Fri 14 Jan 2022
Death Noted: RON GOULART (1933-2022).
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Obituaries / Deaths Noted[22] Comments
Ron Goulart died this morning, the day after his 89th birthday. As I understand it, he’d been in an assisted living facility for the last month or so. Although he’d been in poor health and we hadn’t gotten together in several years, I’m happy to say that he was a friend of mine.
Back in the 1970s through the early 90s (I’m guessing) I used to meet him every month or so at the local comic book show, where we discovered early on that we had a lot of interests in common: mysteries, science fiction, comic books and above all, pulp magazines.
It was, in fact, his book The Hardboiled Dicks, a collection of stories from the detective pulps, that changed my life around, and for the better. What’s more I know I’m not the only one. Many other collectors of those old magazine have told me the very same thing.
I’ve taken the list below from Wikipedia, and it’s not complete, but it’s a huge part of what I’ll remember him by. But the funny thing is most what I remember him by right now is the day I helped him use a metal hanger to help him get into his car he’d locked himself out of.
Goodbye, Ron. I miss you.
Non-fiction
The Hardboiled Dicks: An Anthology and Study of Pulp Detective Fiction (1967)
Assault on Childhood (1970)
Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of the Pulp Magazines (1972)
The Adventurous Decade: Comic Strips In the Thirties (Crown Publishers, 1975) ISBN 9780870002526
Comic Book Culture: An Illustrated History (1980)
The Dime Detectives (1982)
The Great Comic Book Artists (St. Martin’s Press, 1986) ISBN 978-0312345570
Focus on Jack Cole (1986)
Ron Goulart’s Great History of Comic Books: the Definitive Illustrated History from the 1890s to the 1980s (Contemporary Books, 1986) ISBN 978-0809250455
(editor) The Encyclopedia of American Comics: From 1897 to the Present (Facts on File, 1991) ISBN 978-0816018529
The Comic Book Reader’s Companion: an A-Z Guide to Everyone’s Favorite Art Form (Harper Perennial, 1993) ISBN 9780062731173
Masked Marvels and Jungle Queens: Great Comic Book Covers of the ’40s (1993)
The Funnies: 100 Years of American Comic Strips (Adams Media Corp, 1995) ISBN 9781558505391
Comic Book Encyclopedia: The Ultimate Guide to Characters, Graphic Novels, Writers, and Artists in the Comic Book Universe (Harper Collins, 2004) ISBN 978-0060538163
Good Girl Art (2006)
Good Girl Art Around the World (2008)
Alex Raymond: An Artistic Journey: Adventure, Intrigue, and Romance (2016
Non-series novels
Clockwork Pirates (1971)
Ghost Breaker (1971)
Wildsmith (1972)
The Tin Angel (1973)
The Hellhound Project (1975)
When the Waker Sleeps (1975)
The Enormous Hourglass (1976)
The Emperor of the Last Days (1977)
Nemo (1977)
Challengers of the Unknown (1977)
The Island of Dr Moreau (1977) (writing as Joseph Silva)
Capricorn One (1978)
Cowboy Heaven (1979)
Holocaust for Hire (1979) (writing as Joseph Silva)
Skyrocket Steele (1980)
The Robot in the Closet (1981)
The Tremendous Adventures of Bernie Wine (1981)
Upside Downside (1981)
The Great British Detective (1982)
Hellquad (1984)
Suicide, Inc. (1985)
A Graveyard of My Own (1985)
The Tijuana Bible (1989)
Even the Butler Was Poor (1990)
Now He Thinks He’s Dead (1992)
Murder on the Aisle (1996)
Novel series
Flash Gordon (Alex Raymond’s original story)
The Lion Men of Mongo (1974)(‘adapted by’ Con Steffanson)
The Space Circus (1974)(‘adapted by’ Con Steffanson)
The Plague of Sound (1974)(‘adapted by’ Con Steffanson)
The Time Trap of Ming XIII (1974)(‘adapted by’ Con Steffanson)
The Witch Queen of Mongo (1974)(‘adapted by’ Carson Bingham)
The War of the Cybernauts (1975)(‘adapted by’ Carson Bingham)
The Phantom (writing as Frank S Shawn)
The Golden Circle (1973)
The Hydra Monster (1973)
The Mystery of the Sea Horse (1973)
The Veiled Lady (1973)
The Swamp Rats (1974)
The Goggle-Eyed Pirates (1974)
Vampirella
Bloodstalk (1975)
