Fran Striker facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Fran Striker |
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| Born | Francis Hamilton Striker August 19, 1903 Buffalo, New York, USA |
| Died | September 4, 1962 (aged 59) Elma, New York, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Writer, editor, publisher, producer |
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Notable works
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Francis Hamilton "Fran" Striker (born August 19, 1903 – died September 4, 1962) was a famous American writer. He wrote many stories for radio shows and comics. He is best known for creating popular characters like Lone Ranger, Green Hornet, and Sgt. Preston of the Yukon.
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Fran Striker's Early Life
Fran Striker was born in Buffalo, New York. He went to Lafayette High School and the University of Buffalo. He left college early to work with a theater group in New York City.
Later, he returned to Buffalo and worked at a radio station called WEBR. He was an announcer there. In 1929, he moved to WTAM in Cleveland, Ohio. There, he wrote his first radio play, which was about Stephen Foster.
Striker then went back to WEBR as the station manager. He wrote many different types of shows. These included short comedy skits, mystery stories, and Western adventures.
Soon, Striker started working for himself. He created his own radio series and sold them to stations across the United States. He began working closely with George W. Trendle, who owned radio station WXYZ in Detroit. WXYZ wanted to become known for making radio dramas. Striker created and wrote early series like Thrills of the Secret Service and Dr. Fang. He also wrote Warner Lester, Manhunter, which introduced a character named Mike Axford. Mike Axford later became a supporting character in The Green Hornet.
Creating The Lone Ranger
In late 1932, Fran Striker started working on The Lone Ranger. Some of his first scripts were based on his older series called Covered Wagon Days. A letter from George Trendle in January 1933 clearly shows that Striker created the character.
However, by 1934, Trendle pressured Striker to give up his rights to The Lone Ranger. Trendle then claimed he was the creator. This led to a long disagreement about who truly created The Lone Ranger. This issue even came up when Striker appeared on a TV show called To Tell the Truth in 1960.
The very first test episodes of The Lone Ranger were broadcast on WEBR in Buffalo. This happened before the official show started on WXYZ. An actor from Buffalo, John L. Barrett, played the role first. This was weeks before George Stenius (who later became film director George Seaton) took over.
As The Lone Ranger became popular, Trendle convinced Striker to move to WXYZ. There, Striker eventually became the head of the script department. In Detroit, a young James Lipton played the Lone Ranger's nephew, Dan Reid, in the early 1940s.
Other Famous Works
Fran Striker was a very busy writer. Besides writing 156 Lone Ranger scripts each year, he also wrote The Green Hornet. This show was about Britt Reid, who was a descendant of the Lone Ranger. Striker also wrote a short series called Ned Jordan Secret Agent.
He wrote many Lone Ranger novels and two movie serials. He also wrote The Lone Ranger comic strip. Striker also contributed scripts to Challenge of the Yukon. This radio show was later made into a TV series called Sergeant Preston of the Yukon.
Striker also wrote for comic books. He wrote The Green Hornet comic books. In 1945, he wrote a newspaper comic strip called The Sea Hound. This was based on The Adventures of the Sea Hound radio series, which Striker also wrote for. He also wrote popular adventure novels for boys featuring a character named "Tom Quest."
Later Career and Legacy
Later in his career, Striker worked on the TV versions of The Lone Ranger and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon. These TV shows were being made while the radio shows were still on the air. He provided the stories for many TV episodes. He did this by changing old scripts from the radio series. Other writers then adapted these stories for television. Striker was credited as providing the story "From the radio program edited by Fran Striker."
Fran Striker was 59 years old when he died in a car accident in Elma in 1962. He was moving with his wife and children at the time. His last work was a historical novel called One More River, which was published after his death. Fran was buried in Arcade Rural Cemetery in Arcade. His writings are kept in the archives of the University at Buffalo.
The characters Lucas Striker and Amy Striker in the 1981 film The Legend of the Lone Ranger were named to honor Fran Striker. In 1998, he was added to the Buffalo Broadcasting Hall of Fame.
- Bisco, Jim. Buffalo's Lone Ranger: The Prolific Fran Striker Wrote the Book on Early Radio. Western New York Heritage, Vol. 7, No. 4, Winter 2005.
- Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Grams, Martin, The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television, OTR Publishing, 2010.
- Harmon, Jim, The Great Radio Heroes, Doubleday, 1967.
- Osgood, Dick. Wyxie Wonderland: An Unauthorized 50-Year Diary of WXYZ Detroit. Ohio: Bowling Green University Press, 1981.
- Fran Striker at the National Radio Hall of Fame
See also
In Spanish: Fran Striker para niños
