Rex Todhunter Stout (December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the detective genius from 1934 (''Fer-de-Lance'') to 1975 (''A Family Affair'').

The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

Biography

Early life

Stout was born in Noblesville, Indiana, but shortly after that his Quaker parents, John Wallace Stout and Lucetta Elizabeth Todhunter Stout, moved their family (nine children in all) to Kansas.

His father was a teacher who encouraged his son to read, and Rex had read the entire Bible twice by the time he was four years old. He was the state spelling bee champion at age 13. Stout attended Topeka High School, Kansas, and the University of Kansas, Lawrence. His sister, Ruth Stout, also authored several books on no-work gardening and some social commentaries.

He served from 1906 to 1908 in the U.S. Navy (as a yeoman on President Teddy Roosevelt's official yacht) and then spent about the next four years working at about thirty different jobs (in six states), including cigar store clerk, while he sold poems, stories, and articles to various magazines.

It was not his writing but his invention of a school banking system in about 1916 that gave him enough money to travel in Europe extensively. About 400 U.S. schools adopted his system for keeping track of the money school children saved in accounts at school, and he was paid royalties.

In 1916, Stout married Fay Kennedy of Topeka, Kansas. They divorced in 1932 and Stout married in the same year Pola Weinbach Hoffmann, a designer who had studied with Josef Hoffmann in Vienna, Austria.

Writings

Rex Stout began his literary career in the 1910s writing for the pulps, publishing romance, adventure, and some borderline detective stories. His first stories appeared among others in ''All-Story Magazine''. He sold articles and stories to a variety of magazines, and became a full-time writer in 1927. Stout lost the money he had made as a businessman in 1929.

In Paris in 1929 he wrote his first book, ''How Like a God'', an unusual psychological story written in the second person. During the course of his early writing career Stout tackled a variety of literary forms, including the short story, the novel, and science fiction, among them a pioneering political thriller, ''The President Vanishes'' (1934).

After he returned to the U.S. Stout turned to writing detective fiction. The first work was ''Fer-de-Lance'', which introduced Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin. The novel was published by Farrar & Rinehart in October 1934, and in abridged form as "Point of Death" in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1934). In 1937, Stout created Dol Bonner, a female private detective who would reappear in his Nero Wolfe stories and who is an early and significant example of the woman PI as fictional protagonist, in a novel called ''The Hand in the Glove''. After 1938 Stout focused solely on the mystery field. Stout continued writing the Nero Wolfe series for the rest of his life, publishing at least one adventure per year through 1966 (with the exception of 1943, when he was busy with activities related to World War II). Though Stout's rate of production declined somewhat after 1966, he still published four further Nero Wolfe novels and a cookbook prior to his death in 1975, aged 88.

During WWII Stout cut back on his detective writing, joined the Fight for Freedom organization, and wrote propaganda. He hosted three weekly radio shows, and coordinated the volunteer services of American writers to help the war effort. After the war Stout returned to writing Nero Wolfe novels, and took up the role of gentleman farmer on his estate at High Meadow in Brewster, north of New York City. He served as president of the Authors Guild and of the Mystery Writers of America, which in 1959 presented Stout with the Grand Master Award—the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery field.

Stout was a longtime friend of the British humorist P. G. Wodehouse, writer of the Jeeves novels and short stories. Each was a fan of the other's work, and there are evident parallels between their characters and techniques. Wodehouse contributed the foreword to ''Rex Stout: A Biography'', John McAleer's Edgar Award-winning 1977 biography of the author (reissued in 2002 as ''Rex Stout: A Majesty's Life'').

Public activities

Stout served on the original board of the American Civil Liberties Union and helped start the radical magazine ''The New Masses'', which succeeded the Masses, a Marxist publication, during the 1920s. During the Great Depression, he was an enthusiastic supporter of the New Deal.

During World War II, he worked with the advocacy group Friends of Democracy and was Chairman of the Writers' War Board (a propaganda organization), and supported the embryonic United Nations. He lobbied for Franklin D. Roosevelt to accept a fourth term as President. He developed an extreme anti-German attitude and in 1943 published the essay "We Shall Hate or We Shall Fail", and during the later part of the war and the post-war period he also led the Society for the Prevention of World War III which lobbied for a harsh peace for Germany. When the war ended, Stout became active in the United World Federalists.

