Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler arrived in Chicago on the 23rd of July 1888. His mother Florence Dart was originally from Ireland, and his father Maurice Benjamin worked as a civil engineer for the railway. The family lived near Plattsmouth, Nebraska during his early years. They stayed close to cousins and an aunt who was Florence's sister. Life changed abruptly when Maurice abandoned the household in the early 1890s due to alcoholism. Florence took her son Raymond to England in 1900 to secure better education. They settled in Upper Norwood within what is now the London Borough of Croydon. Between 1901 and 1907, Raymond lived with his mother, an unmarried aunt, and his maternal grandmother. An uncle based in Waterford, Ireland provided reluctant financial support while they resided in London. He attended Dulwich College where he studied alongside future authors P. G. Wodehouse and C. S. Forester. Summers were spent visiting relatives in Waterford, Ireland. He never entered university but traveled to Paris and Munich to refine foreign language skills. In 1907 he became a British subject to pass a civil service examination which he successfully completed. He held an Admiralty job for just over one year before resigning.
Chandler returned to America in 1912 at age twenty-four after borrowing money from his Waterford uncle. The loan carried interest and required repayment. He visited family members before settling briefly in San Francisco. There he completed a bookkeeping correspondence course ahead of schedule. His mother joined him there in late 1912. Warren Lloyd, an attorney and oilman friend, encouraged them to move to Los Angeles in 1913. Chandler worked stringing tennis rackets and picking fruit during those lean years. He found steady employment with the Los Angeles Creamery. By 1931 he had risen to become vice president of the Dabney Oil Syndicate. Ten years later he lost that position due to alcoholism and absenteeism. Promiscuity with female employees also contributed to his dismissal. During the Great Depression financial circumstances forced him to turn to writing. He taught himself pulp fiction by analyzing Erle Stanley Gardner's work. His first professional story Blackmailers Don't Shoot appeared in Black Mask magazine in 1933. It took five months to write an eighteen thousand word novelette which sold for $180. He described reading cheap magazines because they were disposable and honest despite their crude aspects.
Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime including The Big Sleep released in 1939. This novel introduced Philip Marlowe speaking in the first person. Farewell My Lovely followed in 1940 and became the basis for three movie versions adapted by other screenwriters. Murder My Sweet marked the screen debut of the character played by Dick Powell. The High Window arrived in 1942 while The Lady in the Lake came out in 1943. The Little Sister was published in 1949 and Playback in 1958. All but Playback have been made into motion pictures some more than once. Four chapters of an unfinished novel at his death were transformed into Poodle Springs by Robert B. Parker in 1989. Parker shares authorship with Chandler on that final work. Parker also wrote a sequel to The Big Sleep entitled Perchance to Dream salted with quotes from the original. Chandler's final short story circa 1957 was called The Pencil. It later provided the basis for an episode of the HBO miniseries Philip Marlowe Private Eye starring Powers Boothe. The Big Sleep placed second on the Crime Writers Association poll of one hundred best crime novels.
Film adaptations created demand for Chandler himself as a screenwriter. He co-wrote Double Indemnity with Billy Wilder in 1944 based on James M. Cain's novel. The noir screenplay received an Academy Award nomination. Wilder guided structure and dialogue while Chandler constructed scenes. Wilder acknowledged most memorable dialogue came largely from Chandler. His only produced original screenplay was The Blue Dahlia released in 1946. Producer John Houseman noted Chandler could finish scripts only if drunk with round-the-clock secretaries. The script earned Chandler a second Academy Award nomination. He collaborated on Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train in 1951. Chandler thought the plot implausible and clashed with the director. They stopped talking after Hitchcock heard Chandler referred to him as that fat bastard. Hitchcock threw Chandler's two draft screenplays into a studio trash can while holding his nose. Chandler retained lead credit along with Czenzi Ormonde. Notable film adaptations include Howard Hawks The Big Sleep from 1946 with Humphrey Bogart. William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett co-wrote that screenplay. Robert Altman directed a 1973 neo-noir adaptation of The Long Goodbye.
