William F. Nolan (1928-2021)
He was not on the list.
Author, screenwriter, artist, and occasional actor William Francis Nolan passed away without pain on July 15, 2021, during a brief stay in the hospital following complications from an infection. He was 93 years old. He had no living relatives and was married one time.
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Nolan was an only child. His father, Michael Cahill Nolan, was an adventurer and sportsman. His mother, Bernadette Mariana Kelly Nolan, was a stenographer. The family resided on Forest Avenue in a predominantly Irish section of the city. Nolan spent his youth riding his bike up and down nearby Troost Avenue, close to the Isis Theater, meeting with friends to spend hot days in the cool of the movie palace, where they watched Westerns, ate candy, and reveled in the adventures of Tom Mix and other film heroes of the day. An avid reader, he devoured Max Brand, comic books (especially Batman), the pulps, and any other books he could get his hands on. He held very fond memories of his childhood.
Later, the family moved to Chula Vista, California just after World War II (Nolan was unable to serve due to flat feet and poor vision). Though the times were hard, his cherished parents had unflinching Irish roots, and the family endured, eventually winding up in Los Angeles. It was during this time Nolan caught the Science Fiction fandom bug. Talented at drawing, Nolan spent many hours working as an artist (including a stint at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City), still enthralled with pulps such as Black Mask, Weird Tales, andcomics, especially Jack Kirby’s output. Movies eventually became his greatest enthusiasm, and for years he attended several a week. Being in L.A. only added to his interest in all forms of genre, from Noir to horror to Science Fiction.
Once established in L.A., he stumbled across a fresh new writer named Ray Bradbury, becoming an instant convert. Seeking Bradbury out, by 1952 he had learned enough about him to compile his first serious book, Ray Bradbury Review. It contained a mix of art, stories, and nonfiction, including pieces by writer Chad Oliver and Bradbury. After a few years of doing art, active semi-pro fanzine work, and other fan-related organizing, Nolan made his first big professional sale, “The Darendinger Build-Up” to Playboy, and decided he wanted to be a writer full-time. Around this time, Bradbury introduced Nolan to the man who would become his best friend for ten years, until his untimely death, Mr. Charles Beaumont. Beaumont, Nolan, Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, Chad Oliver, Charles E. Fritch, Kris Neville, John Tomerlin, Mari Wolf, and several others eventually comprised “The Group”, meeting to discuss stories and hang out together.
Nolan’s career flourished as a writer and later a screenwriter, primarily for Dan Curtis. Logan’s Run, which he co-wrote with the late George Clayton Johnson, propelled both men into the public consciousness in a major way, especially after the release of the classic MGM film adaptation in 1976. Although Nolan has written roughly 2000 pieces, to include biographies, short stories, poetry, and novels, Logan’s Run retains its hold on the public consciousness as a political fable and dystopian warning. As Nolan has stated: “That I am known at all is still astonishing to me, as I can so vividly recall the boy flying down the road on his bike in Kansas City all those years ago. My later years have brought me much happiness, I will note, especially my current family, Jason and Sunni Brock. We’ve been a unit for nearly 15 years, and it has been one of the best times of my life.”
—Jason V Brock, Vancouver, WA
Bibliography (partial)
Novels
The Logan Series
Novels and novellas
Logan's Run (1967) – Novel (with George Clayton Johnson)
Logan's World (1977) – Second Novel in the original "Logan Trilogy"
Logan's Search (1980) – Third Novel in the "Logan Trilogy"
Logan's Return (2001) – Novella, released as an e-book
Logan's Journey – Novel (Sequel not yet published (completed in 2010); forthcoming) (with Paul McComas)[10]
Logan Falls – Novel (Sequel not yet published (still planned in 2010); forthcoming) (with Jason V Brock)[10]
Collections
Logan: A Trilogy (1986) – Collection of the first three books
Definitive Editions
Logan's Run: The Definitive Edition (An illustrated, limited edition from Centipede Press with extra material; 2014)
The Black Mask Series
The Black Mask Murders (1994) – Novel
The Marble Orchard (1996) – Novel
Sharks Never Sleep (1998) – Novel
The Sam Space Series
Space for Hire (1971) – Novel
Look Out for Space (1985) – Novel
3 For Space (1992) – Collection
Far Out (2004) – Collection
Seven for Space (2008) – Collection
The Challis Series
Death Is For Losers (1968) – Novel
The White Cad Cross-Up (1969) – Novel
Helle on Wheels (1992) – Novella
The Brothers Challis (1996) – Collection
The Kincaid Series
Pirate's Moon (1987) – Novella
Broxa (1991) - Novella
The Winchester Horror (1998) – Novella
Demon! [Reprint of Broxa] (2005) – Novella
Kincaid: A Paranormal Casebook (2011) – Collection
Biographies
On Max Brand
Max Brand's Best Western Stories (1981) – Brand Collection
