Stanley Ellin

Stanley Bernard Ellin (October 6, 1916 – July 31, 1986) was an American mystery writer. Ellin was born in Brooklyn, New York. He garnered a love for reading at a young age with an interest in works by the likes of Mark Twain, Rudyard Kipling, and Edgar Allan Poe. Ellin was educated at Brooklyn College and received a B.A. in 1936. He married Jean Michael in 1937; they had one daughter, Sue Ellin.

Ellin worked as a steel worker, diary farmer, and teacher before serving in the US Army in 1944-1945 during World War II. After his brief tenure in the Army, at the insistence of his wife, Ellin began writing full-time. In May 1948, one of Ellin's most famous short stories, "The Specialty of the House", appeared in "Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine".

In the years to come, Ellin's fame as an author and wonderful short story writer grew. He was awarded three Edgar Allan Poe Awards (Edgar Award). His first Edgar was for the short story "The House Party" in 1954, then for the short story "The Blessington Method" in 1956, and his third for the novel "The Eighth Circle" in 1959. Several episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" were based on Ellin short stories, and his novels "Dreadful Summit", "House of Cards", and "The Bind" were adapted into feature films.

Ellin was a long-time member and past president of the Mystery Writers of America. In 1981, he was awarded with the Mystery Writers of America's highest honor, the Grand Master Award. Ellin died of a heart attack in Brooklyn, New York on July 31, 1986.

Bibliography

Novels

*1948 - "Dreadful Summit" (aka "The Big Night")
*1952 - "The Key to Nicholas Street"
*1958 - "The Eighth Circle"; (Edgar Award for Best Novel, 1959)
*1960 - "The Winter after This Summer"
*1962 - "The Panama Portrait"
*1963 - "House of Cards"
*1968 - "The Valentine Estate"; (shortlisted for Edgar Award for Best Novel, 1969)
*1970 - "The Bind (aka "The Man from Nowhere")
*1972 - "Mirror, Mirror on the Wall"; (Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, 1974)
*1974 - "Stronghold"
*1976 - "The Other Side of the Wall"
*1977 - "The Luxembourg Run"
*1979 - "Star Light, Star Bright"
*1983 - "The Dark Fantastic"
*1984 - "Very Old Money"

hort Story Collections

*1956 - "Mystery Stories"
*1964 - "The Blessington Method"
*1967 - "The Specialty of the House"
*1975 - "Kindly Dig Your Grave"

elected Short Stories

*"The House Party", "EQMM", May 1954; (Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1955)
*"The Blessington Method", "EQMM", June 1956; (Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1957)
*"The Day of the Bullet", "EQMM", October 1959; (shortlisted for Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1960)
*"The Crime of Ezechiele Coen", "EQMM", November 1963; (shortlisted for Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1964)
*"The Last Bottle in the World", "EQMM", February 1968; (shortlisted for Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1969)
*"Graffiti", "EQMM", March 1983; (shortlisted for Edgar Award for Best Short Story, 1984)

Films

The following films were adapted from Stanley Ellin's novels and stories.

*1951 - "The Big Night", USA, directed by Joseph Losey, (novel "Dreadful Summit")
*1959 - "À double tour", France, directed by Claude Chabrol, (novel "The Key to Nicholas Street")
*1964 - "Nothing But the Best", UK, directed by Clive Donner, (short story)
*1968 - "House of Cards", USA, directed by John Guillermin, (novel)
*1979 - "Sunburn", USA, directed by Richard C. Sarafian, (novel "The Bind")
*1997 - "A Prayer in the Dark", USA, directed by Jerry Ciccoritti, (novel "Stronghold")

=External Links=
* [http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sellin.htm] http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sellin.htm
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254124/] http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0254124/, Internet Movie Database