Twice served on the Board of Directors of the Mystery Writers of America.Private Eye Writers of America Lifetime Achievement Award (1986).Prather's wife, Tina, died in April 2004, after 58 years of marriage. It was published October 2011, in print and ebook formats by Pendleton Artists, with permission of the Richard S.
Prather Manuscript Collection at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, Wyoming.Īt the time of Prather's death, he had his last unpublished Shell Scott Mystery complete manuscript.
Prather's final book, Shellshock, was published in hardcover in 1987 by Tor Books. Richard S Prather - Lie Down, Killer (Gold Medal Book 1963) WyrdBritain (481) 6. Shell Scott was the best-known creation of fiction writer Richard S. He gave up writing for several years and grew avocados. Richard Scott Prather (Septem Febru) was an American mystery novelist, best known for creating the 'Shell Scott' series. Prather had a disagreement with his publisher Pocket Books and sued them in 1975.
It would be the start of a long series that numbered more than three dozen titles featuring the Shell Scott character. The first Shell Scott mystery, "Case of the Vanishing Beauty" was published in 1950. He left that job to become a full-time writer in 1949. That year he married Tina Hager and began working as a civilian chief clerk of surplus property at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California. He served in the United States Merchant Marine during World War II, from 1942 through the end of the war in 1945. T he 13th Mystery Writers of America Anthology, edited and introduced by Shell Scott ‘s creator is, predictably, jam-packed with examples of humourous crime stories including, naturally a Shell Scott romp. Prather was born in Santa Ana, California and spent a year at Riverside Junior College (now Riverside Community College). Prather, Richard S., editor, The Comfortable Coffin Buy this book Fawcett Gold Medal Books, 1960.