HANSEN, Joseph 1923-2004

(Rose Brock, James Colton, James Coulton)

OBITUARY NOTICE— See index for CA sketch: Born July 19, 1923, in Aberdeen, SD; died of heart failure November 24, 2004, in Laguna Beach, CA. Author. Hansen is best remembered as the creator of series character Dave Brandstetter, the first homosexual detective to appear as a hero in American crime fiction. The author's grew up in Depression-era South Dakota, until his father lost his shoe store shop and the family moved to California to work a small citrus tree farm. Hansen, who never attended college, was interested in writing early in life but did not find much success until 1952, when the New Yorker published one of his poems. He continued to write poems and fiction with homosexual themes, often publishing them pseudonymously as James Colton, or, in one book, Coulton. He also published a gothic novel under the name Rose Brock called Tarn House (1971). During the 1960s, Hansen, who did not conceal his sexual orientation, worked on the staff of the gay and lesbian magazine One, and in 1965 cofounded another magazine, Tangents, which he worked on until 1970. In another venture, he produced a radio program in Los Angeles called Homosexuality Today in 1969, and in 1970 he was responsible for organizing the first gay pride parade in Hollywood. But his biggest claim to fame came through his "Dave Brandstetter" series. Long a fan of detective fiction, and also upset with the unfair portrayal of homosexual characters in novels, Hansen decided to create a protagonist who happened to be gay but whose sexuality was just one aspect of his complex personality. Hansen finished his debut book, Fadeout, in 1967 but could not find a publisher until 1970. When the novel finally did appear, it received considerable positive fanfare and critical attention. The success of the "Brandstetter" series continued for several more books, including Troublemaker (1975), Gravedigger (1982), Early Graves (1987), and the last in the series, A Country of Old Men (1991). Hansen continued publishing for many years, releasing such books as Living Upstairs (1993), Jack of Hearts (1995), and Bohannon's Women: Mystery Stories (2002).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

New York Times, December 7, 2004, p. A20.

Times (London, England), February 2, 2005, p. 54.

Washington Post, December 7, 2004, p. B6.