portrait in Smoke that received a Les Grands Maîtres du Roman Policier Award and was filmed in 1956 as Wicked as they Come
Wicked as they Come
Wicked As They Come is a 1956 British film starring Arlene Dahl, Philip Carey and Michael Goodliffe, with support from Sid James...
. Ballinger's two main fictional characters in his novels were Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
private investigator
Private investigator
A private investigator , private detective or inquiry agent, is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private detectives/investigators often work for attorneys in civil cases. Many work for insurance companies to investigate suspicious claims...
Barr Breed and Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
Agent Joaquin Hawke. He received an Edgar Allan Poe Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for The Longest Second in 1958.
Ballinger was a frequent writer for American television with 150 teleplays to his name. These included seven teleplays for Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, two episodes of Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Kolchak: The Night Stalker is an American television series that aired on ABC during the 1974-1975 season. It featured a fictional Chicago newspaper reporter — Carl Kolchak, played by Darren McGavin — who investigates mysterious crimes with unlikely causes, particularly ones law...
, several police television shows such as Tightrope
Tightrope (TV series)
Tightrope is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 1959 to September 1960. Produced by Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene in association with Screen Gems, the series stars Mike Connors as an undercover agent named "Nick" who was assigned to infiltrate criminal gangs...
and Ironside
Ironside (TV series)
Ironside is a Universal television series which ran on NBC from September 14, 1967 to January 16, 1975. The show starred Raymond Burr as the wheelchair-using Chief of Detectives, Robert T. Ironside. The character's debut was in a TV-movie on March 28, 1967. The original title of the show in the...
and the episode "The Mice" for The Outer Limits
The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)
The Outer Limits is an American television series that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1965. The series is similar in style to the earlier The Twilight Zone, but with a greater emphasis on science fiction, rather than fantasy stories...
.
In addition to his books and teleplays, Ballinger wrote screenplays for Burt Topper
Burt Topper
Burt Topper was an American film director and screenwriter best known for cult films aimed at teenagers.Born in Coney Island, New York, Topper moved to Los Angeles at the age of 8, and served in the United States Navy during World War II...
's The Strangler (1963) and Operation CIA (1965), a Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
spy film set in Vietnam but filmed in Thailand.
Barr Breed series
- The Body in the Bed: The Case of the Murdered Mistress (1948)
- The Body Beautiful (1949)
Joaquin Hawks series
- The Spy in Bangkok (1963)
- The Chinese Mask (1965)
- The Spy in the Jungle (1965)
- The Spy at Angkor Wat (1966)
- The Spy in the Java Sea (1966)