Walter Wager
Walter Wager | |
---|---|
Northwestern Law School (LLM) | |
Spouse | Sylvia Leonard Wager (divorced; one child) Winifred McIvor Wager, married 1975 - July 11, 2004 (his death) |
Walter Herman Wager[1] (September 4, 1924 – July 11, 2004)[1] was an American crime and espionage-thriller novelist and former editor-in-chief of Playbill magazine. The movie Telefon, starring Charles Bronson, was inspired by his novel of the same name. His book 58 Minutes was adapted into Die Hard 2, starring Bruce Willis.
Education and career
Walter Wager was born in
Afterward, he spent a year at the
Shortly afterward, Wager segued into writing and producing radio and television documentaries
Two years later, he published a second Avon paperback, Operation Intrigue, under the name Walter Herman. From 1963 to 1996, Wager was editor-in-chief of Playbill magazine, and from 1966 to 1978 as editor of ASCAP Today, the magazine of the music-licensing organization the
Wager was a member of the board of directors of the Mystery Writers of America, and its secretary beginning in 2001.[3]
Personal life
Wager married Sylvia Leonard (d. 1989), a fellow American student he met at the Sorbonne, in 1951 in Paris.[3] The two had a daughter, Lisa, before the marriage ended in divorce.[1] He married second wife Winifred McIvor Wage in 1975.[3]
A resident of
Books
Wager was best known as an author of crime and espionage thrillers. His novel Viper Three (
His series Blue Leader, Blue Moon, and Blue Murder featured tough
Bibliography
- Death Hits the Jackpot (1954; as John Tiger)
- The Pentagon's Favorite Magicians (1954; as John Tiger. Not published until 2014 by request of United States Department of Defense[6])
- Operation Intrigue (1956; as Walter Herman)
- I Spy (1965; as John Tiger)
- I Spy #2: Masterstroke (1966; as John Tiger)
- I Spy #3: Superkill (1967; as John Tiger)
- I Spy #4: Wipeout (1967; as John Tiger)
- I Spy #5: Countertrap (1967; as John Tiger)
- I Spy #6: Doomdate (1967; as John Tiger)
- Mission: Impossible (1967; as John Tiger)
- The Playwrights Speak (interviews with Tennessee Williams, Harold Pinter, Arnold Wesker, Arthur Miller, John Osborne; 1967)
- I Spy #7: Death-Twist (1968; as John Tiger)
- Mission: Impossible #4: Code Name Little Ivan (1969; as John Tiger)
- Sledgehammer (1970)
- Warhead (1971)
- Viper Three (1972), adapted for film as Twilight's Last Gleaming (1977)
- Swap (1973)
- Telefon (1975), adapted for film as Telefon (1977)
- Time of Reckoning (1977)
- Blue Leader (1979)
- Blue Moon (1981)
- The Wildcatters (The Making of America, Book 21) (Dell Publishing; as Lee Davis Willoughby; 1981)
- Blue Murder (1982)
- Designated Hitter (1982)
- The Caribbeans (Dell Publishing; as Lee Davis Willoughby; 1983)
- Otto's Boy (1985)
- Raw Deal, novelization of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film (1986)
- 58 Minutes (1987), adapted for film as Die Hard 2 (1990)
- The Spirit Team (1996)
- Tunnel (2001)
- Kelly's People (2002)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Saxon, Wolfgang (July 14, 2004). "Walter Wager, Spy Novelist, Is Dead at 79". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ a b c d Childs, David (July 20, 2004). "Walter Wager: Thriller Writer who Broke into Hollywood". The Independent. UK. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Walter Wager". The Telegraph. UK. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ISBN 0-446-89588-1.
- ^ a b McIver, Joan. "An Interview with Walter Wager". Orchard Press. Archived from the original on October 19, 2003. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ a b "Memorandum for the members of USCIB" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 18, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2016.
- ^ "Lee Davis Willoughby". Lancashire, UK: Fantastic Fiction Limited. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
- ^ "The Wildcatters (The Making of America, Book 21)". Bookshare.org. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
Copyrighted By: Walter Wager.
External links
- Walter Wager at IMDb
- "Walter Wager". Lancashire, UK: Fantastic Fiction Limited. Retrieved February 18, 2013.