Stout was active in liberal causes. When the anti-Communist era of the late 1940s and 1950s began, he ignored a subpoena from the House Un-American Activities Committee at the height of the McCarthy era.

In later years Stout alienated some readers with his hawkish stance on the Vietnam War and with the contempt for communism expressed in certain of his works. The latter viewpoint is given voice most notably in the 1949 novel, ''The Second Confession''. In this work, Archie and Wolfe express their dislike for "Commies," while at the same time Wolfe arranges for the firing of a virulently anti-Communist broadcaster, likening him to "Hitler" and "Mussolini." Thus Stout in this book stakes his ground as an anti-communist Leftist, perhaps something like George Orwell who occupied a similar position.

Radio broadcasts

''Information Please'' (NBC)

Rex Stout was a guest panelist on ''Information Please'', Clifton Fadiman's famous quiz show, at least four times. He joined regular panelists John Kieran and Franklin P. Adams for broadcasts on March 28, 1939 (with Moss Hart); August 29, 1939 (with linguist Wilfred J. Funk); September 26, 1939 (with Carl Van Doren); and April 18, 1941 (with Henry H. Curran, chief magistrate of Manhattan).

''Invitation to Learning'' (CBS)

In late January 1942 Rex Stout joined Jacques Barzun and Elmer Davis in a discussion of ''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' on Mark Van Doren's popular CBS radio show, ''Invitation to Learning''. Van Doren included a transcript in his 1942 book, ''The New Invitation to Learning: The Essence of the Great Books of All Times'', published by Random House.

''Our Secret Weapon'' (CBS)

On August 9, 1942, Rex Stout conducted the first of 62 wartime broadcasts of ''Our Secret Weapon''—the truth—on CBS. The idea for the series had been that of Sue Taylor White, wife of Paul White, the first director of CBS News. Research was done under White's direction. "Hundreds of Axis propaganda broadcasts, beamed not merely to the Allied countries but to neutrals, were sifted weekly," Stout's biographer John McAleer wrote. "Rex himself, for an average of twenty hours a week, pored over the typewritten yellow sheets of accumulated data ... Then, using a dialogue format—Axis commentators making their assertions, and Rex Stout, the lie detective, offering his refutations—he dictated to his secretary the script of the fifteen-minute broadcast." By November 1942 Berlin Radio was reporting that "Rex Stout himself has cut his own production in detective stories from four to one a year and is devoting the entire balance of his time to writing official war propaganda." ''Newsweek'' described Stout as "stripping Axis short-wave propaganda down to the barest nonsensicals ... There's no doubt of its success." Sunday-night broadcasts of ''Our Secret Weapon'' continued through October 8, 1943.

Television appearances

''Omnibus'', "The Fine Art of Murder" (ABC)

Rex Stout appeared in the December 9, 1956, episode of ''Omnibus'', a cultural anthology series that epitomized the golden age of television. Hosted by Alistair Cooke, "The Fine Art of Murder" was a 40-minute segment described by ''Time'' magazine as "a homicide as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allan Poe [and] Rex Stout would variously present it." The author is credited as appearing along with Gene Reynolds (Archie Goodwin), Robert Echols (Nero Wolfe), James Daly (narrator), Dennis Hoey (Arthur Conan Doyle), Felix Munso (Edgar Allan Poe), Herbert Voland (M. Dupin) and Jack Sydow. Written by Sidney Carroll and directed by Paul Bogart, "The Fine Art of Murder" is in the collection of the Library of Congress (VBE 2397-2398) and screened in its Mary Pickford Theater February 15, 2000.

''The Dick Cavett Show'' (ABC)

Rex Stout was a guest on Dick Cavett's ABC-TV talk show on September 2, 1969.

Reception and influence

Awards and recognition

In 1958 Rex Stout became the 14th president of the Mystery Writers of America. In 1959 he received the MWA's prestigious Grand Master Award, which represents the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery field.

In January 1959 the Crime Writers Association selected Stout as recipient of its Silver Dagger Award for ''The Father Hunt'', which it named "the best crime novel by a non-British author in 1969."

