Frank M. Robinson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank M. Robinson
Frank M Robinson c.1955
Born	Frank Malcolm Robinson (1926-08-09)August 9, 1926 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	June 30, 2014(2014-06-30) (aged 87) San Francisco, California, U.S.
Nationality	American

Frank Malcolm Robinson (born August 9, 1926 – died June 30, 2014) was an American writer. He was known for writing exciting science fiction and action-packed "techno-thriller" novels. He also worked as a speechwriter for politician Harvey Milk.

About Frank M. Robinson

Early Life and Education

Frank M. Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was a teenager, he started working as a copy boy for a news service. Later, he became an office boy for a publishing company.

He joined the Navy during World War II. After his time in the Navy, he went to Beloit College. He studied physics and graduated in 1950.

Writing and Military Service

After college, Robinson found it hard to get a job as a writer. So, he joined the Navy again and served during the Korean War. Even while in the Navy, he kept writing and reading. He even published stories in a popular science fiction magazine called Astounding.

Career in Magazines

After leaving the Navy for good, he went to graduate school to study journalism. He then worked for a newspaper section in Chicago. Soon after, he started working for Science Digest magazine from 1956 to 1959.

He then moved on to work for other magazines like Rogue (1959–1965) and Cavalier (1965–1966). In 1973, he decided to become a full-time writer.

Working with Harvey Milk

In the 1970s, Frank Robinson moved to San Francisco. There, he became a speechwriter for the well-known politician Harvey Milk. Robinson even had a small part in the movie Milk, which was about Harvey Milk's life. After Milk's death, Robinson helped manage his final wishes.

Famous Books and Movies

Frank Robinson wrote 16 books and edited two others. He also wrote many articles. Three of his novels were even made into movies!

• The Power (1956) was a science fiction book about people with special abilities. It was made into a movie in 1968, also called The Power.
• The Glass Inferno, which he wrote with Thomas N. Scortia, was combined with another book to create the 1974 movie The Towering Inferno. This movie was about a fire in a very tall building.
• The Gold Crew, another book co-written with Scortia, was made into a TV miniseries called The Fifth Missile.

He worked with Thomas N. Scortia on several other books, including The Prometheus Crisis and The Nightmare Factor. Later, Robinson wrote books like The Dark Beyond the Stars (1991) and Waiting (1999). His novel The Donor is a medical thriller.

Collecting and Awards

In the 1970s, Robinson started collecting old "pulp-fiction" magazines. These were popular magazines he read when he was younger. His collection led to a book called Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines, which he wrote with Lawrence Davidson.

He often went to conventions for pulp magazine fans. In 2000, he won the Lamont Award for his lifetime achievements in the world of pulp fiction. In 2009, he was honored and included in the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.

Works

Novels

• The Power (1956)
• The Glass Inferno (1974, with Thomas N. Scortia)
• The Prometheus Crisis (1975, with Thomas N. Scortia)
• The Nightmare Factor (1978, with Thomas N. Scortia)
• The Gold Crew (1980, with Thomas N. Scortia)
• The Great Divide (1982, with John F. Levin)
• Blow-Out! (1987, with Thomas N. Scortia)
• The Dark Beyond the Stars (1991)
• Death of a Marionette (1995, with Paul Hull)
• Waiting (1999)
• The Donor (2004)

Short Story Collections

• A Life in the Day of... and Other Short Stories (1981). This book has 9 short stories:
  • "The Maze" (1950)
  • "The Reluctant Heroes" (1951)
  • "The Fire and the Sword" (1951)
  • "The Santa Claus Planet" (1951)
  • "The Hunting Season" (1951)
  • "The Wreck of the Ship John B." (1967)
  • ""East Wind, West Wind"" (1972)
  • "A Life in the Day of..." (1969)
  • "Downhill All the Way" (1974)
• Through My Glasses Darkly, Edited by Robin Wayne Bailey (2002). This collection has 5 short stories:
  • "Causes" (1997)
  • ""East Wind, West Wind"" (1972)
  • "The Hunting Season" (1951)
  • "A Life in the Day Of..." (1969)
  • "Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll" (1994)

Other Short Stories

Here are some other short stories by Frank M. Robinson that are not in the collections:

• "Situation Thirty" (1951)
• "Two Weeks in August" (1951)
• "Beyond the Ultra-Violet" (1951)
• "Good Luck, Columbus!" (1951)
• "Untitled Story" (1951)
• "You've Got to Believe" (1951)
• "The Girls from Earth" (1952)
• "Viewpoint" (1953)
• "The Night Shift" (1953)
• "Muscle Man" (1953)
• "Quiz Game" (1953)
• "The Day the World Ended" (1953)
• "Decision" (1953)
• "Guaranteed - Forever!" (1953)
• "The Siren Sounds at Midnight" (1953)
• "Planted!, AKA The Observer" (1953)
• "Quarter in the Slot" (1954)
• "The Lonely Man" (1954)
• "The Worlds of Joe Shannon" (1954)
• "One Thousand Miles Up" (1954)
• "The Oceans Are Wide" (1954)
• "The Dead End Kids of Space" (1954)
• "Cosmic Saboteur" (1955)
• "Dream Street" (1955)
• "Four Hours to Eternity" (1955)
• "You Don't Walk Alone" (1955)
• "Wanted: One Sane Man" (1955)
• "A Rover I Will Be" (1960)
• "Merry Christmas, No. 30267" (1993)
• "The Greatest Dying" (1993)
• "1969 Hail, Hail, Rock and Roll" (1994)
• "Dealer's Choice" (1994)
• "One Month in 1907" (1994) (found in Mike Resnick's book Alternate Outlaws)
• "The Phantom of the Barbary Coast" (1995)
• "Infallibility, Obedience, and Acts of Contrition" (1997) (found in Mike Resnick's book Alternate Tyrants)
• "Love Story" (2003)
• "The Errand Boy" (2010)

Poems

• The Nether Gardens (1945)

Nonfiction Books

• Not So Good a Gay Man: A Memoir (2017) - This is a book about his own life.
• Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines (1998, with Lawrence Davidson) - A guide about old magazines.
• Science Fiction of the 20th Century: An Illustrated History (1999) - A history book about science fiction.
• Therapeutic Re-Creation: Ideas and Experiences (1974)
• A Holistic Perspective on the Disabled Child: Applications in Camping, Recreation, and Community Life (1985)
• Coping+plus: Dimensions of Disability (1995, with Dwight Woodworth Jr., Doe West)