Ernest K. Gann
Ernest Gann | |
---|---|
Spouse | Eleanor Michaud Dodie Post |
Children | 3 |
Ernest Kellogg Gann (October 13, 1910 – December 19, 1991) was an American
Early life
Gann was born October 13, 1910, in
Gann and Eleanor moved to New York where he found work at
After earning his pilot certificate, Gann spent much of his free time aloft in the Waco A, flying for pleasure. However, the continuing
Airline career
Gann made an acquaintance with George McCabe,
At the end of World War II, the Air Transport Command released the civilian pilots and aircraft to their airlines. American Airlines was assigned its pre-war routes, which were domestic routes only. The number-one senior pilot at American Airlines,
Gann would fly for one more airline, many years later. After becoming a very successful novelist and screenwriter, Gann had the desire for one more aviation adventure. He ferried a DC-3 from California to Honolulu to
Sailing and conservationism
During his tenure with Matson, Gann moved his family to San Francisco, and tried his luck at commercial fishing during the end of his airline career. Gann started the Western Ocean Fishing Company and purchased a 40 ft. fishing boat which was renamed the Fred Holmes after his major investor.[2] This venture was short lived, leaving Gann once again unemployed. Gann's father moved to the famed 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach for his retirement.[2] In the early 1950s, Gann began to write Soldier of Fortune in a room at the Sundial Lodge, and his typist used the large dressing room as a bedroom.[10]
In a bid to help his son and keep the grandkids nearby, he bought Gann a cottage a mile down the road in Pebble Beach. This cottage is where Gann's writing really took off, finishing the High and the Mighty, Fiddler's Green, Soldier of Fortune and working the associated movie deals. As Gann's fortunes grew, Eleanor's health began to fade. His marriage began to suffer and Eleanor eventually decided to divorce Gann. She was afflicted with numerous health problems, including severe rheumatoid arthritis, and following several years of declining health, she died on December 23, 1966, at Pebble Beach. Gann would endure several more tragedies in his personal life, including the death of his eldest son, George, who was swept overboard in a storm while working on an oil tanker in the Gulf of Alaska in 1973.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Halifax_DSC00050_-_The_Mar_%287431285736%29.jpg/220px-Halifax_DSC00050_-_The_Mar_%287431285736%29.jpg)
Gann had a lifelong love for
As his family life deteriorated, Gann began spending time with a friend, Dodie Post, whom he later married.[13] Both before and after they were married they were partners in adventure, travel, and later, environmental causes. In 1966 they purchased Red Mill Farm,[14] an 800-acre (324 ha) ranch on San Juan Island in the state of Washington. This was the beginning of his next great passion, environmental conservation. For that purpose, they later donated the entirety of their ranch to the San Juan Preservation Trust after Post's death.[15]
Literary career
Gann described his writing methods as torturous; he would often literally chain himself to his desk until he finished a certain amount of text. He suffered long periods of writer's block, and frequently worried that he would run out of ideas. Despite his successful career, he continued to have strong feelings of self-doubt and often expressed surprise at the critical praise he received.
Gann's major works include the novel The High and the Mighty and his aviation memoir Fate Is the Hunter (regarded by many as one of the best-ever books about aviation).[1] Notes and short stories scribbled during long layovers on his journeys across the North Atlantic became the source for his first serious fiction novel, Island in the Sky (1944), which was inspired by an actual Arctic rescue mission. It became an immediate best-seller as did Blaze of Noon (1946), a story about early airmail operations. His comprehensive autobiography entitled A Hostage to Fortune was published in 1978.[2]
Although many of his 21 best-selling novels reveal Gann's devotion to aviation, others, including Twilight for the Gods, and Fiddler's Green display his love of the sea. His experiences as a fisherman, skipper and sailor, all contributed storylines and depth to his nautical fiction. He later wrote a memoir of his sailing life named Song of the Sirens.[11]
Gann wrote, or adapted from his books, the stories and screenplays for several movies and television shows. For some of these productions he also served as a consultant and technical adviser during filming. Although it received positive reviews, Gann was displeased with the movie version of Fate Is the Hunter, and removed his name from the credits.[16] (He later lamented that this decision cost him a "fortune" in royalties, as the movie played repeatedly on television for years afterward.) He wrote the story for the television miniseries Masada, based on The Antagonists, and the story for the 1980 Walt Disney movie, The Last Flight of Noah's Ark.[17]
Painting
Gann had a chicken coop on his Red Mill farm converted into an artist studio and writing office. He painted nautical scenes and aviation related paintings.[18] Some of the dust jackets on his novels feature his original art work. Gann considered painting as his "second career" and hoped to inspire other senior citizens to continue the pursuit of their interests.[3]
Death and honors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f2/Ernest_K._Gann_writing_studio.jpg/300px-Ernest_K._Gann_writing_studio.jpg)
During the autumn of 1991, Gann again took to the skies to mark the 50th anniversary of his promotion to Captain for American Airlines; it would be his last flight. On December 19, 1991, Gann died in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, at the age of 81 from kidney failure.[19]
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) moved Gann's entire chicken coop studio, including the barber's chair Gann used at his desk, to the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where it is on public display.[20]
