David McDaniel
Encyclopedia
David Edward McDaniel was a US
science fiction author, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based upon the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
.
. He studied cinematography at San Diego State University
, then moved to Los Angeles
to be near his mother. While living in Los Angeles he joined science fiction fandom
, using 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", the name of his character in a Shared universe
fantasy called Coventry.
McDaniel died sometime in the early morning of November 1, 1977. A friend found him several days later, and associated evidence suggested accidental death from autoerotic asphyxiation. The family preferred to not discuss this publicly, and his death was originally described to those outside his immediate circle of friends as being from less controversial causes, from slipping and falling in the bath or from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death he was contracted to fly to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
for freelance work as a cameraman.
McDaniel came to write books in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
series at least partly because of a prank. He got some patches with the THRUSH
sigil
through a friend who worked for MGM Studios. Then a group of his friends sewed the patches on dark suits and they showed up at a theater where UNCLE star Robert Vaughn
was playing Hamlet
. Afterward they stood politely in line to greet Vaughn, and equally politely insisted that they were from the "Public Relations" department of THRUSH. There were several more "THRUSH runs" to various places where they could startle people who weren't expecting a group of fictional villains to show up. McDaniel referred to these actions as "Zaps". The group of fans who impersonated THRUSH agents included Barry Gold, Robert Short, Bill Mills, Evan Hayworth, Gail Knuth, Charles Lee Jackson II, and other members of the LASFS, many of whom have been included in McDaniel's novels as characters.
The acronym for THRUSH, "The Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity", was created by McDaniel's friend Dean Dickensheet. McDaniel called in to a talk show where UNCLE producer Norm Felton was a guest and insisted that THRUSH existed. Felton of course denied this, and McDaniel asked what "THRUSH" stood for. Felton said it didn't stand for anything, and McDaniel said, "It's the Technological Hierarchy for...." Felton's reaction was "The Technological Hierarchy for What?" McDaniel used that line in his first UNCLE novel, The Dagger Affair.
In a discussion with McDaniel about how to sell to Ace Books
, Hank Stine pointed out that most of the books had "of" in the title, like Pirates of Zan and Star of Danger. This inspired McDaniel to start a novel about a lost cache of weapons. He didn't have a good name for the aliens, so he used XXX as a placeholder. McDaniel finished the novel but still hadn't come up with a name, so he sent it in that way, using the title The Weapons of XXX. Terry Carr
, a junior editor at Ace, liked it, but the chief editor, Don Wollheim
wasn't convinced, so they returned it. Ace landed the contract for the UNCLE novels a month or so later, and Carr remembered Weapons of XXX and knew McDaniel was a big UNCLE fan, so he asked McDaniel to submit a novel. The result, The Dagger Affair, was one of the biggest sellers in the series, and 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
showed The Vampire Affair as the biggest seller of the six U.N.C.L.E. novels that McDaniel wrote.
Later on, McDaniel noted that THRUSH field agents were always doing stupid things and getting killed or arrested by U.N.C.L.E. agents—but THRUSH continued to exist and flourish, so there was obviously another group that was competent. He mentioned this conundrum to a friend, Don Simpson. Simpson came up with the idea that there were three levels of THRUSH:
The Second level of THRUSH was...U.N.C.L.E. Most people in the U.N.C.L.E. organization had no idea that this was the case, believing themselves to be "the good guys". This enabled them to fight THRUSH and weed out the incompetent personnel of that organization. But the head of U.N.C.L.E. (Section 1, number 1 -- Alexander Waverly
), knew. McDaniel once threatened to write a story in which Kuryakin was promoted to the Third Level of THRUSH, and had to find a way to let Solo know without blowing the "three levels" secret. Such a story could not have been published, of course; it does not conform with MGM's official "bible" for the U.N.C.L.E. universe.
Weapons of XXX was later published by Ace under the title The Arsenal Out of Time, but the name "XXX" for the aliens remained. 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 helped to humorously delineate the character of Ginger, based loosely (Tuckerized
) on one of his friends. The missing scene was later published in The Best of Apa-L #3.
His last novel, The Final Affair, was to have been the last book in the series; however, he was several months late finishing it, and by that time the series was no longer on TV. The Final Affair was never professionally published, but permission was obtained from MGM for a limited press run.
More details can be found in "The inside story of how DMcDaniel became involved in UNCLE" [sic] at The Fans From U.N.C.L.E. website.
called Cult(dead link as of 9/2010), where he served as Official Arbiter. He served as editor of the LASFS's Official Organ, Shangri L'Affaires in 1964-5. He was active in the LASFS's weekly APA, 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." The first two times he submitted a column under this title, the fanzine
he sent it to folded one issue after publishing it. The third time, the fanzine folded before publishing the column.
