Darwin Teilhet facts for kids

Darwin LeOra Teilhet (born May 20, 1904 – died April 18, 1964) was an American writer. He was famous for his mystery novels. He also worked in advertising, journalism, and helped create movies.

About Darwin Teilhet

Early Life and Career

Darwin Teilhet was born in Wyanet, Illinois. His mother was from the Netherlands, and his father was from France. When he was a teenager, he traveled to France. There, he even worked as a juggler in a circus!

Later, Darwin worked in advertising. He led the radio advertising team for a company called N. W. Ayer & Son. During this time, he also wrote a monthly column about radio for Forum magazine.

Helping During the War

During World War II, Darwin Teilhet joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). This was a special group that gathered information and created messages to help the war effort. He first worked in Washington D.C., making propaganda. Propaganda is information used to influence people's opinions.

Later, he moved to London. He was supposed to help with a big operation called Operation Overlord. However, he got sick with pneumonia and had to go back home to America. After the war, he became an important assistant to the president of Dole Pineapple in Hawaii.

A Writer's Life

Darwin Teilhet also taught journalism classes at Stanford University. He worked as a writer and advisor for many film producers. He helped turn stories into movies.

The Baron von Kaz Mysteries

Darwin Teilhet created a popular detective character named Baron von Kaz. Baron von Kaz was a detective from Vienna, Austria. Darwin started writing these stories because James Poling from Doubleday Books suggested it.

Working with His Wife and Other Names

Darwin Teilhet wrote some of his mystery novels with his wife, Hildegarde Tolman Teilhet. They were a writing team! His books were published under a few different names. Sometimes it was "Darwin Teilhet" or "Darwin L. Teilhet." Sometimes it was "Darwin and Hildegarde Teilhet."

He also used special pen names, called pseudonyms. For children's books, he used the name Cyrus Fisher. He also wrote as William H Fielding and Theo Durant. His book "The Avion My Uncle Flew", written as Cyrus Fisher, won a special award called the Newbery Honor. This award is for great children's books.

Darwin chose the name "Cyrus Fisher" to honor his father-in-law, Cyrus Fisher Tolman. His father-in-law was a professor at Stanford University. He also chose it to remember his son, Cyrus Jr., who sadly passed away when he was very young.

Darwin Teilhet passed away in Palo Alto, California. He and his wife are buried together.

His Books

Here are some of the books Darwin Teilhet wrote:

• Death Flies High (1931)
• Murder in the Air (1931)
• The Talking Sparrow Murders (1934)
• Bright Destination (1935)
• The Ticking Terror Murders (1935)
• The Crimson Hair Murders (1936) with Hildegarde Teilhet
• The Feather Cloak Murders (1936) with Hildegarde Teilhet
• Journey to the West (1938)
• The Broken Face Murders (1940) with Hildegarde Teilhet
• Trouble Is My Master (1942)
• Retreat From the Dolphin (1943)
• Odd Man Pays (1944)
• My True Love (1945)
• The Fear Makers (1945)
• The Avion My Uncle Flew (1946) as Cyrus Fisher
• Something Wonderful to Happen (1947)
• Ab Carmody's Treasure: Mystery and Adventure in Guatemala (1948) as Cyrus T. Fisher
• The Happy Island (1950)
• The Mission of Jeffery Tolamy (1951)
• The Unpossessed (1951) as William H Fielding
• Steamboat on the River (1952)
• Take Me As I Am (1952) as William H Fielding
• Beautiful Humbug (1954) as William H Fielding
• The Lion's Skin (1955)
• The Road to Glory (1956)
• The Hawaiian Sword (1956) as Cyrus T. Fisher
• The Big Runaround (1964) aka Dangerous Encounter

Movies from His Stories

Some of Darwin Teilhet's stories were made into movies:

• They Wanted to Marry (1937), based on one of his short stories
• No Room for the Groom (1952), based on his novel "My True Love"
• The Fearmakers (1958), based on his novel "The Fear Makers"

• (mainly as 'Teilhet, Darwin L., 1904–' without '1964', previous page of browse report)