David Goodis

David Goodis (2 March 1917 – 7 January 1967) was an American noir fiction writer. Born in Philadelphia, Goodis had two younger brothers, but one died of meningitis at the age of three. After high school in Philadelphia, Goodis studied at Indiana University for a year before transferring to Temple University, where he graduated in 1938 with a journalism degree. While working at an advertising agency, he started writing his first novel, Retreat fro... more

David Goodis (2 March 1917 – 7 January 1967) was an American noir fiction writer. Born in Philadelphia, Goodis had two younger brothers, but one died of meningitis at the age of three. After high school in Philadelphia, Goodis studied at Indiana University for a year before transferring to Temple University, where he graduated in 1938 with a journalism degree. While working at an advertising agency, he started writing his first novel, Retreat from Oblivion. After it was published by Dutton in 1939, Goodis moved to New York City, where he wrote under several pseudonyms for pulp magazines, including Battle Birds, Daredevil Aces, Dime Mystery, Horror Stories, Terror Tales and Western Tales, sometimes churning out 10,000 words a day. Over a five-and-a-half year period, according to some sources, he produced five million words for the pulp magazines. During the 1940s, he scripted for radio adventure serials, including Hop Harrigan, House of Mystery and Superman. Novels Goodis wrote during... less