At various times he served as "Director" (presiding officer) and as "Scribe" (secretary) of the LASFS, and is remembered as a "Patron Saint" (substantial donor). He was Chairman of Westercon XX (officially Shere-Con because it was held at the Sheraton West hotel in Los Angeles, also referred to as "Double-Cross Con" because of internal fights within the operating committee), but Brandon Lamont was named as acting chairman for the duration of the convention.
McDaniel wrote several filk songs, including "High Fly the Nazgul-O" (tune: "Green Grow the Rushes-O) and "The Mimeo Crank Chanty" (tune: "Haul Away Joe").
Some photos of McDaniel/Johnstone can be found on the LASFS website.(Dead link as of 9/2010)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
science fiction author, who also wrote spy fiction, including several novels based upon the television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
.
Biography
David McDaniel was born June 16, 1939, in Toledo, OhioToledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. He studied cinematography at San Diego State University
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, then moved to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to be near his mother. While living in Los Angeles he joined science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom
Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or "fandom" of people actively interested in science fiction and fantasy and in contact with one another based upon that interest...
, using 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", the name of his character in a Shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
fantasy called Coventry.
McDaniel died sometime in the early morning of November 1, 1977. A friend found him several days later, and associated evidence suggested accidental death from autoerotic asphyxiation. The family preferred to not discuss this publicly, and his death was originally described to those outside his immediate circle of friends as being from less controversial causes, from slipping and falling in the bath or from a cerebral hemorrhage. At the time of his death he was contracted to fly to Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
for freelance work as a cameraman.
Professional career
McDaniel sold two stories while still an undergraduate. Pulp writer Noel Loomis 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, and sent them two stories. 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 space story about a teen boy, with both problem solving and character development.
McDaniel came to write books in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
series at least partly because of a prank. He got some patches with the THRUSH
Thrush
-Birds:* Thrush , any of the many birds in the Turdidae family* Antthrush, any of a group of birds within the Formicariidae family* Dohrn's Thrush-babbler , a species of bird in the Timalidae family...
sigil
Sigil
Sigil may refer to:*Sigil , a type of symbol used in magic*Sigil , a symbol that must be attached to a variable name in some programming languages*A seal...
through a friend who worked for MGM Studios. Then a group of his friends sewed the patches on dark suits and they showed up at a theater where UNCLE star Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
was playing Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
. Afterward they stood politely in line to greet Vaughn, and equally politely insisted that they were from the "Public Relations" department of THRUSH. There were several more "THRUSH runs" to various places where they could startle people who weren't expecting a group of fictional villains to show up. McDaniel referred to these actions as "Zaps". The group of fans who impersonated THRUSH agents included Barry Gold, Robert Short, Bill Mills, Evan Hayworth, Gail Knuth, Charles Lee Jackson II, and other members of the LASFS, many of whom have been included in McDaniel's novels as characters.
The acronym for THRUSH, "The Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the Subjugation of Humanity", was created by McDaniel's friend Dean Dickensheet. McDaniel called in to a talk show where UNCLE producer Norm Felton was a guest and insisted that THRUSH existed. Felton of course denied this, and McDaniel asked what "THRUSH" stood for. Felton said it didn't stand for anything, and McDaniel said, "It's the Technological Hierarchy for...." Felton's reaction was "The Technological Hierarchy for What?" McDaniel used that line in his first UNCLE novel, The Dagger Affair.
In a discussion with McDaniel about how to sell to Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, Hank Stine pointed out that most of the books had "of" in the title, like Pirates of Zan and Star of Danger. This inspired McDaniel to start a novel about a lost cache of weapons. He didn't have a good name for the aliens, so he used XXX as a placeholder. McDaniel finished the novel but still hadn't come up with a name, so he sent it in that way, using the title The Weapons of XXX. Terry Carr
Terry Carr
Terry Gene Carr was a U.S. science fiction author, editor, and teacher.Terry Carr was born in Grants Pass, Oregon...
, a junior editor at Ace, liked it, but the chief editor, Don Wollheim
Donald A. Wollheim
Donald Allen Wollheim was an American science fiction ' editor, publisher, writer, and fan. As an author, he published under his own name as well as under pseudonyms, including David Grinnell....
wasn't convinced, so they returned it. Ace landed the contract for the UNCLE novels a month or so later, and Carr remembered Weapons of XXX and knew McDaniel was a big UNCLE fan, so he asked McDaniel to submit a novel. The result, The Dagger Affair, was one of the biggest sellers in the series, and 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
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
showed The Vampire Affair as the biggest seller of the six U.N.C.L.E. novels that McDaniel wrote.
