Fenady, Andrew J. 1928-

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Fenady, Andrew J. 1928-

PERSONAL:

Born October 4, 1928, in Toledo, OH; married Mary Dolan; children: six. Education: Graduated from the University of Toledo, 1950.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. Office—Fenady Associates, 249 N. Larchmont Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90004.

CAREER:

Writer, screenwriter, producer. Fenady Associates, Los Angeles, Calif., founder and independent producer of motion pictures, including Stakeout on Dope Street, 1958, The Young Captives, 1959, Ride beyond Vengeance, 1966, Chisum, 1970, Terror in the Wax Museum, 1971, Arnold, 1972, Mayday 40,000 Feet, 1974, and The Man with Bogart's Face, 1979. Producer of television programs, including The Man with Bogart's Face, 1980, A Masterpiece of Murder, 1986, Jake Spanner, Private Eye, 1989, Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus, 1991, and The Sea Wolf, 1993. Has also worked as a screenwriter and actor.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Wister Award, Western Writers of America; Golden Boot Award for lifetime contribution to westerns.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Man with Bogart's Face, Regnery (Washington, DC), 1977.

The Secret of Sam Marlowe, Contemporary (Chicago, IL), 1980.

Claws of the Eagle, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1984.

The Summer of Jack London, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1984.

Runaways, Walker & Co. (New York, NY), 1994.

The Rebel: Johnny Yuma, G.P. Putnam's Sons (New York, NY), 1998.

There Came a Stranger, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

Double Eagles, Dorchester Pub. (New York, NY), 2002.

A Night in Beverly Hills, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2003.

Riders to Moon Rock, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2005.

A Night in Hollywood Forever, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2006.

Big Ike, Leisure Books (New York, NY), 2007.

Also the author of the novels The Further Adventures of the Man with Bogart's Face and A Novel of Tom Horn and the Apache Kid.

PLAYS

The Man with Bogart's Face: A Play in Two Acts, Dramatic Pub. (Woodstock, IL), 2000.

The Summer of Jack London: A Play in Two Acts, Dramatic Pub. (Woodstock, IL), 2000.

SCREENPLAYS

Stakeout on Dope Street, Warner Bros., 1958.

The Young Captives, Paramount, 1959.

Ride Beyond Vengeance, Columbia, 1966.

Hondo and the Apaches, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1967.

Chisum, Warner Bros., 1970.

The Woman Hunter, Viacom, 1971.

Voyage of the Yes, Viacom, 1972.

The Stranger, Viacom, 1973.

The Hostage Heart, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), 1978.

TELEPLAYS

Sky Heist, 1975.

Mask of Alexander, 1976.

The Man with Bogart's Face, 1980.

A Masterpiece of Murder, 1986.

Jake Spanner, Private Eye, 1989.

Yes Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus, 1991.

The Sea Wolf, 1993.

Contributor of scripts to television series, including The Rebel, Branded, and Hondo.

SIDELIGHTS:

A screenwriter and producer known for such successful Westerns as the television series The Rebel and the John Wayne film, Chisum, Andrew J. Fenady has also pursued a career in novels, penning numerous mysteries and Westerns.

Alex Night, a Hollywood private investigator, serves as Fenady's protagonists in a series of novels that are part parody of the hard-boiled detective novel and part actual crime story. In A Night in Beverly Hills, the detective is serving as a bodyguard when his client is robbed of her jewelry by two thieves. He gives chase, manages to wound one and get the jewels back, but also takes a bullet in the process. Later he tries to determine who was behind the jewel robbery, deciding perhaps that it is time for him to get out of the detecting business. Instead, he can turn to writing crime novels, but as he uncovers the loose ends of the case, he realizes he will not be able to write the true story until his client in the jewel robbery scam is deceased. Booklist contributor David Pitt described the work as an "entertaining (if not particularly subtle) fare for fans of the classic hard-boiled era." A higher assessment came from Best Reviews Web site critic Harriet Klausner, who termed A Night in Beverly Hills an "engaging crime thriller." Night has further adventures in A Night in Hollywood Forever, in which the sleuth is forced back into the private eye game by the invitation of a famous movie star to accompany her to an opening night, and by the disappearance of his girlfriend. A Kirkus Reviews critic was unimpressed by this novel, calling it an "inside-Hollywood mystery that's all inside and no mystery." However, reviewing the same novel in Booklist, Pitt declared: "Alex Night is worthy of a series." Fenady has also penned numerous Western novels, including There Came a Stranger, "an uneven hayburner," according to a Publishers Weekly contributor. The tale deals with an ex-army man and former friend of General Custer who tries to make a new life for himself as a cowboy in Texas.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2003, David Pitt, review of A Night in Beverly Hills, p. 584; August 1, 2006, David Pitt, review of A Night in Hollywood Forever, p. 47.

Kirkus Reviews, June 15, 2006, review of A Night in Hollywood Forever, p. 603.

Publishers Weekly, June 11, 2001, review of There Came a Stranger, p. 60.