Max Brand's Best Western Stories II (1985) – Brand Collection
Max Brand: Western Giant (1986) – Anthology/Bibliography
Max Brand's Best Western Stories III (1987) – Brand Collection
Tales of the Wild West (1997) – Brand Collection
More Tales of the Wild West (1999) – Brand Collection
Masquerade (2005) – Brand Collection
King of the Pulps (forthcoming) – Biography
On Dashiell Hammett
Dashiell Hammett: A Casebook (1969) – Critical study
Hammett: A Life at the Edge (1983) – Biography
Dash (2004) – Stage Play
A Man Called Dash: The Life and Times of Samuel Dashiell Hammett (Alfred A. Knopf, 2015 [tentative release date]) – Definitive Biography
On Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury Review (1952) – Anthology
The Ray Bradbury Index (1953) – Pamphlet
The Ray Bradbury Companion (1975) – Biography/bibliography
The Dandelion Chronicles (1984) – Pamphlet
The Bradbury Chronicles (1991) – Anthology (with Martin H. Greenberg)
Nolan On Bradbury: Sixty Years of Writing about the Master of Science Fiction (2013; Hippocampus Press) – Collected Nonfiction Book (Edited by S. T. Joshi)
Other biographies and nonfiction
Adventure on Wheels (1959) – John Fitch autobiography
Barney Oldfield (1961) – Biography
Phil Hill: Yankee Champion (1962) – Biography
John Huston: King Rebel (1965) - Biography
Sinners and Supermen (1965) – Nonfiction Collection
Steve McQueen: Star on Wheels (1972) – Biography
Hemingway: Last Days of the Lion (1974) – Biographical Chapbook
McQueen (1984) - Biography
The Black Mask Boys (1985) – Biography/Anthology
How to Write Horror Fiction (1990) – Reference
Let's Get Creative: Writing Fiction That Sells! (2006) - Reference
Bibliographies
The Work of Charles Beaumont (1986)
The Work of William F. Nolan (1988)
Anthologies and collections (as editor)
The Fiend in You (1962) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont; Nolan is uncredited)
The Pseudo-People (1965)
Man Against Tomorrow (1965)
Il Meglio Della Fantascienza (1967)
3 To the Highest Power (1968)
A Wilderness of Stars (1969)
A Sea of Space (1970)
The Edge of Forever (1971) – Collection of Chad Oliver stories
The Future is Now (1971)
The Human Equation: Four Science Fiction Novels of Tomorrow (1971)
Science Fiction Origins (1980) - Anthology (with Martin H. Greenberg)
Urban Horrors (1990) – Anthology (with Martin H. Greenberg)
California Sorcery, Edited by Nolan and William Schafer (1998)
Offbeat (2002) – Collection of Richard Matheson stories
The Bleeding Edge (2009) – Anthology (with Jason V Brock)
The Devil's Coattails (2012) – Anthology (with Jason V Brock)
Verse
The Mounties (1979) – Broadside
Dark Encounters (1986) – Collection
Have You Seen the Wind? (2003) – Collection, with prose
Ill Met by Moonlight (2004) – Collection, with prose and artwork
Soul Trips (2015) – Collection
Auto racing-specific works
Omnibus of Speed (1958) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont)
Men of Thunder (1964) – Collection
When Engines Roar (1964) – Anthology (with Charles Beaumont)
Carnival of Speed (1973) – Collection
Horror works
Things Beyond Midnight (1984) – Collection
Blood Sky (1991) – Chapbook
Helltracks (1991) – Novel
Night Shapes (1995) – Collection
William F. Nolan's Dark Universe (2001) – Career Retrospective
Nightworlds (2004) – Collection
Miscellaneous works
A Cross Section of Art in Science-Fantasy (1952) – Chapbook
Image Power (1988) – Pamphlet
Rio Renegades (1989) – Western Novel
Simply An Ending (2002) – Pamphlet
With Marlowe in L.A. (2003) – Pamphlet
Other Nolan collections
Impact-20 (1963) – Short Stories
Alien Horizons (1974)
Wonderworlds (1977)
Down the Long Night (2000)
Ships in the Night: And Other Stories (2003) – Collection of Sci-fi, Western, etc.
Wild Galaxy: Selected Science Fiction Stories (2005)
Like a Dead Man Walking and Other Shadow Tales (edited by Jason V Brock; a mix of science fiction, horror, poetry, and literary stories; Centipede Press, 2014)
Screenplays
Burnt Offerings (1976)
Who Goes There? (aka The Thing) Screen Treatment (1978), written for Universal Studios (not produced), published by Rocket Ride Books in "Who Goes There?: The Novella That Formed The Basis of THE THING" (2009)
Television scripts
Brain Wave (1959) – One Step Beyond
Vanishing Act (1959) – Wanted: Dead or Alive
Black Belt (1960) – Wanted: Dead or Alive
The Joy of Living (1971) – Norman Corwin Presents
The Norliss Tapes (1973) – NBC Movie of the Week
The Turn of the Screw (1974) – ABC Miniseries
Trilogy of Terror (Millicent and Therese; Julie) (1975) – ABC Movie of the Week
Melvin Purvis: G-Man (1975)
Sky Heist (1975) – NBC Movie of the Week
The Kansas City Massacre (1975) – ABC Movie of the Week
Logan's Run (1977) – Pilot for CBS series
First Loss (1981) – 240-Robert
The Partnership (1981) – Darkroom
Bridge Across Time, a.k.a. Terror at London Bridge (1985) – NBC Movie of the Week
Trilogy of Terror II (The Graveyard Rats; He Who Kills) (1996) – USA Movie of the Week
Appearances: films, TV and documentaries
The Intruder (1962) as villain "Bart Carey"
Charles Beaumont: The Life of Twilight Zone’s Magic Man (JaSunni Productions, LLC; 2010) as himself
The AckerMonster Chronicles! (JaSunni Productions, LLC; 2012) as himself
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