The Nero Wolfe corpus was nominated Best Mystery Series of the Century at Bouchercon 2000, the world's largest mystery convention, and Rex Stout was nominated Best Mystery Writer of the Century.

Popular culture

"A number of the paintings of René Magritte (1898–1967), the internationally famous Belgian painter, are named after titles of books by Rex Stout," wrote the artist's attorney and friend Harry Torczyner. "He read Hegel, Heidegger and Sartre, as well as Dashiell Hammett, Rex Stout and Georges Simenon," the ''Times Higher Education Supplement'' wrote of Magritte. "Some of his best titles were 'found' in this way." Magritte's 1942 painting, ''Les compagnons de la peur'' ("The Companions of Fear"), bears the title given to ''The League of Frightened Men'' (1935) when it was published in France by Gallimard (1939). It is one of Magritte's series of "leaf-bird" paintings. Created during the Nazi occupation of Brussels, it depicts a stormy, mountainous landscape in which a cluster of plants has metamorphosed into a group of vigilant owls.

Stout and the FBI

Rex Stout was one of many American writers closely watched by J. Edgar Hoover's FBI. Hoover considered him an enemy of the bureau and either a Communist or a tool of Communist-dominated groups. Stout's leadership of the Authors League of America during the McCarthy Era was particularly irksome to the FBI. About a third of Stout's FBI file is devoted to his 1965 novel, ''The Doorbell Rang''. In its April 1976 report, the Church Committee found that ''The Doorbell Rang'' is a reason that Rex Stout's name was one of 332 placed on the FBI's "not to contact list," which it cited as evidence of the FBI's political abuse of intelligence information.

Bibliography

Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe books are listed below in order of publication. Novels can be browsed alphabetically by title at the Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout page. Titles of the novella collections are listed alphabetically on the Nero Wolfe short story collections page.

1934 ''Fer-de-Lance''

1935 ''The League of Frightened Men''

1936 ''The Rubber Band''

1937 ''The Red Box''

1938 ''Too Many Cooks''

1939 ''Some Buried Caesar''

1940 ''Over My Dead Body''

1940 ''Where There's a Will''

1942 ''Black Orchids''

1944 ''Not Quite Dead Enough

1946 ''The Silent Speaker''

1947 ''Too Many Women''

1948 ''And Be a Villain'' (British title ''More Deaths Than One'')

1949 ''Trouble in Triplicate''

1949 ''The Second Confession''

1950 ''Three Doors to Death''

1950 ''In the Best Families'' (British title ''Even in the Best Families'')

1951 ''Curtains for Three''

1951 ''Murder by the Book''

1952 ''Triple Jeopardy''

1952 ''Prisoner's Base'' (British title ''Out Goes She'')

1953 ''The Golden Spiders''

1954 ''Three Men Out''

1954 ''The Black Mountain''

1955 ''Before Midnight''

1956 ''Three Witnesses''

1956 ''Might as Well Be Dead''

1957 ''Three for the Chair''

1957 ''If Death Ever Slept''

1958 ''And Four to Go''

1958 ''Champagne for One''

1959 ''Plot It Yourself'' (British title ''Murder in Style'')

1960 ''Three at Wolfe's Door''

1960 ''Too Many Clients''

1961 ''The Final Deduction''

1962 ''Homicide Trinity''

1962 ''Gambit''

1963 ''The Mother Hunt''

1964 ''Trio for Blunt Instruments''

1964 ''A Right to Die''

1965 ''The Doorbell Rang''

1966 ''Death of a Doxy''

1968 ''The Father Hunt''

1969 ''Death of a Dude''

1973 ''Please Pass the Guilt''

1975 ''A Family Affair''

1985 ''Death Times Three'' (posthumous)

Nero Wolfe novellas by Rex Stout

Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novellas are listed below in order of first appearance.

