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Earl Derr Biggers (August 26, 1884 – April 5, 1933) was an American novelist and playwright. His novels featuring the fictional Chinese American detective Charlie Chan were adapted into popular films made in the United States and China.
Earl Derr Biggers was an American novelist and journalist best remembered for the popular literary creation Charlie Chan. A wise Chinese-American detective on the Honolulu police force, Charlie Chan is the protagonist of a series of mystery detective novels that spawned popular feature films, radio.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Any study of Charlie Chan must begin with author Earl Derr Biggers, who brought the exploits of the great detective to life in 1925. Biggers stated on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of his graduation from Harvard University in 1932, “I am quite sure that I never intended to travel the road of the mystery writer.
Outright distinguished, stellar in his craft, and worth his salt, Earl Derr Biggers was an American word-slinger whose bibliography awed and inspired bibliophiles and filmmakers in equal measure.
Learn about the life and work of Earl Derr Biggers, the creator of detective Charlie Chan. Find out how he wrote his first Chan book in Hawaii, based on a real Chinese policeman, and how his novels were adapted for the screen.
- August 24, 1884
- April 5, 1933
Earl Derr Biggers was born in Warren, Ohio on August 24, 1884. Years later, while attending Harvard University, Biggers showed little passion for the classics, preferring instead writers such as Rudyard Kipling and Richard Harding Davis.
Earl Derr Biggers was born on 24 August 1884 in Warren, Ohio, USA. He was a writer, known for The House Without a Key (1926), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) and Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935). He was married to Eleanor Ladd. He died on 5 April 1933 in Pasadena, California, USA.
