Robert Leslie Bellem was a prolific American pulp-fiction writer, best known for his creation of Dan Turner, Hollywood Detective.
Background An only child, Bellem grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Philadelphians James P. Bellem (b. ~1871) and Roberta May Black (~1876–1936). The couple divorced in 1908.“Suits Begun”, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 10, 1908.
On becoming a writer, Bellem recounted: “Some guys are born to be hanged; others are predestined to a writing career. I’m one of the latter. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been putting words on paper because I can’t help it.”Robert Leslie Bellem, “Introducing the Author”, Fantastic Adventures, July 1940.
His first known published works were a series of poems which appeared in the potpourri column The Chaffing Dish, in his hometown Evening Public Ledger. The first was “The Birdman” (March 22, 1919). Almost three dozen of these were published through February 1920.
The 1920 U.S. Census (recorded January 12) indicates that he was employed as “Clerk, Elec. Supplies”.
Newspaperman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania The cessation of the Ledger poems may mark the time Bellem began newspaper employment. He worked for the Philadelphia Bulletin, details unknown.“Washburn-Bellem” (marriage announcement), Tulsa Tribune, September 3, 1922. Sketches out his background.
Atlantic City, New Jersey By mid-1920, Bellem had joined the staff of The Press of Atlantic City, duties unknown. The job lasted until late September 1920.“Mr. Bellem Gives Farewell Party”, The Press of Atlantic City, September 20, 1920.
Tulsa, Oklahoma Bellem left Atlantic City for a job at the Tulsa Tribune. He began as a clerk before becoming the manager of the classified advertising department. He later added literary and drama critic duties.
He vividly recalled the infamous Tulsa race massacre:
I was a special deputy for the first twenty-four hours [May 31, 1921] of that nasty affair—until the National Guard took charge. I heard my share of gunfire then; saw my share of sudden death. As a member of the Tulsa Tribune staff, some of the pix I snapped of that trouble were used by dailies all over the country.
For a brief period in early 1922, Bellem produced bylined articles and columns on the agricultural industry. His column was called Poultry-Garden-Livestocks Tips.
In the classified advertising department, he met Blanche “Bebe” Washburn.“Former Tulsan 15 Writers in One”, Tulsa Tribune, April 21, 1935. She left the paper in late 1921 and, about March 1922, moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. In July, Bellem paid her a two-week visit.“Personal Mention”, The Albuquerque Tribune, July 3, 1922. They wedded in Bellem’s Tulsa home on September 1, then honeymooned in Atlantic City on the way to his next newspaper job. They were married for life, and had no children.
When rattling off the long list of cities where he had worked newspaper jobs, Bellem often mentioned Albuquerque.For example: “ ‘Poe of the Pulps’ Got Magazines for GI’s”, Pasadena Star-News, October 27, 1945. His trip to New Mexico is the only known candidate time for when this might have happened.
Washington, D.C. The new assignment was a job at the Washington Times/Herald. His bylined contributions were film and theater reviews, but in such a small number that they were a probably a sideline to his main responsibilities. His first review appeared in the October 30, 1922, edition.R.L. Bellem, “Guy Bates Post in The Masquerader at Metropolitan”, Washington Times, October 30, 1922. Bucking convention, he soon began to word his reviews as poems. For example, his review of the dramatic film Enemies of Women opens:
The rhymed reviews only lasted a month. From July through November, 1923, he wrote about real estate issues, primarily in a column titled Realty. Thereafter, realty was abandoned and he returned to reviewing, this time adding vaudeville to his purview. He wrote dozens of reviews over the next two years, but still not enough to suggest that it was his primary occupation.
As in Tulsa, a historical event produced a noteworthy memory of his Washington years:
I helped cover Woodrow Wilson’s death [Feb 3, 1924] . . . I can still feel the bitter cold of that last night, with Cary Grayson, the ex-President’s personal physician, coming out of the somber Wilson residence on S street every hour to issue his grim reports.
Starting July 12, 1924, Bellem was editor of The Broadcast, a Saturday section of the paper devoted to radio, including content, market, and technical issues. His opening to an early editorial captured the excitement of the new technology:
There isn’t going to be any summer slump in radio in the National Capital. Campaign speeches are going to burn the air all summer. Political issues will be fought out via radio. At last candidates for high office will speak directly into the very homes of their prospective constituents. Other cities report record-breaking radio sales, and Washington is going to follow suit.Robert Leslie Bellem, “No Summer Slump”, Washington Herald, July 12, 1924.
His last edited issue of The Broadcast was published October 17, 1925. The section continued without him and he left the paper. This marks his birth as a freelance author. During the ensuing year, he sold seven poems and four short stories to the burgeoning pulp magazine field. The FMI lists Bellem’s magazine fiction and poetry under "Index by Name=Bellem, Robert Leslie (1902–1968)". He was not to become a poet, though. Bellem would become best known as a writer of hardboiled detective stories, hinted at by two sales he made to Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories (August and October, 1926).Robert Leslie Bellem: “Lights Out!”, Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories, August 1926; “Buried Evidence”, Real Detective Tales and Mystery Stories, October 1926.