1940 "Bitter End"

1941 "Black Orchids"

1942 "Cordially Invited to Meet Death"

1942 "Not Quite Dead Enough"

1944 "Booby Trap"

1945 "Help Wanted, Male"

1946 "Instead of Evidence"

1947 "Before I Die"

1947 "Man Alive"

1948 "Bullet for One"

1948 "Omit Flowers"

1949 "Door to Death"

1949 "The Gun with Wings"

1950 "Disguise for Murder"

1951 "The Cop-Killer"

1951 "The Squirt and the Monkey"

1952 "Home to Roost"

1952 "This Won't Kill You"

1953 "Invitation to Murder"

1953 "The Zero Clue"

1954 "When a Man Murders..."

1954 "Die Like a Dog"

1955 "The Next Witness"

1955 "Immune to Murder"

1956 "A Window for Death"

1956 "Too Many Detectives"

1957 "Christmas Party"

1957 "Easter Parade"

1957 "Fourth of July Picnic"

1958 "Murder Is No Joke" (expanded as "Frame-Up for Murder")

1960 "Method Three for Murder"

1960 "Poison à la Carte"

1960 "The Rodeo Murder"

1961 "Counterfeit for Murder"

1961 "Death of a Demon"

1961 "Kill Now—Pay Later"

1962 "Eeny Meeny Murder Mo"

1963 "Blood Will Tell"

1964 "Murder Is Corny"

1985 "Assault on a Brownstone" (1959, posthumous)

Other Nero Wolfe works by Rex Stout

''The Nero Wolfe Cookbook'', with the editors of Viking Press (1973)—The cuisine and world of Nero Wolfe are brought to life in a wealth of recipes and pertinent quotes from the corpus, illustrated by vintage New York City photographs by John Muller, Andreas Feininger and others. Chapters include "Breakfast in the Old Brownstone"; "Luncheon in the Dining Room"; "Warm-Weather Dinners"; "Cold-Weather Dinners"; "Desserts"; "The Perfect Dinner for the Perfect Detective"; "The Relapse"; "Snacks"; "Guests, Male and Female"; "Associates for Dinner"; "Fritz Brenner"; "Dishes Cooked by Others"; "Rusterman's Restaurant"; "Nero Wolfe Cooks"; and "The Kanawha Spa Dinner". Hardcover ISBN 0-670-50599-4 / Paperback ISBN 1-888952-24-5. "For a number of years Rex Stout had been prodded by friends ... to tackle a bit of hard work at last by writing out the recipes that make the reader's mouth water when they should be thrall to the dry fare of reason. ... The task was accomplished and now the secret of ''saucisse minuit'' is out -- with a couple hundred others. The organization of the book is excellent too ..."

"Why Nero Wolfe Likes Orchids" , ''Life'' (April 19, 1963)—Concluding a feature story titled "The Orchid" that was photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt, Archie Goodwin "investigates and explains the deep satisfactions of his boss's orchid-fixation." (The article was reprinted in ''Corsage" A Bouquet of Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe'', edited by Michael Bourne.)

"The Case of the Spies Who Weren't," ''Ramparts Magazine'' (January 1966)—Archie Goodwin reports that the previous evening Nero Wolfe and "Rex Stout, my literary agent" filled 27 pages in his notebook with their discussion of ''Invitation to an Inquest'' by Walter and Miriam Schneir, a recently published book that they are reviewing for ''Ramparts'' magazine. Since their review must be fewer than 3,000 words, Wolfe frowns and orders Archie to "Contract it. Cramp it."

::I frowned back. "You cramp it. Or Stout. Let him earn his ten per cent. Dictate it." :Archie loses the argument and condenses their views on the book, which concerns the case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.

Other works by Rex Stout

Tecumseh Fox mysteries

1939 ''Double for Death''

1941 ''The Broken Vase''

1940 ''Bad for Business'' (a mystery featuring Tecumseh Fox, later rewritten as the Nero Wolfe novella "Bitter End")

Other Novels

1913 ''Her Forbidden Knight''(a crime story about counterfeiting with no continuing characters, set in New York City)Paperback ISBN 0-7867-0444-6 1914 ''Under the Andes''(a "scientific romance" and a "lost race" fantasy novel)Paperback ISBN 0-445-40507-4 1914 ''A Prize for Princes''(a novel of Balkan intrigue and murder about a very dangerous woman)Paperback ISBN 0-7867-0104-8 1916 ''The Great Legend''(a historical novel set during the siege of Troy)Paperback ISBN 0-7867-0443-8

1929 ''How Like a God''

1930 ''Seed on the Wind''

1931 ''Golden Remedy''

1933 ''Forest Fire''(an early Brokeback Mountain-type story featuring a college student working as a summer forest ranger under a strict forest supervisor, who first is critical of his work, then becomes fond of him, then extremely jealous when a female tourist arrives and distracts him from his duties. Then a forest fire starts...)

