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476:), but it was clear that much time had passed, and neither was in good health. Fante would eventually lose both his legs and his eyesight to diabetes, and Fenton's fondness for nightlife and alcohol (bourbon, rum and gin rocks) had taken a toll as well. Neither man would receive another screen credit in their lifetimes.
446:
By the end of the decade, however, things had become less steady. Mary Jane Fenton filed for divorce in 1957, and the near-constant shake-ups and re-organizations in the studio world had led to several announced writing projects being put on the back burner or simply being cancelled. Fortunately for
292:
But despite the positive reaction to his work, Fenton didn't write another novel, returning instead to the frustrating but lucrative world of screenwriting. The remainder of his print work constituted one short story in each of two early '50s science fiction anthologies, two magazine articles and an
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Rob
Andrews is a cripple, but he is also an everyman struggling to find his role in living. But the symbol never obscures the story. This does not follow a pat pattern. It is a strange and powerful tale, with deep tragedy, groping for meaning, and many scenes of lyrical beauty. There's humor in it
201:
Fenton's is notable for its sensitive portrayal of a young man who lived with the inferiority of a physical handicap. does a masterly job of balancing the forces which molded the character of Rob
Andrews... he succeeds in giving the story the glow of human fulfillment.
301:
By 1950, Fenton was divorced from June Martel, had two children (a boy, Mark, and a daughter, Joyce) with his second wife, actress Mary Jane Hodge (whom he'd married on
February 10, 1945, in Las Vegas, Nevada) and was living in a two-story rural English home in the
123:, met with tepid reviews and closed after five performances. The two wrote one other play, "It's a Cinch," which remained un-produced. But the pair reworked "Stork Mad" and shopped it to Twentieth Century-Fox, who bought it as a vehicle for child-star Jane Withers.
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in just over a two-year period (see "Short
Stories" in "Selected bibliography" below). He also wrote what many consider to be a classic (and satirically biting) look at the way "original stories" and screenplays were produced in Hollywood in an article for
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Fenton has a deft facility in that most difficult of all the novel's techniques—the overlaying, underlying and intertwining of the many moods that go to make up life...The dialogue is marvelous, more right than Parker or
Hemingway and more human.
181:. During these years, Fenton could be found in one of three primary places: behind his typewriter, out on the town with his writer friends (often in the back room of Musso & Frank's restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard), or on a golf course.
235:
No region in the United States has been more extensively and intensively reported, of recent years, than
Southern California...And yet, offhand, I can think of only four novels that suggest what Southern California is really like:
112:, but at the time he was just another fledgling screenwriter and novelist. In 1935, Fenton began working with another friend with writing ambitions. Lynn Root, an acting protégé of
264:, arrived in late April, 1946 to similar acclaim. It's the story of a war-weary WWII veteran returning home to a life filled with changing worldviews and difficult choices. Again,
447:
Fenton, the early 1960s brought him steady work in the voracious television market, where he successfully adapted some of his unproduced screenplays for the small screen programs
227:, one of the most prolific, talented and influential of all western writers of non-fiction, placed Fenton's novel in high company in his remarkable (and still in print)
106:, which they soon sold to Warner Bros. Studios on the strength of the latter's exaggerated resume. Within five years, Fenton's partner would write the novel,
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by
Raymond J. Healy and John V. Cooper, (New York: Holt, 1953) A hardcover quiz book (74 quizzes/1600 Questions). Fenton wrote the book's introduction.
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Professionally, he'd graduated to "A" pictures by the mid-1940s, and was now writing bigger scripts with longer development periods for the likes of
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Over the next few years, others continued to champion the novel. San
Francisco book critic Joseph Henry Jackson included a chapter from the novel in
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491:, the final installment of The Saga of Arturo Bandini, the author partially based a character on Fenton, a screenwriter named "Frank Edgington".
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used Fenton's "tightly written, highly philosophical second novel" as a good example of the challenges faced by returning WWII veterans in
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472:— came in collaboration with an old friend: John Fante. The two had last worked together in 1940 (along with Lynn Root on MGM's
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119:"Stork Mad" premiered at Broadway's Ambassador Theater on September 30, 1936. The show, which starred the comically taciturn
94:(February 13, 1903 – August 23, 1971) was an American writer of screenplays, short stories, magazine articles, and novels.
498:
Moran (April 9, 1906 – July 24, 1957). Even his own obituary had an incorrect age based on the actor's birthdate of 1906.
169:
From 1937 to 1946, Fenton and Root partnered on twenty-one film projects for
Twentieth Century-Fox, Goldwyn, RKO and MGM.
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edited by Joseph Henry
Jackson (New York: Whittlesey House, 1944) Contains: "Breathe In—Breathe Out" (Chapter 11 of
126:
Following their initial success on juvenile scripts for Withers and others, the two expanded into screwball comedy (
550:(New York: Holt, 1951) Contains: "Tolliver's Travels" An original short story by Fenton and fellow screenwriter
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section of Los Angeles, just down the street from the former California Country Club, where he was a member.
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In 1938, Fenton branched out into magazine writing, penning a total of nine short stories for
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On Monday, August 23, 1971, Frank Edgington Fenton died, a week after suffering a stroke.
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566:(New York: Holt, 1954) Contains: "The Chicken and the Egg-head," an original short story
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After completing several assignments for episodic series dramas (including six for
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On July 29, 1942, Fenton's debut novel, "A Place in the Sun," was published by
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In the fall of 1934, Fenton co-wrote an original story, "Dinky," with
19:
This article is about the writer. For the actor of the same name, see
46:
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He is often confused—in print and online—with film and stage actor
455:. Another project originally developed by MGM for the big screen,
215:
too...Mr. Fenton's narrative is as absorbing as it is meaningful.