On Alien Wings (1975)
Deadwalk (1976)
Blood Wedding (1976)
Deathgame (1976)
Snakegod (1976)
Vampirella (1976)
Avenger
The Man from Atlantis (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
Red Moon (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Purple Zombie (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
Dr. Time (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Nightwitch Devil (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
Black Chariots (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Cartoon Crimes (1974) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Death Machine (1975) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Blood Countess (1975) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Glass Man (1975) (as Kenneth Robeson)
The Iron Skull (1975) (as Kenneth Robeson)
Demon Island (1975) (as Kenneth Robeson)
Barnum System
The Fire-Eater (1970)
Clockwork Pirates (1971)
Shaggy Planet (1973)
Spacehawk, Inc. (1974)
The Wicked Cyborg (1978)
Dr. Scofflaw (1979)
Barnum System – Jack Summer
Death Cell (1971)
Plunder (1972)
A Whiff of Madness (1976)
Galaxy Jane (1986)
Barnum System – Ben Jolson
The Sword Swallower (1968)
Flux (1974)
Barnum System – Star Hawks
Empire 99 (1980)
The Cyborg King (1981)
Barnum System – The Exchameleon
Daredevils, LTD. (1987)
Starpirate’s Brain (1987)
Everybody Comes to Cosmo’s (1988)
Jack Conger
A Talent for the Invisible (1973)
The Panchronicon Plot (1977)
Hello, Lemuria, Hello (1979)
Odd Jobs, Inc.
Calling Dr. Patchwork (1978)
Hail Hibbler (1980)
Big Bang (1982)
Brainz, Inc. (1985)
Fragmented America
After Things Fell Apart (1970)
Gadget Man (1971)
Hawkshaw (1972)
When the Waker Sleeps (1975)
Crackpot (1977)
Brinkman (1981)
Gypsy
Quest of the Gypsy (1976)
Eye of the Vulture (1977)
Marvel Novel Series (as Joseph Silva; with Len Wein and Marv Wolfman)
Incredible Hulk: Stalker from the Stars (1977)
Captain America: Holocaust for Hire (1979)
Harry Challenge
The Prisoner of Blackwood Castle (1984)
The Curse of the Obelisk (1987)
Groucho Marx
Groucho Marx, Master Detective (1998)
Groucho Marx, Private Eye (1999)
Elementary, My Dear Groucho (1999)
Groucho Marx and the Broadway Murders (2001)
Groucho Marx, Secret Agent (2002)
Groucho Marx, King of the Jungle (2005)
Short fiction
Collections
Broke Down Engine: And Other Troubles with Machines (1971)
The Chameleon Corps: And Other Shape Changers (1972)
What’s Become of Screwloose?: And Other Inquiries (1972)
Odd Job 101: And Other Future Crimes And Intrigues (1974)
Nutzenbolts: And More Troubles with Machines (1975)
Skyrocket Steele Conquers the Universe: And Other Media Tales (1990)
Adam and Eve On a Raft: Mystery Stories (Crippen & Landru, 2001)[11]
Stories
“Ella Speed”, Fantastic, April 1960
“Subject to Change” Galaxy Science Fiction, October 1960
Harry Challenge Series
The Secret of the Black Chateau – Espionage Magazine, February 1985
Monster of the Maze – Espionage Magazine, February 1986
The Phantom Highwayman – The Ultimate Halloween, edited by Marvin Kaye (2001)
The Woman in the Mist – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December, 2002
The Incredible Steam Man – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May, 2003
The Secret of the Scarab – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, April, 2005
The Problem of the Missing Werewolf – H. P. Lovecraft’s Magazine of Horror #4, (Spring / Summer 2007)
The Mystery of the Missing Automaton – Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #1, (Winter 2008)
The Mystery of the Flying Man – Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine #2, (Spring 2009)
The Secret of the City of Gold – The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, January / February 2012
The Somerset Wonder –
January 14th, 2022 at 2:59 pm
I guess Steve and I heard about Ron’s death about the same time. We had heard that he was in poor health but still it’s quite a shock to learn that a friendship of over 50 years is now ended.
