Ormond Robbins
Encyclopedia
Ormond Orlea Robbins was an American
author
of hardboiled
detective fiction
and weird fiction
. His work was primarily published in the Popular Publications
catalog of pulp fiction
. The most part of his work for Popular Publications was attributed to his pen names Dane Gregory and, occasionally, Breck Tarrant.
In The Shudder Pulps, Robert Kenneth Jones places Dane Gregory's detective fiction in the vogue of the "defective detective" in the late nineteen-thirties and early forties. Recurring characters in Dane Gregory's fiction included Rocky Rhodes, ex-convict turned private investigator, and Satan Jones.
Ormond Robbins' brother Wayne Robbins
also wrote fiction for the pulps. The two brothers even collaborated on a western story, Murder Boss Of The Poverty Pool that was featured in 10 Story Western Magazine in September 1941.
to Charles L. and Clara (Brooks) Robbins. His family moved to Sunnyside, Washington
in 1919, where Ormond completed elementary and high school, class of 1928.
He began writing short stories, humor, and poetry at about age 12. By the age of 15, he regularly contributed to the pulp magazine College Humor. The Saturday Evening Post
published a poem in their December 1, 1934 issue, and another in March of the following year. He saw another printed in the June 1935 issue of Country Gentleman. In 1936, the newly established Yakima Independent newspaper carried his daily column for about a year.
He married Jane Eshom on October 8, 1937 in Yakima, Washington
. Their daughter, Alta Jane Robbins, was born in 15 April 1951. After a divorce, he married Wanda M. Falls at Bettles Field, Alaska on September 20, 1957. They had no children.
Ormond was unable to serve in World War II
due to a 4f classification, but he and Jane were accepted by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (now the FAA) for outpost positions in Alaska. Ormond served as station manager, while Jane was a communications operator. Their first assignment was Nome
, then Kotzebue
in 1945, and then Bettles Field in 1951. He transferred with Wanda to Northway
, and became district manager at Kenai
. In 1969, he transferred to Anchorage
, where he retired and became city manager at Kenai on January 20, 1970.
In 1974, Ormond and Wanda returned to Sunnyside, Washington to be near his father, his mother having died that year. After his father died in 1978, they moved to Seaside, Oregon
, where Ormond died in 1984. He had survived both his first wife Jane and his daughter, and left no descendants.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
of hardboiled
Hardboiled
Hardboiled crime fiction is a literary style, most commonly associated with detective stories, distinguished by the unsentimental portrayal of violence and sex. The style was pioneered by Carroll John Daly in the mid-1920s, popularized by Dashiell Hammett over the course of the decade, and refined...
detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
and weird fiction
Weird fiction
Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction written in the late 19th and early 20th century. It can be said to encompass the ghost story and other tales of the macabre. Weird fiction is distinguished from horror and fantasy in that it predates the niche marketing of genre fiction...
. His work was primarily published in the Popular Publications
Popular Publications
Popular Publications was one of the largest publishers of pulp magazines during its existence, at one point publishing 42 different titles per month. Company titles included detective, adventure, romance, and Western fiction. They were also known for the several 'weird menace' titles...
catalog of pulp fiction
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...
. The most part of his work for Popular Publications was attributed to his pen names Dane Gregory and, occasionally, Breck Tarrant.
In The Shudder Pulps, Robert Kenneth Jones places Dane Gregory's detective fiction in the vogue of the "defective detective" in the late nineteen-thirties and early forties. Recurring characters in Dane Gregory's fiction included Rocky Rhodes, ex-convict turned private investigator, and Satan Jones.
Ormond Robbins' brother Wayne Robbins
Wayne Robbins
Windom Wayne Robbins was an American author of horror and weird fiction. His work was primarily published in the Popular Publications catalog of weird menace pulp fiction...
also wrote fiction for the pulps. The two brothers even collaborated on a western story, Murder Boss Of The Poverty Pool that was featured in 10 Story Western Magazine in September 1941.
Biography
Ormond Robbins was born on March 14, 1910 in Stillwater, OklahomaStillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
to Charles L. and Clara (Brooks) Robbins. His family moved to Sunnyside, Washington
Sunnyside, Washington
Sunnyside is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 Census the population was 15,858.-History:On September 16, 1902, residents voted 42 to one to incorporate as the town of Sunnyside. By state law a town needed to have 300 citizens in order to legally incorporate...
in 1919, where Ormond completed elementary and high school, class of 1928.