1934 ''The President Vanishes''

1935 ''O Careless Love!''

1937 ''The Hand in the Glove'' (featuring Dol Bonner)

1938 ''Mr. Cinderella''

1939 ''Mountain Cat'' (always republished as ''The Mountain Cat Murders''—a non-series mystery) 1939 ''Red Threads'' (featuring Inspector Cramer) 1941 ''Alphabet Hicks'' (a mystery republished as ''The Sound of Murder'')

Edited volumes

1942 ''The Illustrious Dunderheads'' -- a collection of isolationist, anti-WWII and pro-Nazi statements and votes by sitting Members of Congress

1946 ''Rue Morgue No. 1'' (with Louis Greenfield)—Anthology of 19 mystery stories

1956 ''Eat, Drink, and Be Buried''—Anthology of mystery stories. British edition titled ''For Tomorrow We Die''(1958) omitted three stories.

Short stories

1912 "Their Lady" (unpublished; text missing according to John McAleer)

1912 "Excess Baggage"@

1913 "The Infernal Feminine"@

1912 "A Professional Recall"#@

1913 "Pamfret and Peace"#@

1913 "A Companion of Fortune"@

1913 "A White Precipitate"@

1913 "The Pickled Picnic [or Peace]" (The Black Cat June 1913)

1913 "The Mother of Invention"#@

1913 "Methode Americaine"#@

1914 "A Tyrant Abdicates"#@

1914 "The Pay-Yeoman"#†

1914 "Secrets"#†

1914 "Rose Orchid"#†

1914 "An Agacella Or"#@

1914 "The Inevitable Third"†

1914 "Out of the Line" (included in The Rex Stout Reader)

1914 "The Lie"#†

1914 "Target Practice"†

1915 "If He Be Married"†

1915 "Baba"†

1915 "Warner and Wife"#†

1915 "A Little Love Affair"@

1915 "Art for Art's Sake"@

1915 "Another Little Love Affair"@

1915 "Jonathan Stannart's Secret Vice"#†

1915 "Santetomo"†

1915 "Justice Ends at Home"#†

1916 "It's Science That Counts"†

1916 "The Rope Dance"#†

1917 "An Officer and a Lady"#†@

1917 "Heels of Fate"#†

1917 "It Happened Last Night"(The Black Cat; repub 1936 in The Canadian Magazine)

between 1912-17 "Annuncio's Violin"@

between 1912-17 "The Strong Man"@

1936 "A Good Character for a Novel"

1953 "Tough Cop's Gift" (''aka'' "Santa Claus Beat," "Cop's Gift," "Christmas Beat," and "Nobody Deserved Justice" in magazine and anthology reprintings)

1955 "His Own Hand" (featuring Alphabet Hicks, plus Nero Wolfe recurring character Sergeant Purley Stebbins); first appeared in ''Manhunt'' magazine in April 1955, and has been reprinted in anthologies under the titles "By His Own Hand" and "Curtain Line."

Short story collections

1977 ''Justice Ends at Home, and Other Stories'' (The Viking Press; Hardcover ISBN 0-670-41105-1).Collection of 16 short stories written between 1912 and 1917, edited and introduced by John McAleer, Stout's authorized biographer. Contains the stories marked (#) above.

1998 ''Target Practice'' (Carroll & Graf Publishers; Paperback ISBN 0-7867-0496-9). Contains the stories marked (†) above.

2000 ''An Officer and a Lady and Other Stories'' (Carroll & Graf Publishers; Paperback ISBN 0-7867-0764-X). Contains the stories marked (@) above.

Books about Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe

Anderson, David R., ''Rex Stout'' (1984, Frederick Ungar; Hardcover ISBN 0-8044-2005-X / Paperback ISBN 0-8044-6009-4). Study of the Nero Wolfe series.

