Charles Mergendahl (February 23, 1919 – April 27, 1959) was an American writer, best known for his salacious 1958 novel The Bramble Bush (1958) and its 1960 film adaptation. He also contributed original scripts and adaptations to various American television anthology series throughout the 1950s.

Biography

Early life and career Charles H. Mergendahl Jr. was born in 1919 in Lynn, Massachusetts, the first of five children born to Charles Henry Mergendahl and Alice Brockway—the former a math instructor at Classical High School, the latter an English teacher at Worcester High School of Commerce."Lynn Classical High School Instructor Weds Teacher of Worcester H.S. of Commerce". The Boston Globe. July 2, 1916. p. 4."Newton Teacher Feted". The Boston Globe. p. 11. Charles Jr. attended Newton High School and Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1937."Phillips Exeter Diplomas Awarded". The Boston Globe. June 29, 1937. p. 4. He received his B.A. from Bowdoin College, graduating in 1941,"Candidates for Degrees Today at Bowdoin". The Bangor Daily News. June 21, 1941. p. 13. and his M.A. from Boston University.

Throughout high school and college, Mergendahl had been involved in theater;"Greater Boston News and Personal Paragraphs". The Boston Globe. February 15, 1934. p. 10."Melodrama Like Movie at Newtonville Show". The Boston Globe. p. 10. in 1941, his play, My Last Duchess (a blank-verse dramatization of Robert Browning's much-anthologized poem), was awarded 1st prize in Bowdoin College's annual one-act play competition and his next play prompted the Boston Globe to write: Mr. Mergendahl shows promise. He has a clever manner of writing lines that bring out what is really inside of his characters. He also has the ability to create a tense situations and to draw characters in contrast. Less commendable, however, is his way of looking at the world as though everyone in it is in the wrong profession and unhappy. Although an extended tour of duty in World War II necessarily brought his direct participation in theatre to an end, it does not appear to have adversely affected Mergendahl's productivity. In 1945, United Press reported that "during eight major engagements," Mergendahl had, by his own account, "written four novels, eight plays, and thirty short stories.""Battle Dangers Inspire Writer". The Danville Morning News. May 14, 1945. p. 1.

He was awarded a Bronze Star decoration for his military service in leading the first wave of Marines onto the beach during the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific War.

Death On April 26, 1959, during the filming of his most famous novel (which was being reprinted to coincide with the release), Mergendahl experienced brain trauma following an accidental fall at his home on 18 Leuce Place in Glen Cove, Long Island. He was taken to Community Hospital, where he died the following day at age 40. Predeceased by his wife, Mergendahl was survived by his daughter and four siblings.

Works Drama The Twig (1940)"Bowdoin Dramatists to Give Newton Man's Play in Home City". The Boston Globe. November 18, 1940. p. 4. My Last Duchess (1941)"Vance Bourjaily Places Second in Annual Play Competition at Bowdoin". The Bangor Daily News. March 7, 1941. p. 13. Me and Harry (1941)"Artists' Theatre: 'Me and Harry'". The Boston Globe. August 26, 1941. p. 23. Watch for the Morning (1941)"The Stage: New England Repertory Company". The Boston Globe. December 17, 1941. p. 19.Christmas FantasyPark BenchStanding Room Only

Fiction Novels Don't Wait Up for Spring (1944) (aka Tonight is Forever (1951)) His Days are as Grass (1946)Jackson, Katherine Gauss (1946). "Books in Brief: Fiction". Harper's Magazine. Vol. 193. This Spring of Love (1948)"Charles Mergendahl, author of wartime romance". The Hartford Courant. June 20, 1948. p. 43. It's Only Temporary (1951)Litten,. Frederic Nelson (February 4, 1951). "Ah, Life in Suburbia, or O, the Futility of It All". Chicago Sunday Tribune. Pt. 4, pg. 6 The Girl Cage (1953) (aka The Lonely Ones (1958)) With Kisses Four (1954)Boucher, Anthony (May 16, 1954). "Criminals at Large". The New York Times. p. BR25. The Bramble Bush (1958) Rage of Desire (1958) Tiger by the Tail (1959) A Strange Innocence (1959) 22 Terrace Place (1961) Call After Six (1961) The Drums of April (1964)

Filmography Television Kraft Theatre"The Picture Window" (1954)"Split Level" (1954) Ponds Theater"See You on Sunday" (1954)"The Rugged Mountains" (1955) The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse"I'll Be Waiting" (story, 1955) Matinee Theatre"See You on Sunday" (1955)"Herself Alone" (1956) Star Tonight"Three Hours Between Planes" (adaptation, 1956) The Man Called X"Forged Documents" (story, 1957)

Film The Bramble Bush (novel, 1960)

References

Further reading Articles Hillyer, Dorothy (October 4, 1944). "Over the Fence". The Boston Globe. "'This Is Your FBI' Dramatizes Cases From FBI Files; Charles Mergendahl Story Dramatized". The Jackson Sun. April 5, 1945. p. 16. Mergendahl, Charles (April 7, 1945). "One Was Disloyal". The Saturday Evening Post. pp. 16, 105–106, 108. Mergendahl, Charles (July 15, 1945). "Well, Good Night". MacLean's Magazine. pp. 13, 28–30. Mergendahl, Charles (September 1945). "The Best I Ever Had". Adventure. pp. 82–89, 143. Mergendahl, Charles (November 1945). "Thanksgiving". Hearst's International combined with Cosmopolitan. pp. 10–11. Mergendahl, Charles (May 1946). "The Marvelous Adventure of Sidney J. Nealy". Hearst's International combined with Cosmopolitan. pp. 36–37, 143–148; also p. 17 (brief explanation of the image created by artist Austin Briggs and photographer Ralph Steiner, which is seen on pp. 36–37). Mergendahl, Charles (June 1953). "Mrs. Morrison's Kiss". Cosmopolitan. pp. 65–69. "Cop Dies Trying to Save Motorist". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. April 21, 1959. p. 7. "Deaths and Funerals". The Boston Globe. April 30, 1959. p. 28. Obituary: Charles Mergendahl". Andean Air Mail & Peruvian Times. May 1959. p. 17.

Books "Secret Recipe"; Hubin, Allen, ed. (1971). Best of the Best Detective Stories, 25th Anniversary Collection. New York: E.P. Dutton and Company. pp. 203–211. . "Do It Yourself"; Lore, Elana, ed. (1983). Alfred Hitchcock's A Choice of Evils. New York: The Dial Press. pp. 87–92. .

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