Norman A. Fox

Norman Arnold Fox (May 26, 1911 – March 24, 1960) was an American author best known for Western stories and novels. His stories were often set around actual events in Montana history and contained authentic detail for the period. Norman's works were adapted into radio programs, live television and motion pictures.

Biography

Norman Arnold Fox was born May 26, 1911, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan to Alfred and Florence Pearl Fox. The family moved to Montana in 1916 to homestead but eventually settled in Great Falls. Norman developed a love of the Old West and began dabbling with writing while in high school. He sold his first story in 1933 and turned to writing full-time in late 1937 when he lost his job due to the Great Depression. While initially writing short stories for pulp magazines such as Western Story Magazine, Norman succeeded in having his first novel published in 1940.

For the rest of his life Norman continued writing short stories while publishing one to two novels per year. His popularity was greatest in the mid-1950s when his stories were regularly filmed, "making the author a brief star of sorts to the film community" (Herzberg 2005). The films made from his novels featured such stars as: Randolph Scott, Audie Murphy, Tony Curtis, and James Stewart.

Norman was in the prime of his career when his life was cut short by cancer. He died on March 24, 1960, and is buried in Great Falls, Montana.

Works

Books Year Title Genre Publisher 1941 The Gunsight Kid Western Phoenix Press 1941 Gun Handy Western Phoenix Press 1942 The Six Gun Syndicate Western Phoenix Press 1942 The Stampede Kid Western Phoenix Press 1943 Lord Six Gun Western Phoenix Press 1944 The Thundering Trail Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1945 Thorson of Thunder Gulch Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1945 Silent in the Saddle Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1946 Dead End Trail Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1946 The Valley of the Vanishing Riders Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1947 Cactus Cavalier Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1947 The Rider from Yonder Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1948 The Devil's Saddle Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1948 The Feathered Sombrero Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1949 The Thirsty Land Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1949 Shadow on the Range Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1950 Stormy in the West Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1950 The Phantom Spur Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1951 Roughshod Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1951 Tall Man Riding Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1951 The Longhorn Legion Western Dell 1952 Ghostly Hoofbeats Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1953 Long Lightning Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1953 The Rawhide Years Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1954 Broken Wagon Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1956 Night Passage Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1956 War on the Range aka The Rider from Yonder Western Fawcett 1956 Stranger from Arizona originally as "Winchester Cut" by Mark Sabin (1951) Fawcett Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1957 The Badlands Beyond Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1957 The Valiant Ones Short Stories Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1958 Rope the Wind Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1959 Reckoning at Rimbow Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1960 The Hard Pursued Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1961 The Trembling Hills Western Dodd, Mead & Co. 1968 They Rode the Shining Hills Short Stories Western Dodd, Mead & Co.

Films

Gunsmoke (1953) from the novel "Roughshod" (1951) Tall Man Riding (1955) from the novel "Tall Man Riding" (1951) The Rawhide Years (1955) from the novel "The Rawhide Years" (1953) Night Passage (1957) from the novel "Night Passage" (1956)