BiographiesOfActors.com

Walter B. Gibson - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography (Read)

Actors » Actors » Walter B. Gibson - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography

Walter B. Gibson - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography

Rating: 7,7/10 (3229 votes)
Walter B. Gibson - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography

Walter B. Gibson - biography, date of birth, place of birth, filmography, clips, Writer.
September 12, 1897 - December 6, 1985 - American writer, journalist, editor, illusionist.
In the 1920s, Gibson worked as a reporter for the Philadelphia Ledger, edited Tales of Magic and Mystery and True Strange Stories, and wrote and published several short stories and books about Harry Houdini and other illusionists. In late 1930, Gibson found himself in the Street and Smith office in search of a break-in just as CEO Henry Ralston commissioned senior editor Frank Blackwell to find a writer for the new quarterly magazine project, The Shadow. Gibson was asked to revise someone's old manuscript, and if he liked his text, he should have received an order for the next three stories (6-7 auth. Sheets each). The rights to the character belonged to the company, so all texts had to be published under a pseudonym. Gibson suggested the pseudonym "Maxwell Grant". He also figured out what the character is. In the first works, the Shadow is a person who has perfectly mastered the fantastic ability to hide in the shadows, disappear, distracting attention, and take on the appearance of other people. His real face and name are unknown to anyone. In the fight against criminals, he is helped by several people who owe him their lives, but who also do not know anything about him and communicate with him, leaving letters in the mailbox of an apartment whose door never opens. Sometimes they receive encrypted directions through radio broadcasts disguised as detective radio plays. If they get in trouble, the Shadow comes to the rescue in makeup or a mask and each time remains unrecognized. Gibson quickly completed the assignment, and when the first issue of the magazine, dated April 1931, appeared on the shelves, he was already finishing the third story, and a month later he passed the fourth and was closely engaged in work in the new magazine "The Seven Circles" dedicated to the mastery of stage illusion. However, the tremendous success of the first issue (and after it the second) "The Shadow" led Street and Smith to the idea that no time should be lost. From the third issue, the magazine was transferred to a monthly release schedule and Gibson received an order to write 12 stories a year, and since 1932 - 24 stories a year. In addition, he subsequently did screenwriting for the Shadow comic series. In 1946, Walter Gibson terminated his contract with Street & Smith. At the end of 1948, the publishing house tried to return the magazine to its previous format and style and again invited Gibson to participate in the project, but time was lost and the summer issue of the magazine for 1949 became the last. In total, Gibson wrote about 300 novellas about the Shadow - including several already for book editions of the 1960s and 80s. However, his involvement in this project remained a carefully guarded secret, which was only revealed in the second half of the 1970s. Walter Gibson also later wrote many books on the history and secrets of stage illusion. His contributions to this field were so significant that in 1979 he was awarded the Brotherhood of Masters Prize by the American Academy of Magical Arts, making him the first and last recipient to be never a practicing illusionist.


Read also about Quentin Dupieux.

All Information About: Walter B. Gibson - Biography, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Filmography.
Author: Jane Watson


LiveInternet