Leslie Edgley

Leslie Edgley
Born	Leslie John Edgley (1912-10-14)October 14, 1912 London, England, U.K.
Died	March 12, 2002(2002-03-12) (aged 89)
Pen name	Robert Bloomfield, Michael Gillian,^[1] Brook Hastings^[a]
Occupation	Novelist, radio dramatist, screenwriter
Genre	Mystery
Notable works	Perry Mason
Spouse	Mary Anna Gustaitis^[4]
Children	3^[5]^[6]

Leslie John Edgley (October 14, 1912^[7] – August 9, 2002)^[8] was an English-born American mystery fiction writer, radio dramatist screenwriter and playwright. Among the works for which he became known are the scripts for many episodes of Perry Mason, written as "Robert Bloomfield".^[7]

Early life and career

Edgley was born in London in 1912, but emigrated with his parents to Canada in 1918; four years later, they came to the United States, finally putting down roots in East Chicago, Indiana. Edgley spent his formative years in the Marktown district, graduating from Washington High School in 1930.^[9]^[7] In 1936, one year after marrying East Chicago native Mary Anna Gustaitis;^[10]^[4] Edgley attained United States citizenship.^[11] In 1944, the couple relocated to California.^[7]^[12]

Beginning his writing career in the 1940s, Edgley published work under his own name, but also started using the name "Robert Bloomfield" as a pen name on some of his work as early as 1947.

In 1952, Edgley was named as a former member of the Communist Party USA^[13] by Roy Huggins, in testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee. ^[14]^[15] From 1956 forward, in order to work around being on the Hollywood blacklist, all of Edgley's television work was credited to his already established alias of Robert Bloomfield.

As Robert Bloomfield, Edgley had a prolific TV writing career between 1956 and 1968, writing episodes of Lassie, Climax!, Perry Mason, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Wild Wild West, and many other US TV series.

Works

as Leslie Edgley

No Birds Sing, New York, Farrar & Rinehart, 1940, 328 pp.^[16]
Fear No More, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1946, 202 pp.
- Reprinted by Ace, 1953, bound dos-à-dos with Hal Braham (as Mel Colton), Never Kill A Cop
False Face, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1946, 202 pp.
The Angry Heart, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1947, 190 pp.
- Reprinted as Tracked Down by Ace, 1954, bound dos-à-dos with Martin L. Weiss, Death Hitches A Ride
The Judas Goat, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1952, 190 pp.
- Reprinted by Ace, 1953, bound dos-à-dos with Theodore S. Drachman, Cry Plague!
The Runaway Pigeon, Garden City, N.Y., Published for the Crime Club by Doubleday, 1953, 188 pp.
- Also published as One Blonde Died, Lawrence E. Pivak, N.Y., 1953, Bestseller Mystery B171
- Published in UK as Diamonds Spell Death, Arthur Barker, 1954, Museum Street Thriller series
A Dirty Business, New York, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969, 182 pp.^[17]

as Robert Bloomfield

Shadow of Guilt, New York, Doubleday, 1947
From This Day Forward, New York, Doubleday, 1952
Lust for Vengeance, New York, Doubleday, 1952, 189 pp.
Russian Roulette, New York, Harcourt, 1955
When Strangers Meet, New York, Doubleday, 1956
Kill With Kindness, New York, Doubleday, 1962

as Michael Gillian

Warrant for a Wanton, New York, Mill-William Morrow & Company, 1952, 246 pp.

with Mary Edgley (as Brook Hastings)

The Demon Within, New York, Doubleday, 1953

Notes

^ "Brook Hastings" is the pseudonym employed for books authored jointly by Edgley and his wife, the former Mary Anna Gustaitis.^[2]^[1]^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Gorman, Ed; Greenberg, Martin H. (2004). The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories: 5: Fifth Annual Collection. New York : Tom Doherty Associates. p. 30. ISBN 0-765-31146-1.
^ "Brooke Hastings; Disambiguation Notice". LibraryThing.
^ Copyright Office (1954). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Third Series: 1953: July-December. Washington : Library of Congress. p. 284. OCLC 3864098.
^ ^a ^b "Illinois, Cook County, Birth Certificates, 1871-1949," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL9S-ZYD8 : 27 March 2017), Leslie John Edgley in entry for Michael Edgley, 11 Nov 1937; Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States, reference/certificate 42492, Cook County Clerk, Cook County Courthouse, Chicago; FHL microfilm .
^ Ault, George T. (June 25, 1950). "Sideshow; Hollywood Note". The Times (Munster, Indiana). p. 39. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
^ Montgomery, Marge (September 13, 1958). "Families Adopt Exchange Students for Academic Year; Jill's Idea Too; Diet Fad". Los Angeles Citizen-News. p. 10. Retrieved June 1, 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Region's most accomplished mystery writer". Times of Northwest Indiana. 1990-11-08. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
^ "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JP5B-D6F : 9 January 2021), Leslie J Edgley, 29 Aug 2002; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
^ "192 Seniors Leave School on Wednesday". The Times (Munster, Indiana). June 5, 1930. p. 16. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
^ "Gustaitis-Edgley". The Hammond Times. July 11, 1935. p. 6. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
^ "Indiana Naturalization Records and Indexes, 1848-1993," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVM8-7GMN : 8 November 2017), Leslie John Edgley, 1936; citing Naturalization, Hammond, Lake, Indiana, United States, NARA NAID 5682644, National Archives at Chicago, Illinois, n.d.
^ Kott, Anthony J. (February 16, 1940). "East Chicago Is Locale of Novel's Plot; Former Harbor Youth Author of Powerful New Work of Fiction". The Hammond Times. p. 45. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
^ Roy Huggins on joining the Communist Party on YouTube
^ Sherman, Gene (September 30, 1952). "Film Director Huggins Tells Own Red Links". Los Angeles Times. p. 1. "Huggins, a crisp, crew-cut UCLA graduate, gave a well-worded, unfaltering recitation of his Communist Party activities. He included names of 22 persons he knew when he was a member of Red organizations." Retrieved June 5, 2022.
^ "Pictures: 3 Writers Added To Red Pix List At L.A. Hearings". Variety. October 1, 1952. p. 4. ProQuest 963145770.
^ Clayton, Robert (March 10, 1940). "Depression and War Form Background for Novel of Today by Leslie Edgley". Chattanooga Daily Times.
^ "Last of Judge Dee Series?; Also Recommended". The Boston Globe. p. 80-B. Retrieved June 1, 2022.