Cissy Chandler died in 1954 after a long illness. Heartbroken and drunk Chandler neglected to inter her cremated remains. Her ashes sat for fifty-seven years in a storage locker at Cypress View Mausoleum. Loneliness worsened clinical depression following her death. He returned to drinking alcohol never quitting it for long periods. Writing quality and quantity suffered significantly during this time. In 1955 he attempted suicide calling police beforehand saying he planned to kill himself. Judith Freeman described it as a cry for help. His personal and professional life were complicated by women like Helga Greene his literary agent. Jean Fracasse served as secretary while Sonia Orwell was George Orwell's widow. Natasha Spender was Stephen Spender's wife. He regained U.S. citizenship in 1956 retaining British rights. Before dying he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He returned to La Jolla after a respite in England. He died at Scripps Memorial Hospital on the 26th of March 1959 from pneumonial peripheral vascular shock and prerenal uremia. Helga Greene inherited his sixty thousand dollar estate after prevailing in a lawsuit filed by Fracasse contesting his holographic codicil.
Critics including W. H. Auden Evelyn Waugh and Ian Fleming greatly admired Chandler's prose. Fleming stated Chandler offered some of the finest dialogue written in any prose today. Paul Levine described his style as the literary equivalent of a quick punch to the gut. His swift moving hardboiled style drew inspiration mostly from Dashiell Hammett. Sharp lyrical similes remained original such as The muzzle of the Luger looked like the mouth of the Second Street tunnel. Dead men are heavier than broken hearts appeared as a famous line. His writing redefined private eye fiction leading to the coining of the adjective Chandleresque. Yet Philip Marlowe is not a stereotypical tough guy but a complex sometimes sentimental man. He attended university speaks Spanish admires Mexicans and Blacks and studies chess. He refuses prospective client fees for jobs considered unethical. High regard today contrasts with critical sniping during his lifetime. Patrick Anderson of The Washington Post called plots rambling at best and incoherent at worst. Anderson criticized treatment of black female and homosexual characters calling him rather nasty at times. Nevertheless he praised Chandler as probably the most lyrical of major crime writers.
The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Cahuenga Avenue bears the name Raymond Chandler Square. It honors both author and belief that Philip Marlowe's office sat at Security Trust and Savings nearby. In 1994 the Square became Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument number five hundred ninety-seven. The Noir in Festival presents a lifetime achievement award named the Raymond Chandler Award. Fulbright Program gave out a Raymond Chandler Mystery Writing Award in 1991 and an award in 1994. In 2014 the Hollywood Walk of Fame selection committee announced inclusion for the following year. As of 2025 he has not yet received a star. A small team under Paul Sand seeks permission to produce an operetta discovered among Library of Congress holdings. The work titled The Princess and the Pedlar dates from 1917 with libretto by Chandler and music by Julian Pascal. It was never published or produced dismissed by the estate as no more than a curiosity. Loren Latker petitioned to disinter Cissy's remains in 2010. Judge Richard S. Whitney granted the request after a September hearing. On the 14th of February 2011 her ashes moved from Cypress View to Mount Hope Cemetery above Chandler's grave. About one hundred people attended readings by Rev. Randal Gardner Powers Boothe Judith Freeman and Aissa Wayne.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When and where was Raymond Chandler born?
Raymond Thornton Chandler arrived in Chicago on the 23rd of July 1888. His family lived near Plattsmouth, Nebraska during his early years before moving to England.
What novels did Raymond Chandler publish during his lifetime?
Chandler published seven novels including The Big Sleep released in 1939 and Farewell My Lovely which followed in 1940. He also wrote Murder My Sweet in 1942, The High Window in 1942, The Lady in the Lake in 1943, The Little Sister in 1949, and Playback in 1958.
How did Raymond Chandler die and when did he pass away?
He died at Scripps Memorial Hospital on the 26th of March 1959 from pneumonial peripheral vascular shock and prerenal uremia. Before dying he had returned to La Jolla after a respite in England.
Who co-wrote screenplays with Raymond Chandler for Hollywood films?
He co-wrote Double Indemnity with Billy Wilder in 1944 based on James M. Cain's novel. He collaborated on Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers On A Train in 1951 alongside Czenzi Ormonde and worked with William Faulkner and Leigh Brackett on The Big Sleep screenplay.
What happened to Raymond Chandler's wife Cissy Chandler after she died?
Cissy Chandler died in 1954 after a long illness and her ashes sat for fifty-seven years in a storage locker at Cypress View Mausoleum. Her remains were moved from Cypress View to Mount Hope Cemetery above Chandler's grave on the 14th of February 2011 following a petition by Loren Latker.