Baring-Gould, William S., ''Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street'' (1969, Viking Press; ISBN 0-14-006194-0). Fanciful biography. Reviewed in ''Time'', March 21, 1969 ("The American Holmes" printout/0,8816,839934,00.html).

Bourne, Michael, ''Corsage: A Bouquet of Rex Stout and Nero Wolfe'' (1977, James A. Rock & Co, Publishers; Hardcover ISBN 0-918736-00-5 / Paperback ISBN 0-918736-01-3). Posthumous collection produced in a numbered limited edition of 276 hardcovers and 1,500 softcovers. Shortly before his death Rex Stout authorized the editor to include the first Nero Wolfe novella, "Bitter End" (1940), which had not been republished in his own novella collections.''Corsage'' also includes an interview Bourne conducted with Stout (July 18, 1973; also available on audiocassette tape), and concludes with the only book publication of "Why Nero Wolfe Likes Orchids," an article by Rex Stout that first appeared in ''Life'' (April 19, 1963).

Darby, Ken, ''The Brownstone House of Nero Wolfe'' (1983, Little, Brown and Company; ISBN 0-316-17280-4). Biography of the brownstone "as told by Archie Goodwin." Includes detailed floor plans.

Gotwald, Rev. Frederick G., ''The Nero Wolfe Handbook'' (1985; revised 1992, 2000). Self-published anthology of essays edited by a longtime member of The Wolfe Pack.

Kaye, Marvin, ''The Archie Goodwin Files'' (2005, Wildside Press; ISBN 1-55742-484-5). Selected articles from The Wolfe Pack publication ''The Gazette'', edited by a charter member.

Kaye, Marvin, ''The Nero Wolfe Files'' (2005, Wildside Press; ISBN 0-8095-4494-6). Selected articles from The Wolfe Pack publication ''The Gazette'', edited by a charter member.

McAleer, John, ''Rex Stout: A Biography'' (1977, Little, Brown and Company; ISBN 0-316-55340-9). Foreword by P.G. Wodehouse. Winner of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Critical/Biographical Work in 1978. Reissued as ''Rex Stout: A Majesty's Life'' (2002, James A. Rock & Co., Publishers; Hardcover ISBN 0-918736-43-9 / Paperback ISBN 0-918736-44-7).

McAleer, John, ''Royal Decree: Conversations with Rex Stout'' (1983, Pontes Press, Ashton, MD). Published in a numbered limited edition of 1,000 copies.

McBride, O.E., ''Stout Fellow: A Guide Through Nero Wolfe's World'' (2003, iUniverse; Hardcover ISBN 0-595-65716-8 / Paperback ISBN 0-595-27861-2). Pseudonymous self-published homage.

Mitgang, Herbert, ''Dangerous Dossiers: Exposing the Secret War Against America's Greatest Authors'' (1988, Donald I. Fine, Inc.; ISBN 1-55611-077-4). Chapter 10 is titled "Seeing Red: Rex Stout."

Symons, Julian, ''Great Detectives: Seven Original Investigations'' (1981, Abrams; ISBN 0-8109-0978-2). Illustrated by Tom Adams. "We quiz Archie Goodwin in his den and gain a clue to the ultimate fate of Nero Wolfe" in a chapter titled "In Which Archie Goodwin Remembers."

Townsend, Guy M., ''Rex Stout: An Annotated Primary and Secondary Bibliography'' (1980, Garland Publishing; ISBN 0-8240-9479-4). Associate editors John McAleer, Judson Sapp and Arriean Schemer. Definitive publication history.

Van Dover, J. Kenneth, ''At Wolfe's Door: The Nero Wolfe Novels of Rex Stout'' (1991, Borgo Press, Milford Series; updated edition 2003, James A. Rock & Co., Publishers; Hardcover ISBN 0-918736-51-X / Paperback ISBN 0-918736-52-8). Bibliography, reviews and essays.