Like Steve, The Hardboiled Dicks had a big impact on me when it was published in the late 1960’s. Prior to the book, I had thought that only the SF pulps had survived in any number. At the conventions all I saw was stacks of SF pulps, there were very few other genres for sale.
After I got out of the army, I wrote Ron and asked him if he cared to sell me his detective pulps that he used to research his book. He sent me two boxes of Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, etc. And boy were they cheap! Only a couple bucks each. Now many issues of these titles would cost a couple hundred each.
Over the years I would meet Ron at various conventions, though he never made it to a Pulpcon. I tried to get Rusty Hevelin to have Ron as a GOH but he wanted only authors that had been published in the pulps. Eventually the pulp guys all died off and I was told to check with Ron to see if he would be interested in attending but by then Ron didn’t want to travel, I guess for health reasons, etc.
I remember one convention in the late 1970’s when Ron and Mike Avallone were co-guests. The both of them on the same stage were a sight as they warily looked at each other. Eventually Ron realized I was crazy as hell and used me as a villain in two of his series paperback novels. One was an Avenger novel, titled RED MOON and I was Dr. Walker-Martin. Steve was used as a character also as was Bob Sampson, Jack Irwin, and Jack Deveney.
Every year when I attended the NYC Paperback show put on by Gary Lovisi, Ron Goulart would be there as a guest. We always talked for awhile about pulps and paperbacks. Ron Even introduced me a couple times to other writers as a collector with a complete set of Black Mask. I don’t think they believed him because Ron was quite a kidder.
Decades after the publication of The Hardboiled Dicks I got Ron to sign my copy. He wrote “To Walker–whose life I ruined”.
Hell, Ron, you didn’t ruin my life, you saved it! My pulp collection has pulled me through some tough times, this recent pandemic the latest example.
Rest In Peace Ron.
January 14th, 2022 at 7:29 pm
The book that Ron used my name as one of the characters was DR. TIME, one of the books he wrote as a continuation of the “Avenger” pulp series. (No connection to the Marvel superhero group or the Steed & Mrs Peel TV show). I don’t remember offhand if I was a villain or an innocent party who got bumped off early, but I was.
January 14th, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Really sad to hear this. Goulart was my entree into hardboiled PI fiction with his article “The Private Eye” in Mercury Press’ short-lived PS Magazine (Aug. 1966). The magazine is online at Archive.org. A couple of other series characters: PI Jack Easy in four pb originals from Ace Books, and occult detective Max Kearny. GHOST BREAKER was a collection of the Kearny stories.
January 14th, 2022 at 7:35 pm
You’re right about Wikipedia missing the PI John Easy stories, and the list of his short fiction is way too short. When I went there this morning to use what I could, they didn’t even have his death noted yet. I imagine someone there will be working on filling out his complete entry, and when they do, I’ll update my list here as well.
January 14th, 2022 at 5:49 pm
I never met Ron Goulart.
But I learned so much from his books.
His “The Hardboiled Dicks” did much to introduce me to pulp fiction.
January 14th, 2022 at 7:42 pm
One of the reasons he knew so much about the pulps, comic books, mysteries, science fiction, old time radio, is that starting when he was a kid, he made an effort to meet or write to so many of the greats in all those fields. What’s ironic to me is that his name had come up just this past week as one of two authors still alive who knew Cornell Woolrich, the other being SF writer Barry Malzberg.
The one article he did for Mystery*File dealt with his writing to Leslie Charteris when he was in junior high, and hearing back:
https://mysteryfile.com/blog/index.php?s=goulart+charteris&submit=Search
January 14th, 2022 at 9:27 pm
I had only just wished him a happy birthday when I heard. One of the giants in the field, equally respected in mystery, science fiction, among comic and pulp collectors. You could spend all day listing his achievements.
Saying he will be missed seems too little. Ron Goulart was essential.
January 14th, 2022 at 9:31 pm
I’m going to find something he wrote and read it in his honor tonight. It won’t be difficult.
January 15th, 2022 at 7:42 am
The name Ron Goulart on something meant I wanted to read it. He lent his insight and intelligence to what he wrote, even if he was writing about what other writers wrote.
