Fran Striker
Encyclopedia
Fran Striker (August 19, 1903 – September 4, 1962) was an American writer for radio
and comics
, best known for creating The Lone Ranger
, The Green Hornet
, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
, Striker attended Lafayette High School
and the University of Buffalo
where he was a member of the Theta Chi
Fraternity. He dropped out of college, first serving a brief stint in New York City
with an amateur theatrical company. Returning to Buffalo, he joined the staff of radio station WEBR (now WNED (AM)
), working as an announcer. In 1929, he moved to WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio
, where he served as announcer, continuity writer, and wrote his first radio drama script, a biography of Stephen Foster
. Lured back to WEBR as station manager, Striker wrote material ranging from skits to half-hour mysteries and Western
scripts.
Striker soon drifted to freelancing, creating and writing his own series and selling them to stations across the United States. He began a long association with station owner George W. Trendle
and radio station WXYZ in Detroit
, which was trying to make a name for itself as a producer of radio drama, creating and writing the early series Thrills of the Secret Service, Dr. Fang and Warner Lester, Manhunter (which introduced Mike Axford, later a supporting character on The Green Hornet
).
, which mentioned his role in the character's creation.
The actual first trial episodes of The Lone Ranger were broadcast on WEBR in Buffalo prior to the official premiere on WXYZ. These first broadcasts starred Buffalo actor John L. Barrett, weeks before George Stenius (who later changed his name to George Seaton
and became a film director) played the role. When the Lone Ranger series began to gain popularity, Trendle convinced Striker to move to WXYZ, where he eventually became head of WXYZ's script department. In Detroit, James Lipton
portrayed the Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, during the early 1940s.
Striker was extremely prolific. In addition to writing 156 Lone Ranger scripts a year, he wrote The Green Hornet (built around the Lone Ranger's descendant, Britt Reid) and a short-lived series, Ned Jordan Secret Agent. He scripted various Lone Ranger novels, two movie serials
and The Lone Ranger comic strip
. He also contributed scripts to Challenge of the Yukon
(later adapted for television as Sergeant Preston of the Yukon). Striker's work as a comic strip writer extended to writing The Green Hornet comic books and the 1945 newspaper strip The Sea Wolf. He was also the author of the popular boy's adventure novels featuring "Tom Quest".
Striker's later work included stints on the television versions of The Lone Ranger and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, which were initially being produced while the radio series were still on the air. He provided the stories for many TV episodes by reworking old scripts from the radio series. Other writers adapted the stories for television and were credited as the "scriptwriter". Striker's credit was given as, "From the radio program edited by Fran Striker."
He also authored the popular boy's adventure books featuring "Tom Quest".
Striker was 59 when he died in a 1962 car accident in Elma
while moving with his wife and children. His final work was a historical novel, One More River, published posthumously. Fran was interred at Arcade Rural Cemetery in Arcade
. His papers are in the archives of the University at Buffalo.
The characters Lucas Striker and Amy Striker in the 1981 film The Legend of the Lone Ranger
were named in honor of Fran Striker.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and comics
Comics
Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, best known for creating The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger
The Lone Ranger is a fictional masked Texas Ranger who, with his Native American companion Tonto, fights injustice in the American Old West. The character has become an enduring icon of American culture....
, The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
Early life
Born in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Striker attended Lafayette High School
Lafayette High School (Buffalo)
Lafayette High School is the oldest public school in Buffalo that remains in its original building; a stone, brick and terra-cotta structure in the French Renaissance Revival style, by architects August Esenwein and James A. Johnson. Although classes began off-site during construction of the...
and the University of Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
where he was a member of the Theta Chi
Theta Chi
Theta Chi Fraternity is an international college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856 as the Theta Chi Society, at Norwich University, Norwich, Vermont, U.S., and was the 21st of the 71 North-American Interfraternity Conference men's fraternities.-Founding and early years at Norwich:Theta...
Fraternity. He dropped out of college, first serving a brief stint in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with an amateur theatrical company. Returning to Buffalo, he joined the staff of radio station WEBR (now WNED (AM)
WNED (AM)
WNED is an American radio station broadcasting in Buffalo, New York at a frequency of 970 kHz. It offers an all-news format.WNED is one of two National Public Radio affiliates in Buffalo. The other is WBFO, operated by the University of Buffalo...
), working as an announcer. In 1929, he moved to WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, where he served as announcer, continuity writer, and wrote his first radio drama script, a biography of Stephen Foster
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
. Lured back to WEBR as station manager, Striker wrote material ranging from skits to half-hour mysteries and Western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
scripts.
