PCL MS 109 Michael Avallone Collection
MLA Citation
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| Title | PCL MS 109 Michael Avallone Collection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Introduction | Michael Avallone was a freelance writer, editor, cartoonist, and film critic. He has written in almost every literary genre and is known for his fast-paced, pulp-like, novels. The Michael Avallone Collection dates from 1941 to 1982 and consists of various correspondence, notes, newspaper articles, and book reviews. The collection spans ½ linear feet and was originally filed in the Michael Cook Collection but was separated out May 22, 1989. There are no restrictions placed upon the use of this collection for scholarly purposes. The collection is open for research; however, photocopying of manuscripts must comply with applicable copyright laws. Researchers are responsible for securing copyright permission when using all unpublished manuscripts and published works authored by Michael Avallone. This register was compiled by Annie Rose Land, Popular Culture Library Associate I, in June 2013. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Biographical Sketch | Michael Avallone was born October 27, 1924 in New York, New York. He was one of seventeen children born to Michael Angelo and Marie Antoinette Avallone. Tragedy struck the family when his father, a stone mason, lost his business and home during the Great Depression. Michael Avallone experienced a love for the English language at a very young age, and thrived on pulps and their fast paced, energetic story lines. He married twice, first to Lucille Asero in 1949 and then to Frances Weinstein May 27, 1960. He has three children: Stephen (from marriage with Lucille Asero), Susan, and David (from marriage with Frances Weinstein). During World War Two he served in the United States Army from 1943-1946, in the European Theatre. He has claimed that his experiences during the Great Depression and WWII have served as an inspiration for his writings. He worked as a freelance writer, editor, cartoonist, film critic, and a creative writing teacher for high schools and colleges. He was a guest lecturer on short stories and mystery writing and he served as the Chairman of the Motion Picture Awards Committee from 1965-1967. He was a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA), and served as the New York Chapter Director, from 1962-1966. Michael Avallone got his start writing sports pulps and moved his way up to editing men's magazines. He served as the editor for the MWA newsletter from 1962-1965. During his writing career he has managed to turn out more than 1,000 published works under more than a dozen pseudonyms. He has authored in virtually every genre from gothic and detective to poetry, essays, and movie reviews. He believed that a professional writer should be able to write on any subject. Some of his writing highlights include the Ed Noon detective series, movie novelizations and TV novelizations. He had the reputation of the "Fastest Typewriter in the East" and is known to have written a book in a day and a half. He died February 26, 1999. Michael Avallone viewed writing as more of a compulsion than a profession. He claims he was writing since he first discovered pencils and has never stopped since. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Scope and Content | The Michael Avallone Collection consists of correspondence with Michael Cook as well as other letters praising or criticizing his written works. It includes several book reviews and book covers, as well as articles that mention or discuss Michael Avallone within them. There are several pieces of writing that Michael Avallone authored in the collection that seem to be notes and thoughts about life, his writings, and other authors. A researcher interested in the thoughts of a pulp writer would find research value in this collection. Please note that Boston University also holds an extensive collection of Michael Avallone’s works and life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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