As a teen in the 1970s, I became aware of Ron Goulart with the Richard Benson, Avenger novels, and he was a guide as I got deeper in writers who for wrote for pulp magazines. I would see him at conventions in the 1980s, but I don’t remember ever chatting with him. However, about five years or so back, I picked up on E-Bay a batch of pulp-magazine fanzines–,Tom and Ginger Johnson’s Echoes,I think–and when they arrived, in the return address was Ron Goulart’s name and next to it, a tiny felt tip-pen caricature of glasses and moustache, and I thought, “well, I’ll darned; that was unexpected.”
January 15th, 2022 at 7:56 am
Sad. I heard this yesterday. Yes, THE HARDBOILED DICKS was a classic, but I read a number of his other books and collections of his stories too.
RIP
January 15th, 2022 at 11:20 am
The Wikipedia list doesn’t include one of his most significant series. He was William Shatner’s ghost-writer for the TekWar books, probably his only best-sellers.
January 15th, 2022 at 11:36 am
It was sort of hush hush for a while whether Ron had written the Tek War books or not, but it’s well known now. No update on Wiki yet. I’ll keep looking and if/when they do, I’ll add any and all additions to my post.
January 15th, 2022 at 6:50 pm
I can’t say Ron and I were close friends, but we were friendly acquaintances and I enjoyed talking to him the half-dozen or so times we were together at some event (usually Gary Lovisi’s show for paperback collectors). In the early days of my zine BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER he very generously allowed me to reprint a piece he’d written about meeting Cornell Woolrich.
Like others here, I became interested in detective pulps as a result of reading THE HARDBOILED DICKS, which came out while I was still in grade school. CHEAP THRILLS was a major inspiration too, and I also purchased his works on the history of comic strips and comic books.
January 16th, 2022 at 1:08 pm
Add one more to the list of readers I know who first learned about the detective pulps from THE HARDBOILED DICKS.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:21 pm
Im sorry to hear about this, I had just talked about him at Crimereads a few days before his death.
January 18th, 2022 at 8:36 pm
Yes, this came up in Comment #6, in which I said “…his name had come up just this past week as one of two authors still alive who knew Cornell Woolrich, the other being SF writer Barry Malzberg.”
This of course came up after your article on Woolrich over at Crimereads. I wonder if there’s any one we’ve missed who ever met Woolrich who’s still alive today, or if Barry Malzberg is now the only one.
January 19th, 2022 at 1:22 pm
This is heartwarming to read all this about my Dad. He loved what he did and was good at it. I miss him.
Please keep up the recollections, they comfort me and my family, thank you. Sean Goulart
January 19th, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Hi Sean, I was so sad to hear that your Dad died. Hopefully it is some comfort to you that he loved the life he led and as you say, he was good at it. You and I met a few times when you were younger. You wouldn’t remember me, though. I’m sure you came along with him to the Hartford comic book show a few times. I met your Mom once when I came down to their house (in Weston?) to help him sell stuff on eBay early on. She won’t remember me either, but say hello from me anyway. Glad my blog post has helped, if only in a small way. All my best wishes, Steve Lewis
January 19th, 2022 at 11:24 pm
Steve, he was surely one of the last. I got ahold of his written recollections of Woolrich and found them really interesting in light of other writing about CW. Im planning on reviewing his early hardboiled anthology next month. I actually had had it my mind to try to talk with him about Woolrich, he was a couple years younger than my father.
January 20th, 2022 at 9:16 am
Ron made a point of meeting and talking to loads of authors, artists and cartoonists over the years, not just Woolrich, but other pulp writers as well. I wonder how many other people still alive happened to meet Anthony Boucher in person, for example. (SF writer Robert Silverberg, for one, I know.) It’s good you were able to read his written recollections of Cornell Woolrich. I’d hate to think all that knowledge of the other people he knew or was in touch with is gone now.
July 8th, 2022 at 5:30 pm
Just came upon this. Something I don’t see mentioned in the comments
Is how funny his stuff is. That’s mostly what I read him for, the humor. It is wild and wacky and unique.
July 8th, 2022 at 9:05 pm
“…wild and wacky and unique.” That’s Ron, all right.