Gann was a member or honorary member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers, Order of Daedalians, Black Birds, OX-5 Aviation Pioneers, Secret Order of Quiet Birdmen, Colgate President's Club, Washington Athletic Club, Grey Eagles Club, 9th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, Retired Eastern Pilots Association, and American Fighter Pilots Association.[21]
Washington Governor
Flying magazine ranked Gann thirty-fourth in its 2013 list of the 51 heroes of aviation.[24]
Bibliography
Novels
- Island in the Sky.† New York: Viking, 1944
- Blaze of Noon.† New York: Holt, 1946
- Benjamin Lawless. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1948
- Fiddler's Green. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1950
- The High and the Mighty. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1953
- Soldier of Fortune. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1953
- Twilight for the Gods. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1956
- Trouble with Lazy Ethel. Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York: Sloane, 1958
- Of Good and Evil. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1962
- In the Company of Eagles. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1966
- The Antagonists, AKA Masada.‡ New York: Simon & Schuster, 1970
- Band of Brothers. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1973
- Brain 2000. New York: Doubleday, 1980
- The Aviator. Farmington Hills, Michigan: GK Hall, 1981
- The Magistrate. Westminster, Maryland: Arbor House, 1982
- Gentlemen of Adventure. Westminster, Maryland: Arbor House, 1983
- The Triumph.‡ New York: Simon & Schuster, 1986
- The Bad Angel. Westminster, Maryland: Arbor House, 1987
† Published as Armed Services Editions
‡ Two-part series
Nonfiction
- Articles
- Gann contributed numerous articles to the aviation magazine Flying. In one series, he described his exotic travels with Dodie in their Cessna 310, the Noon Balloon, named because of its typically late departure time.[25]
- Autobiographies
- Fate Is the Hunter (memoir). New York: Simon & Schuster, 1961
- A Hostage to Fortune (autobiography). New York: Knopf, 1978
- Song of the Sirens (memoir). New York: Simon & Schuster, 1969
- Guides
- Sky Roads. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1940
- All American Aircraft. 1941
- Getting Them into the Blue. 1942
- Ernest K. Gann's Flying Circus. Macmillan, 1974
- The Black Watch: The Men Who Fly America's Secret Spy Planes. New York: Random House, 1989
Adaptations
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/PA7-S_mailwing.jpg/220px-PA7-S_mailwing.jpg)
Feature films
- Blaze of Noon (1947) (novel)
- The Raging Tide (1951) (novel Fiddler's Green, screenplay)
- Island in the Sky (1953) (novel, screenplay)
- The High and the Mighty (1954) (novel, screenplay)
- Soldier of Fortune (1955) (novel, screenplay)
- Twilight for the Gods (1958) (novel, screenplay)
- Fate Is the Hunter (1964) (memoir)
- The Last Flight of Noah's Ark (1980) (story)
- The Aviator (1985) (novel)
Television
- Masada (1981, TV miniseries) (novel The Antagonists)
References
- ^ a b Schiff, Barry (5 January 2018). "The Proficient pilot: Survey says..." AOPA.org. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0-394-49984-0.
- ^ a b c d "Author Ernest Gann, 81; Enjoyed His Second Career As A Painter". archive.seattletimes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ a b c "Eagle Profile - Ernest K. Gann". Gathering of Eagles Foundation. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Freeman, Paul. "Christie Airport". Abandoned & Little Known Airfields: New York State, Rockland County. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ ISBN 0-671-63603-0.
- ^ McDowell, Edwin (5 April 1981). "Behind the Best Sellers: Ernest K. Gann". The New York Times. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ Harder, Robert O. "Transocean Airlines". RobertO.Harder.com. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "On the Beak of an Ancient Pelican". Flying Magazine - Google Books. March 1993. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ "Historic Inns Carmel-by-the-Sea" (PDF). Carmel Historical Survey. Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Apr 1992. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
- ^ ISBN 0340108444.
- ^ a b "Schooner Albatros". Classicsailboats.org. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "Dodie Post Gann". US Ski-Snowboard Hall of Fame. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "Red Mill Farm Preserve". San Juan Preserve Trust. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ Webber/Roochvarg, Lynn. "San Juan Preservation Trust". HistoryLink.org. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Harrison, William. "Fate is the Hunter". DVD Talk. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "The Last Flight of Noah's Ark". Disney. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "Ernest K. Gann Original Oil Painting". WorthPoint. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
- ^ "Adventure Novelist Ernest K Gann, 81". Chicago Tribune. 22 December 1991. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- ^ Munson, Russel (November 1997). "Oshkosh '97". Flying Magazine. 124 (11): 70–71. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ "Ernest Kellogg Gann". Nebraska Authors. Nebraska Library Heritage Association. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ "Ex-Speaker Foley wins Medal of Merit". Kitsap Sun. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Summers Walker, Julie (8 May 2009). "Island Hopping". AOPA. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ Goyer, Isabel (10 September 2020). "51 Heroes & Heroines of Aviation". flyingmag.com. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
- ^ Gann, Ernest K (August 1977). "Rounding the Tip". Flying Magazine - Google Books. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
- Gann, Ernest K. Ernest K. Gann's Flying Circus. New York: Macmillan (1974) ISBN 0-02-542400-9
- Gann, Ernest K. and Lazlo Pal. A Gentleman Of Adventure – Ernest K. Gann (DVD). Seattle: Pal Productions, Inc. (1996) ASIN B00004Y55X
- The High and the Mighty (Collector's Edition) DVD. Burbank, California: Paramount Home Entertainment (2005)
- Maltin, Leonard. "Ernest K. Gann – Adventurer, Author & Artist (film documentary)." The High and the Mighty (Collector's Edition) DVD. Burbank, California: Paramount Home Entertainment (2005)