50:
429:). His final produced screenplay was for the Paramount release,
965:"Why is it All So Lousy?" Esquire 59:46, 48, 50 February 1963
459:, was instead released in 1966 through their television arm.
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956:"Hollywood's Message," Nation 179:424, November 13, 1954
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146:). They also provided two scripts for both the Saint (
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223:, his 1944 anthology of California writing. In 1946,
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Continent's End: A Collection of California Writing
229:Southern California Country: An Island on the Land
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1102:(rev. ed.). Santa Monica: Angel City Press.
193:to positive reaction on both coasts. This from
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521:(New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1946).
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977:, Edited by Raymond J. Healy (Holt, 1953)
732:Learn how and when to remove this message
716:so that sources are clearly identifiable.
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1100:Full of Life: A Biography of John Fante
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162:) series pictures. Both series starred
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1116:Jackson, Joseph Henry, ed. (1944).
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935:, Edited by Raymond J. Healy (1951)
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1177:20th-century American male writers
287:Americans and the California Dream
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515:(New York: Random House, 1942).
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1120:. New York: Whittlesey House.
933:New Stories of Space and Time
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607:104:20-21, September 23, 1939
293:introduction to a quiz book.
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600:102:16-18, December 31, 1938
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1127:Southern California Country
945:9 Stories of Space and Time
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642:106:14-15, November 2, 1940
614:104:12-13, October 21, 1939
593:102:14-15, December 3, 1938
543:New Tales of Space and Time
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85:Mary Jane Hodge (1945-1957)
16:American writer (1903–1971)
10:
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1147:. Oxford University Press.
1138:. Oxford University Press.
1125:McWilliams, Carey (1946).
863:, August 2, 1942, Pg. BR13
835:"Hollywood Literary Life"
673:"Why is it All So Lousy?"
659:"Hollywood Literary Life"
635:106:9-10, October 20, 1940
469:Something for a Lonely Man
285:, the sixth volume in his
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1085:, August 25, 1971, Pg. C3
1049:, August 25, 1971, Pg. C3
1025:, August 19, 1945, Pg. A6
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621:105:21-22, April 13, 1940
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277:More recently, historian
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1098:Cooper, Stephen (2005).
911:, April 28, 1946, Pg. C1
839:45:280-86, November 1938
802:, April 19, 1937, Pg. 26
649:107:16, January 18, 1941
603:"Interrupted Honeymoon"
519:What Way My Journey Lies
262:What Way My Journey Lies
210:critic had this to say:
136:International Settlement
297:From film to television
83:June Martel (1941-1943)
1001:, June 4, 1950, Pg. F3
975:I Knew It All the Time
666:"Hollywood's Message"
645:"Actor in the Family"
628:105:14, April 20, 1940
577:I Knew It All the Time
453:Kraft Suspense Theater
360:Escape from Fort Bravo
275:
258:
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160:A Date with the Falcon
92:Frank Edgington Fenton
40:Frank Edgington Fenton
1143:Starr, Kevin (2002).
1134:Starr, Kevin (1997).
1109:Dreams of Bunker Hill
814:, May 4, 1937, Pg. 28
502:Selected bibliography
489:Dreams of Bunker Hill
449:Kraft Mystery Theater
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266:The Los Angeles Times
252:by Frank Fenton, and
238:The Day of the Locust
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140:While New York Sleeps
1107:Fante, John (1982).
1013:, May 6, 1957, Pg. 4
989:, May 6, 1957, Pg. 4
701:needs more complete
638:"High Cost of Love"
610:"Respectable Woman"
596:"Boy Meets Gorilla"
256:by Mark Lee Luther.
179:The American Mercury
152:The Saint Takes Over
21:Frank Fenton (actor)
851:, pp. 298–300.
624:"Beautiful People"
474:The Golden Fleecing
426:The Wings of Eagles
148:The Saint in London
142:) and happy hokum (
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923:, pp. 194–95.
754:, pp. 140–41.
631:"Flying Dutchman"
536:A Place in the Sun
513:A Place in the Sun
483:In popular culture
416:These Wilder Years
374:River of No Return
250:A Place in the Sun
195:The New York Times
1136:The Dream Endures
1083:Los Angeles Times
1047:Los Angeles Times
1023:Los Angeles Times
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487:In John Fante's
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283:Embattled Dreams
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144:Down on the Farm
128:Woman Chases Man
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350:Ride, Vaquero!
340:The Wild North
325:Robert Mitchum
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206:Out west, the
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156:The Gay Falcon
154:) and Falcon (
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63:(1971-08-23)
1167:1971 deaths
1162:1903 births
1092:Works cited
1071:Cooper 2005
1035:Cooper 2005
752:Cooper 2005
441:Fess Parker
379:Gary Cooper
279:Kevin Starr
69:Los Angeles
1156:Categories
1059:Fante 1982
921:Starr 2002
849:Starr 1997
562:edited by
546:edited by
421:John Wayne
104:John Fante
73:California
703:citations
682:Citations
647:Collier's
640:Collier's
633:Collier's
626:Collier's
619:Collier's
612:Collier's
605:Collier's
598:Collier's
591:Collier's
174:Collier's
80:Spouse(s)
47:Liverpool
722:May 2023
289:series.
185:Novelist
764:Variety
675:Esquire
402:Untamed
51:England
668:Nation
507:Novels
419:) and
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320:Malaya
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