He began writing short stories, humor, and poetry at about age 12. By the age of 15, he regularly contributed to the pulp magazine College Humor. The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post
The Saturday Evening Post is a bimonthly American magazine. It was published weekly under this title from 1897 until 1969, and quarterly and then bimonthly from 1971.-History:...
published a poem in their December 1, 1934 issue, and another in March of the following year. He saw another printed in the June 1935 issue of Country Gentleman. In 1936, the newly established Yakima Independent newspaper carried his daily column for about a year.
He married Jane Eshom on October 8, 1937 in Yakima, Washington
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
. Their daughter, Alta Jane Robbins, was born in 15 April 1951. After a divorce, he married Wanda M. Falls at Bettles Field, Alaska on September 20, 1957. They had no children.
Ormond was unable to serve in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
due to a 4f classification, but he and Jane were accepted by the Civil Aeronautics Administration (now the FAA) for outpost positions in Alaska. Ormond served as station manager, while Jane was a communications operator. Their first assignment was Nome
Nome, Alaska
Nome is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of the U.S. state of Alaska, located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. According to the 2010 Census, the city population was 3,598. Nome was incorporated on April 9, 1901, and was once the...
, then Kotzebue
Kotzebue, Alaska
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,082 people, 889 households, and 656 families residing in the city. The population density was 114.1 people per square mile . There were 1,007 housing units at an average density of 37.3 per square mile...
in 1945, and then Bettles Field in 1951. He transferred with Wanda to Northway
Northway, Alaska
Northway is a census-designated place in Southeast Fairbanks Census Area, Alaska, United States. The population was 95 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Northway is located at ....
, and became district manager at Kenai
Kenai, Alaska
Kenai is a city in Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 7,464...
. In 1969, he transferred to Anchorage
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
, where he retired and became city manager at Kenai on January 20, 1970.
In 1974, Ormond and Wanda returned to Sunnyside, Washington to be near his father, his mother having died that year. After his father died in 1978, they moved to Seaside, Oregon
Seaside, Oregon
Seaside is a city in Clatsop County, Oregon, United States. The name Seaside is derived from Seaside House, a historic summer resort built in the 1870s by railroad magnate Ben Holladay. The city's population was 6,457 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, where Ormond died in 1984. He had survived both his first wife Jane and his daughter, and left no descendants.
Published Short Stories and Novelettes
- Eternal, Complete Stories - August 1929 #2 (poem)
- Detective Novel, The Saturday Evening Post - December 1, 1934 (poem)
- Spirited Plea for a Return to the Old Order, The Saturday Evening Post - March 30, 1935 (poem)
- Unknown Title, Country Gentleman - June 1935 (poem)
- Dead Hands Seek My Bride, Terror TalesTerror TalesTerror Tales was a long-running American pulp magazine of the horror comics and weird menace genres. It was originally published by Popular Publications. The first issue was published in September 1934...
- January 1939 - Golden Lady of Death, Dime Mystery Magazine - April 1939
- When the Black Dolls Die, Dime Mystery Magazine - September 1939
- I Steal Your Blood!, Horror StoriesHorror Stories (magazine)Horror Stories was an American pulp magazine that published tales of the supernatural, horror, and macabre. The first issue was published in January 1935, three years after the weird menace genre had begun with Dime Mystery Magazine. Horror Stories was a sister magazine to Terror Tales, whose first...
