Casey, Crime Photographer
Casey, Crime Photographer (aka Crime photographer; Flashgun Casey; Casey, Press Photographer; Stephen Bristol, Crime Photographer) was a media franchise, in the 1930s until the 1960s. Created by George Harmon Coxe, the photographer Casey was featured in radio, film, theater, novels, magazines and comic books, and television. Launched in a 1934 issue of the pulp magazine "Black Mask", the character Jack "Flashgun" Casey, was a crime photographer for the newspaper "The Morning Express". With the help of reporter Ann Williams (portrayed on radio and TV by Jan Miner), he solved crimes and recounted his stories to friends at  The Blue Note, their favorite tavern. George Harmon Coxe. Casey's creator, George Harmon Coxe, was the 1964 recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's prestigious Grand Master Award representing the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery field. This award represents significant output of quality in mystery writing. Section::::"Black Mask". " "Flashgun" Casey" began in the "March 1934" issue of "Black Mask", in the story "Return Engagement". This story was later used in the film "Here's Flash Casey". Twenty more stories appeared in the magazine over the next decades, and collections of these stories were published in anthology form  as well. Two of the subsequent novels were serialized in the magazine, in addition to the 21 short stories. In 1941, three parts of the early novels; "Silent are the Dead" were published in "Black Mask" in September, October and November as "Killers Are Camera Shy"; and in 1943, "Murder for Two" was serialized in January, February and March as "Blood on the Lens". Novels. Coxe wrote five novels featuring Casey. Paul Ayres (Pseudonym of Edward S. Aaron) wrote a novel starring Casey, based on the works of Coxe Radio. Begun as stories in "Black Mask", the stories were brought  to radio under multiple names. The series aired on CBS for its entirety. 07/07/43 - 11/16/50 and 01/13/54 - 04/22/55. The radio show was sustained by the network, sponsored by Anchor Hocking, Toni home permanents, Toni Shampoo and Philip Morris. The Blue Note was a jazz club; the Archie Bleyer Orchestra and first Herman Chittison and later The Teddy Wilson Trio were featured, usually in the introduction and wrap up of the show. Comic books. Marvel Comics predecessor Timely Comics published four issues of a comic book tie-in to the radio show. The series began in August 1949 and ended in  February 1950. Art was provided by regular Timely artist Vernon Henkel. Television. In 1951 the popular series moved to television On Darren McGavin's website, he is quoted as saying "The cast of "Crime Photographer" didn’t go down fighting. "They took off for the hills. It was so bad that it was never re-run, and that’s saying something when you recall the caliber of television programs in those days."