Bellem traced his predilection for “action, gunplay, thrills” to a childhood experience:
I recall vividly one occasion when I was a grammar school kid in Philadelphia, my home town, where my dad was a railroad dick. I took him his sandwiches that evening and finally located him out in the freight yards. He spotted me coming; yelled for me to duck the hell out of the way. I wondered why. I soon found out. From around the end of a freight car a gun blammed: “"Pow!"” and my dad staggered; grabbed at his side. Then he regained his balance! sprinted forward. He vanished on the other side of that freight car. Presently he reappeared with a freight-thief in tow. Dad had a bullet-crease across his ribs. Likewise he had the gun that had done the damage. He also had the trigger artist—and the trigger artist had a busted jaw. Dad always was handy with his fists. To me from then on, cops were heroes; guys who fought through to victory with their brains backed up by knuckles were supermen.
Freelancing can’t have paid enough because he returned to the Herald after a year’s absence, staying another five months, October 1926 through March 1927, publishing 32 reviews. After that, he crossed the country to another city.
Fresno, California From April 1927Editor & Publisher, July 16, 1927. through October 1928, Bellem was classified advertising manager of the The Fresno Bee, a “blissful period”, he called it, in the “hot somnolence of California’s San Joaquin Valley”.
On November 8, 1927, Bellem gave a talk on advertising to the local Optimists Club.Fresno Morning Republican, November 8, 1927. It’s his first known public speaking appearance. He would make many more over a long career.
In Fresno, Bellem restarted his freelance fiction career. Of note was a short story in the October 1927 issue of Paris Nights, published in Philadelphia.Robert Leslie Bellem, "A Lesson in Life", Paris Nights, October 1927. It was Bellem’s first appearance in a class referred to by the writers’ journals as the “sex story magazines”.For example: Joseph Lichtblau, “The Sex-Story Markets”, The Author & Journalist, December 1932. Doug Ellis, in an illustrated history of the genre, labeled them the “girlie pulps”. They were thin, saddle-stitched magazines featuring risqué stories and racy cover art. Often sold under the counter or in burlesque houses, the girlie pulps were the bane of censors.
Bellem soon followed up with a sale to Pep Stories (December 1927).Robert Leslie Bellem, "One of Those Men", Pep Stories, December 1927. The magazine was published in New York City by Frank Armer (1895–1965), who Ellis called the “king of the girlie pulps in the late 1920’s”. Bellem quickly wrote more stories for the Philly and New York sex-mag markets. As the author explained, he found that “he could get 2¢ a word for sex stuff and subsequently turned out bales of it”.Robert Leslie Bellem, “Like Preserved Strawberries”, Writer’s Digest, November 1943.
Still, it was not yet enough to make him self-supporting as a writer. Next up was a job a few miles east of fabled Hollywood.
Pasadena, California In October 1928, Bellem was hired by the Pasadena Star-News. He repeated in his specialty, becoming manager of classified advertising.“Bellem With Pasadena Paper”, Editor & Publisher, October 20, 1928. The Bellems would call Pasadena home for the rest of their lives.
On the side, Bellem was a regular correspondent for Editor & Publisher, writing about newspaper advertising issues, prominent newspaperman, and other topics. He had relationships with other trade journals: Timely Advertising, Washington Advertiser, and Classified Journal.“Advertising Men Honor Pasadenan”, Pasadena Star-News, June 7, 1930. He served as an officer in professional organizations, and spoke at meetings. For example, in 1930 as Secretary of the National Classified Advertising Association, he addressed the Long Beach Advertising Club.“Four Reasons Why Advertising Fails Given By Speaker”, Press-Telegram (Long Beach, CA), July 23, 1930.
Other locations Bellem worked for newspapers in Miami and Memphis. The Memphis paper was the News-Scimitar.
No evidence has surfaced to pin down the dates. The largest block of unaccounted for time in the 1920s is his year’s absence from the Washington Herald (1925–26). Whether he remained in Washington or relocated is unknown.
Pulp Writer
In October 1931, Bellem resigned from the Pasadena Star-News to become a full-time fiction-magazine writer.Editor & Publisher, October 10, 1931. The new career was “the thing I’d wanted always”. His articles for Editor & Publisher ceased, as did his associations with professional organizations. He made a complete break from the newspaper business.
This was justified by the increasing success he’d had in getting publishing. From the time he published his first sex story in Paris Nights (October 1927) through the time he resigned, he published approximately 72 stories. Sixty-one of those were in the girlie pulps.
That field had changed in the same period. Publisher Frank Armer struggled with bad choices in the late ’20s and the onset of the Great Depression. Meanwhile, Harry Donenfeld (1893–1965), associated with Armer since 1924, jumped into the girlie pulp field in 1929. In 1932, Armer sold out his interests to Donenfeld, then, the following year, became his chief editor.
Of the 61 stories cited above, 46 were sold to either Armer or Donenfeld. From the start of Bellem’s full-time writing through the end of 1933, he sold approximately 38 stories, 33 in the girlie field, and 24 to the Donenfeld/Armer conglomeration.
In 1940, Bellem recalled when his career really took off:
A few years ago I was landing sporadic checks from magazines of which the majority lacked prestige. I happened to meet an editor whom I’d always greatly admired. He was about to launch a new string of pulps based on a brand new idea, and he invited me to submit some material to him.Robert Leslie Bellem, “Cure for Mike Fright”, The Author & Journalist, July 1940.