Kendell Foster Crossen
Encyclopedia
Kendell Foster Crossen was a mainstay of American pulp fiction
and science fiction
of the 1950s. He was the creator and writer of stories about the Green Lama
(a pulp and comic book hero) and the Milo March detective novels.
His pen names included Richard Foster, Bennett Barlay, Kent and Clay Richards, Ken Crossen, Christopher Monig (allegedly the name of a ghost of the town of Crossen on the Oder), and M. E. Chaber (from the Hebrew word mechaber, meaning author).
, Ohio
(outside Athens
), the only child of farmers Sam Crossen and Chlo Foster Crossen. He attended Rio Grande College
in Ohio where he played football. He was an amateur boxer and worked at jobs ranging from carnival barker to insurance investigator. In the 1930s he was employed as a writer on Works Progress Administration
(WPA) projects, including a New York City Guidebook, before becoming editor of Detective Fiction Weekly.
In the 1940s he wrote pulp detective fiction and novels under his own name as well as the pseudonyms Kim Locke, Richard Foster, M. E. Chaber, Christopher Monig, Clay Richards, Bennett Barley, and others. He originated the pulp and comic book character the Green Lama
, a crime-fighting Buddhist superhero
whose powers emerged upon the recitation of the Tibetan mantra "om mani padme hum." He wrote hundreds of radio scripts for Suspense, The Saint, Mystery Theater, and others. His later television credits include 77 Sunset Strip
, The Man from Blackhawk
, Man and the Challenge, and Perry Mason
.
In the 1950s Crossen began writing science fiction for publications such as Thrilling Wonder Stories
, including the humorous Manning Draco stories about an intergalactic insurance investigator (four of which are featured in the book Once Upon a Star, 1953). His novels in the genre are Murder Out of Mind (1945), Year of Consent (1954), dealing with a 1990 America run by tyrannical "social engineers", and The Rest Must Die (1959), about survivors of a nuclear catastrophe in New York City. Novellas include Passport to Pax (1952) and Things of Distinction (1952). He edited two sci-fi anthologies, Adventures in Tomorrow (1951) and Future Tense (1952).
. Crossen prided himself on being one of the first novelists to write about LSD. In 1967 he published The Acid Nightmare, a cautionary young adult novel in which a teenage boy experiences two LSD trips, one good and one bad.
wanted him to remove an unflattering portrait of President Nixon from the novel, in which Colonel March goes on mission to Vietnam, accompanied by a Puli dog named Dante. This manuscript is preserved along with the rest of Crossen’s papers in the 20th-century collection of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
.
Ken Crossen was married four times and had four children: Stephen Foster Crossen, Karen Crossen Ready, Kendra Crossen, and David Crossen. He died on November 29, 1981, in Los Angeles
.
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
of the 1950s. He was the creator and writer of stories about the Green Lama
Green Lama
The Green Lama was an American pulp magazine hero of the 1940s. In many respects a typical costumed crime-fighter of the period, the Green Lama's most unusual feature was the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist...
(a pulp and comic book hero) and the Milo March detective novels.
His pen names included Richard Foster, Bennett Barlay, Kent and Clay Richards, Ken Crossen, Christopher Monig (allegedly the name of a ghost of the town of Crossen on the Oder), and M. E. Chaber (from the Hebrew word mechaber, meaning author).
Biography
Kendell Foster Crossen was born in AlbanyAlbany, Ohio
Albany is a village in Athens County, Ohio, United States. The population was 808 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Albany is located at ....
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
(outside Athens
Athens, Ohio
Athens is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio. A historic college town, Athens is home to Ohio University and is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...
), the only child of farmers Sam Crossen and Chlo Foster Crossen. He attended Rio Grande College
University of Rio Grande
The University of Rio Grande and Rio Grande Community College are twin colleges in Rio Grande, Ohio, United States....
in Ohio where he played football. He was an amateur boxer and worked at jobs ranging from carnival barker to insurance investigator. In the 1930s he was employed as a writer on Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
(WPA) projects, including a New York City Guidebook, before becoming editor of Detective Fiction Weekly.