Rex Stout Archive at Boston College

Anchoring Boston College's collection of American detective fiction, the Rex Stout Archive represents the best collection in existence of the personal papers, literary manuscripts, and published works of Rex Stout, creator of the Nero Wolfe mysteries. The Rex Stout archive features materials donated by the Stout family—including manuscripts, correspondence, legal papers, publishing contracts, photographs and ephemera; first editions, international editions and archived reprints of Stout's books; and volumes from Stout's personal library, many of which found their way into Nero Wolfe's office. The comprehensive archive at Burns Library also includes the extensive personal collection of Stout's official biographer John McAleer, and the Rex Stout collection of bibliographer Judson C. Sapp.

Adaptations

Nero Wolfe adaptations

The adaptations section of the article on Nero Wolfe, and the article about the A&E; TV series ''A Nero Wolfe Mystery'' (2001–2002), provide detailed information about the various film, radio and television adaptations of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories.

''Lady Against the Odds'' (NBC)

Stout's 1937 novel ''The Hand in the Glove'' was adapted for an NBC TV movie titled ''Lady Against the Odds'', which aired April 20, 1992. Crystal Bernard starred as Dol Bonner; Annabeth Gish costarred as Sylvia Raffray. Bradford May, who also directed, received an Emmy Award for outstanding individual achievement in cinematography.

''The President Vanishes'' (Paramount)

In an interview printed in ''Royal Decree'' (1983), Rex Stout's official biographer John McAleer asked the author if there were any chance of Hollywood ever making a good Nero Wolfe movie. "I don't know," Stout replied. "I suppose so. They made a movie of another story I wrote—''The President Vanishes''. I hate like hell to admit it but it was better than the book, I think."

Rex Stout's anonymous 1934 novel was quickly transformed into a feature film by Paramount Pictures. ''The President Vanishes'' (1934, British title ''Strange Conspiracy'') was produced by Walter Wanger and directed by William Wellman, and featured a cast that includes Arthur Byron, Edward Arnold and Rosalind Russell.

References

External links

The Wolfe Pack, official site of the Nero Wolfe Society

Merely a Genius..., Winnifred Louis' fan site dedicated to Nero Wolfe and his creator, Rex Stout

''Time'' obituary (November 10, 1975)

John J. McAleer: The Making of Rex Stout's Biography (Mark Fullmer)

Stout's radicalism, the FBI, the books (from the Daily Bleed Calendar)

a comprehensive overview of Rex Stout's work and biography

Forty years with Nero Wolfe (January 12, 2009) by Terry Teachout

''wiki'' collections of quotations from Rex Stout's works

Ten Rex Stout stories (1913–1917) at The EServer (Iowa State University)

* ''Under the Andes''—e-text of one of Stout's earliest works

Bibliography of Stout's first editions in the United Kingdom

Category:1886 births Category:1975 deaths Category:American mystery writers Category:Nero Wolfe Category:People from Danbury, Connecticut Category:People from Noblesville, Indiana Category:People from Topeka, Kansas Category:University of Kansas alumni Category:Writers from Indiana Category:Writers from Kansas Category:Writers from Connecticut

bg:Рекс Стаут cs:Rex Stout da:Rex Stout de:Rex Stout et:Rex Stout es:Rex Stout fr:Rex Stout it:Rex Stout lb:Rex Stout ja:レックス・スタウト no:Rex Stout pl:Rex Stout pt:Rex Stout ru:Стаут, Рекс sk:Rex Stout fi:Rex Stout sv:Rex Stout uk:Рекс Стаут

name	Lee Horsley
birth name	Lee Arthur Horsley
birth date	May 15, 1955
birth place	Muleshoe, Bailey County, Texas, U.S.
occupation	Actor
spouse	Stephanie Downer (1980-present); 2 Children }}

Lee Arthur Horsley (born May 15, 1955) is an American film, television, and theater actor known for starring roles in the television series, ''Nero Wolfe'' (1981), ''Matt Houston'' (1982–1985), and ''Paradise'' (1988–1991). He starred in the 1982 cult film, ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'', and recorded the audiobook edition of ''Lonesome Dove''. Horsley married Stephanie Downer in 1980, fathered two children, Amber and Logan, and writes western novels.