- October 1939 - Society of Corpses, Dime Mystery Magazine - November 1939
- Prison-Made Justice, Detective Tales - December 1939
- Girls for the Corpse Clan, Horror Stories - December 1939
- Monsters Made for Murder, Dime Mystery Magazine - January 1940
- Hardly Thicker Than Water, Detective Tales - January 1940
- Last Mile, Detective Tales - February 1940
- Scalps for the Butcher, Dime Mystery Magazine - March 1940
- Dead Men Laugh Last, Detective Tales - April 1940
- Golden Lady of Death, Dime Mystery Magazine - April 1940 (a Rocky Rhodes novelette)
- Little Men from Hell, Dime Mystery Magazine - May 1940
- The Man with Two Souls, Terror Tales - May 1940
- Dopes Die Hard, Detective Tales - October 1940
- Death Winds the Clock, Dime Mystery Magazine - October 1940
- The Doomsday Book, Terror Tales - November 1940
- Peace McCabe's Bullet Mortgage, 10 Story Western - December 1940
- Dead Men Don't Need Alibis, Detective Tales - December 1940
- Beware the Crying Dead, Dime Mystery Magazine - January 1941
- Unknown Title, Detective Tales - February 1941
- Why Couldn’t She Stay Dead?, Dime Mystery Magazine - March 1941
- Remembrance of Horror, Horror Stories - April 1941
- Jackie Won’t Be Home, Detective Tales - June 1941
- The Man in the Murder Mask, Dime Mystery Magazine - July 1941
- My Night to Kill, Detective Tales - August 1941
- Murder Boss Of The Poverty Pool (with W. Wayne Robbins), 10 Story Western - September 1941 (correspondence from 3/4/1941, 4/24/1941)
- The Colonel Writes in Blood, Dime Western Magazine - September 1941
- Her Friend, the Killer, Strange Detective Mysteries - October 1941
- Her Friend, the Killer, Strange Detective Mysteries (Canada) - November 1941
- Murder Boss Of The Poverty Pool (with W. Wayne Robbins), 10 Story Western (Canada) - December 1941
- The Silver Bell of San Gee, Detective Tales - December 1941
- All at Once—No Wednesday!, Dime Mystery Magazine - January 1942
- Pride of the Fighting O'Malleys, Dime Western Magazine (Canada) - September 1942
- One Lucky Corpse, Detective Tales - February 1943
- If Thy Right Hand Offend Thee, Detective Tales - April 1943
- Human Interest Story, ArgosyArgosy (magazine)Argosy was an American pulp magazine, published by Frank Munsey. It is generally considered to be the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a general information periodical entitled The Golden Argosy, targeted at the boys adventure market.-Launch of Argosy:In late September 1882,...
- March 1944 - Save a Grave for Me!, Detective Tales - October 1944
- El Libro del Juicio Final, Narraciones Terrorificas - June 1945 (translated and published by Editorial Molino, Argentina)
- The Mystery of Curly Bill, .44 Western Magazine - July 1951
- Death Song, 10 Story Western - August 1952
- No Town for a Tinhorn, Dime Western Magazine - September 1952
- Soronado Deadline (AKA Gun-Medicine Cures Texas Fever; as Breck Tarrant), 10 Story Western - October 1952
- Gun-Medicine Cures Texas Fever, (AKA Soronado Deadline; as Breck Tarrant), unknown issue
- Silvertip Courage, 10 Story Western - February 1953
- Wilderness Trap, 15 Western tales - March 1953
- Somebody Dies Tonight!, Dime Western Magazine - March 1953
- Unknown Title, Detective Tales - April 1953
- The Way of the Fighting O’Malleys (Pride of the Fighting O'Malleys), 10 Story Western - August 1953
- Last Deadline, Fifteen Western Tales - November 1953
- Silent Be My Grave, Fifteen Detective Stories - April 1954
- Unknown Title, Invincible Detective Magazine - April 1954 (Volume 5, Issue 53, Invincible Press, Sydney, Australia)
- Last Kill, Western Story Magazine - April 1955
Anthologized Works
- Jackie Won’t Be Home, 100 Crooked Little Crime Stories, Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, & Martin H. Greenberg, Barnes & Noble Books, 1994, ISBN 1-56619-556-X
- Jackie Won’t Be Home, 100 Crooked Little Crime Stories, Robert Weinberg, Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, & Martin H. Greenberg, Sterling Pub. Co. Inc., 2004, ISBN 1-4027-1100-X
- The Mandarin’s Thirty-Third Tooth, It's Raining More Corpses in Chinatown, Don Hutchison, Adventure House, 2001, ISBN 1-886937-55-9
- Unknown Title, Tales of Mystery, Bill Pronzini, Bonanza Books, 1986, ISBN 0-517-61819-2 (includes selections by Hammett, Daly, McCoy, Nebel, Paul Cain, John D. MacDonald, Woolrich, Norbert Davis, Dane Gregory, D. L. Champion, Gault, Fredric Brown, and John Jakes)
- Unknown Title, Mal de ojo y otros relatos de terror, 1973, ISBN 978-84-272-1228-2
See also
- Arctic Bush Pilot: From Navy Combat to Flying Alaska's Northern Wilderness, Jim Rearden, Epicenter Press, 2000, ISBN 978-0-945397-83-0.
- Cheechako on Wings, Brian Fortier, Trafford publishing, 2004, ISBN 1-4120-1727-0.
- List of horror fiction writers
- :Category:Pulp fiction writers