Mon 8 Jan 2007

At present the entry for mystery writer Pat Stadley in Crime Fiction IV, by Allen J. Hubin, looks like this:

STADLEY, PAT (Anna May Gough) (1918- ); Reference: CA (Contemporary Authors)

* * * Autumn of a Hunter (Random, 1970, hc) [California] Collins, 1971. Also published as: The Murder Hunt. Major, 1977.
* * * The Black Leather Barbarians (Bobbs, 1960, hc) [Los Angeles, CA]
* * * -Daddy-O (Signet, 1960, pb)
* * _The Murder Hunt (Major, 1977, pb) See: Autumn of a Hunter (Random 1970).

Recently discovered is that Autumn of a Hunter was the basis for the TV movie The Deadly Hunt ( Four Star, 1971; scw: Eric Bercovici, Jerry Ludwig; dir: John Newland).

Searches and double-checking into birth and death dates never end as well. Taken from a recent email, Al reveals what he has learned most lately about Ms. Stadley:

This one is a bit confused, but here’s what I’ve found and what I’ve concluded. Stadley has a CA entry, which gives her birth as 8/31/1918 and her residence as Citrus Heights, California. On the other hand, the social security death benefits record has a Patricia A. Stadley, born 9/1/1917, died 2/27/2003 in Citrus Heights, California. I conclude that this is the author in question and I’m going to adopt the social security dates for CFIV.

A plot description for Autumn of a Hunter might read thusly: “A wealthy woman trying to outrun three hired killers in the woods of the high Sierras is trapped by a forest fire.”

… while the cover blurb on the Signet reprint of The Black Leather Barbarians certainly tells the would-be reader what’s in store:

“A rough, revealing novel about youthful California motorcyclists and what makes them roar.” — San Francisco Chronicle.

 

7 Responses to “Death Noted: PAT STADLEY (1917-2003).”

1. Andrea Stadley Says:
   May 15th, 2007 at 3:35 pm

   Pat Stadley was my grandmother and yes she did pass away in 2003. She was a beautiful and talented woman. She will never be forgotten because of the writings she left behind for us all to enjoy. I love and miss her dearly!

2. Emma Paquin Says:
   May 9th, 2009 at 11:22 am

   I knew Pat Stadley in Arcadia before she had anything published. She was a good friend and always considered a talented writer.

   Would like to know how the granddaughter is related? Neither son (Bill or Jerry) was married the last I heard.

3. Kathy Smith Says:
   September 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pm

   Andrea Stadley is the beautiful and talented daughter of William and Lanis Stadley.

4. Thomas Stadley Says:
   September 11th, 2017 at 4:11 pm

   Pat Stadley is also my grandmother who I get my ability to write from.

5. Barbara Nance Raney Says:
   November 18th, 2019 at 9:21 pm

   Pat dear Pat was my aunt by marriage to my favorite uncle Jim Stadley
   and hardly a day doesn’t go by that I think of them. Came to her
   memorial in Sacramento and it was lovely, she would have approved.
   I remember them both from their days in Arcadia, my parents, Tommy and Dolores Nance used to drive over once in awhile on a Sunday to visit and their two sons’ and I would play, although they were kind of rough on a girl, but survived the whole ordeal, my mother enjoyed her
   brother Jim as a child and they were close with brother Carlisle.
   When my grandparents, Thomas and Ollie Stadley, lived in ? (I’m 88) now and the mind does play tricks, I think Pomona, I remember aunt
   Pat lived down the street and as a little girl I remember that she lived in a rather large home with horses and one time when I was playing in their barn I stepped in a horse pile and my uncle Jim (JuJu to me) laughed and told me to step into a pile of straw………well you know the rest.

6. Steve Says:
   November 18th, 2019 at 9:27 pm

   Wonderful memories, Barbara. Thanks for sharing some of them with us!

7. Benoît Tadié Says:
   April 11th, 2020 at 3:00 am

   Robert Edmond Alter’s great second Gold Medal paperback, Carny Kill (1966) is dedicated to Pat Stadley.

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