Career

Horsley began his acting career touring in stage productions of ''West Side Story'', ''Damn Yankees'', and ''Oklahoma!''. In 1981, he portrayed TV detective Archie Goodwin in the short-lived NBC drama series ''Nero Wolfe''. He played the titular character in the 1982–1985 ABC detective series ''Matt Houston'', and starred as Ethan Allen Cord in the 1988-1991 Western Heritage Award-winning series ''Paradise''. He appeared in the feature-length cult film ''The Sword and the Sorcerer'' in 1982, and is slated to appear in its sequel ''Tales of an Ancient Empire'' in 2010. He recorded the audiobook edition of Larry McMurtry's ''Lonesome Dove''. In 2006, Horsley and Marshall R. Teague traveled the world in search of exotic game on the Outdoor Life Network for the reality show, ''Benelli's Dream Hunts''.

Personal life

Horsley was born in Muleshoe, Texas, the seat of Bailey County. He grew up in the Denver, Colorado, area, and sang in a church choir. Horsley married Stephanie Downer in 1980 and fathered a daughter, Amber, in 1981 and a son, Logan, in 1983. Horsley is an outdoorsman, horseman, rodeo participant, and western novelist.

Filmography

''Jasper: The Story of a Mule'' ''Dismembered (film) ''Unlawful Passage'' ''The Sword and the Sorcerer''

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2007 in film	2007	''Showdown at Area 51''	Diamond Joe Carson
2005 in film	2005	|	Narrator	Voice Role
2003 in film	2003	Dismembered'' ||	Joe Kenny
1999 in film	1999	Nightmare Man (1999 film)>Nightmare Man''
1994 in film	1994	|	Peter Browning
1982 in film	1982	|	Prince Talon	Saturn Award (nominated)

Television

''Wind on Water'' ''The Care and the Handling of Roses'' ''The Man from Snowy River (TV series) ''Hawkeye (TV series) ''The Corpse Had a Familiar Face'' ''Bodies of Evidence (TV series) ''Paradise (TV series) ''Palomino (film) ''The Face of Fear#Film, TV or theatrical adaptations ''Single Women Married Men'' ''Dolly (TV series) ''Infidelity (film) ''North and South (TV miniseries)#Book II ''Matt Houston'' ''Thirteen at Dinner (1985 film) ''The Love Boat'' ''The Wild Women of Chastity Gulch'' ''Nero Wolfe (1981 TV series)

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
2001	''Touched by an Angel''	Guy Garfield
1998	|	Gardner Poole
rowspan="2"	1996	|	Tom Doster	TV-Movie
''Home Song''	Tom Gardner
1995	Snowy River: The McGregor Saga'' ||	Seamus O'Neil	Episode: Rough Passage Episode: The Prodigal Father (1) Episode: The Prodigal Father (2)
1994–1995	Hawkeye'' ||	Natty 'Hawkeye' Bumppo	1 season, 22 episodes
rowspan="2"	1994	|	Ben Nicholson	TV-Movie
''French Silk (film)	French Silk''	Detective Cassidy
1992–1993	Bodies of Evidence'' ||	Lt. Ben Carroll
1988–1991	Paradise'' ||	Ethan Allen Cord	Western Heritage Award (won)
1991	Palomino'' ||	Tate Jordan	TV-Movie
1990	The Face of Fear'' ||	Graham Harris	TV-Movie
1989	|	Ross Marino	TV-Movie
1988	Dolly'' ||	Jim Miller	Episode: 1.15
1987	Infidelity'' ||	Nick Denato	TV-Movie
rowspan="2"	1986	North and South, Book II'' ||	Rafe Beaudeen	Mini-Series
''Crossings (TV miniseries)	Crossings''	Nick Burnham
1982–1985	|	Matlock 'Matt' Houston
rowspan="2"	1985	Thirteen at Dinner'' ||	Bryan Martin	TV-Movie
''When Dreams Come True(1985 film)	When Dreams Come True''	Alex Kazloff
1983	|		Episode: China Cruise(1)
1982	|	Captain John Cain	TV-Movie
1981	Nero Wolfe'' ||	Archie Goodwin

References

External links

Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:American television actors Category:American film actors Category:People from Bailey County, Texas Category:Actors from Texas

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