In the 1940s he wrote pulp detective fiction and novels under his own name as well as the pseudonyms Kim Locke, Richard Foster, M. E. Chaber, Christopher Monig, Clay Richards, Bennett Barley, and others. He originated the pulp and comic book character the Green Lama
Green Lama
The Green Lama was an American pulp magazine hero of the 1940s. In many respects a typical costumed crime-fighter of the period, the Green Lama's most unusual feature was the fact that he was a practicing Buddhist...
, a crime-fighting Buddhist superhero
Superhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
whose powers emerged upon the recitation of the Tibetan mantra "om mani padme hum." He wrote hundreds of radio scripts for Suspense, The Saint, Mystery Theater, and others. His later television credits include 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
, The Man from Blackhawk
The Man From Blackhawk
The Man From Blackhawk is a Western television series starring Robert Rockwell that aired on the ABC television network from October 9, 1959, until September 9, 1960. The Man From Blackhawk was created by Academy Award winning screenwriter Stirling Silliphant.In The Man From Blackhawk, Rockwell...
, Man and the Challenge, and Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
.
In the 1950s Crossen began writing science fiction for publications such as Thrilling Wonder Stories
Wonder Stories
Wonder Stories was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories, when his media company Experimenter Publishing went...
, including the humorous Manning Draco stories about an intergalactic insurance investigator (four of which are featured in the book Once Upon a Star, 1953). His novels in the genre are Murder Out of Mind (1945), Year of Consent (1954), dealing with a 1990 America run by tyrannical "social engineers", and The Rest Must Die (1959), about survivors of a nuclear catastrophe in New York City. Novellas include Passport to Pax (1952) and Things of Distinction (1952). He edited two sci-fi anthologies, Adventures in Tomorrow (1951) and Future Tense (1952).
Milo March
A successful series of tightly plotted novels about a martini-drinking, poetry-quoting New York insurance investigator named Milo March were published under the name M. E. Chaber from the mid-1950s to the early 1970s: Hangman’s Harvest (1952), No Grave for March (1953), As Old as Cain (1954), The Man Inside (1954; made into a 1958 film), The Splintered Man (1955), The Burned Man (1956), A Lonely Walk (1956), Abra-Cadaver (1958), The Gallows Garden (1958), A Hearse of Another Color (1958), So Dead the Rose (1959), Jade for a Lady (1962), Softly in the Night (1963), Six Who Ran (1964), Uneasy Lies the Dead (1964), Wanted: Dead Men (1965), The Day It Rained Diamonds (1966), A Man in the Middle (1967), Wild Midnight Falls (1968), The Flaming Man (1969), Green Grow the Graves (1970), The Bonded Dead (1971), and Born to Be Hanged (1973). In some of these plots, March is called to duty in the U.S. Army Reserve. Notable among these is The Splintered Man, in which he rescues a West German scientist captured by the East Germans, who tortured him by plying him with LSDLSD
Lysergic acid diethylamide, abbreviated LSD or LSD-25, also known as lysergide and colloquially as acid, is a semisynthetic psychedelic drug of the ergoline family, well known for its psychological effects which can include altered thinking processes, closed and open eye visuals, synaesthesia, an...
. Crossen prided himself on being one of the first novelists to write about LSD. In 1967 he published The Acid Nightmare, a cautionary young adult novel in which a teenage boy experiences two LSD trips, one good and one bad.
Kim Locke and Brian Brett
Two other insurance investigator heroes were Kim Locke, who appeared in novels written as Kendell Foster Crossen (The Big Dive, 1959; The Tortured Path, 1957; The Gentle Assassin, 1964), and Brian Brett, in books written as Christopher Monig (Once Upon a Crime, 1959; The Lonely Graves, 1960).Final unfinished novel
Crossen’s last novel, Death to the Brides (1974), remains unpublished to this day, owing to a dispute between author and publisher. Crossen reported that his editor at Henry Holt & Co.Henry Holt and Company
Henry Holt and Company is an American book publishing company. One of the oldest publishers in the United States, it was founded in 1866 by Henry Holt and Frederick Leypoldt...
wanted him to remove an unflattering portrait of President Nixon from the novel, in which Colonel March goes on mission to Vietnam, accompanied by a Puli dog named Dante. This manuscript is preserved along with the rest of Crossen’s papers in the 20th-century collection of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
Ken Crossen was married four times and had four children: Stephen Foster Crossen, Karen Crossen Ready, Kendra Crossen, and David Crossen. He died on November 29, 1981, in 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...
.