Later on, McDaniel noted that THRUSH field agents were always doing stupid things and getting killed or arrested by U.N.C.L.E. agents—but THRUSH continued to exist and flourish, so there was obviously another group that was competent. He mentioned this conundrum to a friend, Don Simpson. Simpson came up with the idea that there were three levels of THRUSH:
- The incompetent field agents who we saw getting killed or arrested every week on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E.The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...
- A group that weeded out the incompetents and made sure that only the best THRUSH agents graduated to the third level.
- A central core of highly motivated and competent people, who ran the various major groups ("Satrapies") and THRUSH Central
The Second level of THRUSH was...U.N.C.L.E. Most people in the U.N.C.L.E. organization had no idea that this was the case, believing themselves to be "the good guys". This enabled them to fight THRUSH and weed out the incompetent personnel of that organization. But the head of U.N.C.L.E. (Section 1, number 1 -- Alexander Waverly
Alexander Waverly
Alexander Waverly is a fictional character from the 1960s television show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and its spin-off series The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.....
), knew. McDaniel once threatened to write a story in which Kuryakin was promoted to the Third Level of THRUSH, and had to find a way to let Solo know without blowing the "three levels" secret. Such a story could not have been published, of course; it does not conform with MGM's official "bible" for the U.N.C.L.E. universe.
Weapons of XXX was later published by Ace under the title The Arsenal Out of Time, but the name "XXX" for the aliens remained. 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 helped to humorously delineate the character of Ginger, based loosely (Tuckerized
Wilson Tucker
Arthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
) on one of his friends. The missing scene was later published in The Best of Apa-L #3.
His last novel, The Final Affair, was to have been the last book in the series; however, he was several months late finishing it, and by that time the series was no longer on TV. The Final Affair was never professionally published, but permission was obtained from MGM for a limited press run.
More details can be found in "The inside story of how DMcDaniel became involved in UNCLE" [sic] at The Fans From U.N.C.L.E. website.
Fan career
Under his fan name of Ted Johnstone, McDaniel was active in an SF fan APAAmateur press association
An amateur press association is a group of people who produce individual pages or magazines that are sent to a Central Mailer for collation and distribution to all members of the group.-Organisation:...
called Cult(dead link as of 9/2010), where he served as Official Arbiter. He served as editor of the LASFS's Official Organ, Shangri L'Affaires in 1964-5. He was active in the LASFS's weekly APA, APA L, for over a year, publishing a weekly zine titled, "B-Roll
B-roll
B-roll, B roll, or Broll is the supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot in an interview or documentary.- History :The term B-roll originates from the method of 16 mm film production from an original camera negative...
Negative." In addition, he wrote a column, "A Slow Train through Gondor." The first two times he submitted a column under this title, the fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
he sent it to folded one issue after publishing it. The third time, the fanzine folded before publishing the column.
At various times he served as "Director" (presiding officer) and as "Scribe" (secretary) of the LASFS, and is remembered as a "Patron Saint" (substantial donor). He was Chairman of Westercon XX (officially Shere-Con because it was held at the Sheraton West hotel in Los Angeles, also referred to as "Double-Cross Con" because of internal fights within the operating committee), but Brandon Lamont was named as acting chairman for the duration of the convention.
McDaniel wrote several filk songs, including "High Fly the Nazgul-O" (tune: "Green Grow the Rushes-O) and "The Mimeo Crank Chanty" (tune: "Haul Away Joe").
Some photos of McDaniel/Johnstone can be found on the LASFS website.(Dead link as of 9/2010)
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
- Number Two, (1969) also known as Who is Number Two, the second book in the series based on the TV series The PrisonerThe PrisonerThe Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
Stand alone novels
- The Arsenal Out of Time, Ace BooksAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
, 1967 (Ace G-667, SBN 020-07667) (cover by Frank Kelly FreasFrank Kelly FreasFrank Kelly Freas , called the "Dean of Science Fiction Artists", was a science fiction and fantasy artist with a career spanning more than 50 years.-Early life, education, and personal life:...
) - "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 PournelleJerry PournelleJerry Eugene Pournelle is an American science fiction writer, essayist and journalist who contributed for many years to the computer magazine Byte and has since 1998 been maintaining his own website/blog....
, Tor BooksTor BooksTor Books is one of two imprints of Tom Doherty Associates LLC, based in New York City. It is noted for its science fiction and fantasy titles. Tom Doherty Associates also publishes mainstream fiction, mystery, and occasional military history titles under its Forge imprint. The company was founded...
, 1983.