Striker soon drifted to freelancing, creating and writing his own series and selling them to stations across the United States. He began a long association with station owner George W. Trendle
George W. Trendle
George Washington Trendle was a Detroit lawyer and businessman, best known as the producer of the Lone Ranger radio and television programs along with The Green Hornet. He is entombed in Detroit's Woodlawn Cemetery.-Movie theaters:...
and radio station WXYZ in Detroit
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, which was trying to make a name for itself as a producer of radio drama, creating and writing the early series Thrills of the Secret Service, Dr. Fang and Warner Lester, Manhunter (which introduced Mike Axford, later a supporting character on The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet is an American radio and television masked vigilante created by George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, with input from radio director James Jewell, in 1936. Since his radio debut in the 1930s, the Green Hornet has appeared in numerous serialized dramas in a wide variety of media...
).
The Lone Ranger
Late in 1932, Striker began working on The Lone Ranger; his earliest scripts were largely reworked from his earlier series, Covered Wagon Days. A letter from Trendle, dated Monday, January 30, 1933, clearly gives Striker credit for creating the character. However, by 1934, Striker was pressured by Trendle to sign over his rights to the Lone Ranger, and Trendle claimed credit as the creator. This sparked a long-term controversy over the creation of The Lone Ranger, extending as far as a 1960 television appearance by Striker on To Tell the TruthTo Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
, which mentioned his role in the character's creation.
The actual first trial episodes of The Lone Ranger were broadcast on WEBR in Buffalo prior to the official premiere on WXYZ. These first broadcasts starred Buffalo actor John L. Barrett, weeks before George Stenius (who later changed his name to George Seaton
George Seaton
George Seaton was an American screenwriter, playwright, film director and producer, and theatre director.Born George Stenius in South Bend, Indiana, Seaton moved to Detroit after graduating from college to work as an actor on radio station WXYZ. John L...
and became a film director) played the role. When the Lone Ranger series began to gain popularity, Trendle convinced Striker to move to WXYZ, where he eventually became head of WXYZ's script department. In Detroit, James Lipton
James Lipton
James Lipton is an American writer, poet, composer, actor and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He is the executive producer, writer and host of the Bravo cable television series Inside the Actors Studio, which debuted in 1994...
portrayed the Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, during the early 1940s.
Striker was extremely prolific. In addition to writing 156 Lone Ranger scripts a year, he wrote The Green Hornet (built around the Lone Ranger's descendant, Britt Reid) and a short-lived series, Ned Jordan Secret Agent. He scripted various Lone Ranger novels, two movie serials
Serial (film)
Serials, more specifically known as Movie serials, Film serials or Chapter plays, were short subjects originally shown in theaters in conjunction with a feature film. They were related to pulp magazine serialized fiction...
and The Lone Ranger comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
. He also contributed scripts to Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon
Challenge of the Yukon was a radio series that began on Detroit's station WXYZ , and an example of a Northern genre story. The series was first heard on February 3, 1938...
(later adapted for television as Sergeant Preston of the Yukon). Striker's work as a comic strip writer extended to writing The Green Hornet comic books and the 1945 newspaper strip The Sea Wolf. He was also the author of the popular boy's adventure novels featuring "Tom Quest".
Striker's later work included stints on the television versions of The Lone Ranger and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon, which were initially being produced while the radio series were still on the air. He provided the stories for many TV episodes by reworking old scripts from the radio series. Other writers adapted the stories for television and were credited as the "scriptwriter". Striker's credit was given as, "From the radio program edited by Fran Striker."
He also authored the popular boy's adventure books featuring "Tom Quest".
Striker was 59 when he died in a 1962 car accident in Elma
Elma, New York
Elma is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 11,304 at the 2000 census. The town is named after a type of tree.The Town of Elma is located in the north-central part of the county, east of Buffalo, New York. Because of its location, Elma likes to refer to itself as the...
while moving with his wife and children. His final work was a historical novel, One More River, published posthumously. Fran was interred at Arcade Rural Cemetery in Arcade
Arcade (town), New York
Arcade is a town in Wyoming County, New York, USA. The population was 4,184 at the 2000 census.The Town of Arcade has within its borders a village also called Arcade. Arcade is in the southwest corner of Wyoming County.- History :...
. His papers are in the archives of the University at Buffalo.
The characters Lucas Striker and Amy Striker in the 1981 film The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger
The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a 1981 British-American western film directed by William A. Fraker and starring Klinton Spilsbury, Michael Horse and Christopher Lloyd....
were named in honor of Fran Striker.
Sources
- Bisco, Jim. Buffalo's Lone Ranger: The Prolific Fran Striker Wrote the Book on Early Radio. Western New York Heritage, Vol. 7, No. 4, Winter 2005.
- Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-507678-8
- Grams, Martin, The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television, OTR Publishing, 2010.
- Harmon, JimJim HarmonJames Judson Harmon , better known as Jim Harmon, was an American short story author and popular culture historian who wrote extensively about the Golden Age of Radio. He sometimes used the pseudonym Judson Grey, and occasionally he was labeled Mr...
, The Great Radio Heroes, Doubleday, 1967.*Osgood, Dick. Wyxie Wonderland: An Unauthorized 50-Year Diary of WXYZ Detroit. Ohio: Bowling Green University Press, 1981.