Joseph Greene (writer) facts for kids

Joseph Lawrence Greene (born August 1, 1914 – died 1990) was an American author. He wrote many science fiction novels and short stories. He is best known for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, which became a popular TV show for young people in 1951. He also created the Dig Allen Space Explorer series, which included six books published from 1959 to 1962. These books followed the adventures of a young hero named Dig Allen in space.

Joseph Greene was a very busy writer. He wrote many stories for comic books. He also worked as an editor for Grosset publishing until 1972. He used several different names when he wrote, called pseudonyms. Some of these names were "Alvin Schwartz" and "Richard Mark." He also used different versions of his own name, like "Joe Green" and "Joseph Lawrence."

Comics: A Golden Age Writer

Joseph Greene was very active during the Golden Age of Comic Books. This period was in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He often worked as a "ghostwriter" for famous comic characters. This means he wrote stories for them without getting public credit.

He wrote for characters like The Green Lama, Spunky, and Golden Lad. Around 1942, he started working for DC Comics. He wrote for many of their popular characters. These included Aquaman, Boy Commandos, Green Arrow, Hawkman, Superman, and Wonder Woman.

Greene also wrote for other comic publishers. These included American Comics Group, Better Publications, and Dell Comics. He worked on The Fighting Yank and Tom Corbett, Space Cadet comics. In the early 1950s, he wrote many romance comics for publishers like Fawcett Comics.

Tom Corbett: From Radio to TV

Joseph Greene also wrote for radio, movies, and television. His most famous work in these areas was for Tom Corbett, Space Cadet. Around 1945, he wrote a comic book story called Space Academy.

In 1946, he wrote a script for a radio show. It was first called The Pirates of Space, then Space Cadets. This show featured a main character named Tom Ranger. The next year, Greene worked on the idea again, calling it Space Academy. He sent a radio script to NBC.

Later, Rockhill Studios worked with him to turn the idea into a TV show. By 1949, the name was changed. "Cadet" and "Academy" were common words then. So, the title became Tom Ranger, Space Cadet. Rockhill licensed the "Space Cadet" name from another famous science fiction writer, Robert A. Heinlein.

In October 1949, Tom Ranger and the Space Cadets was planned as a newspaper strip. However, it was not used right away.

Tom Corbett: TV and Comic Debut

On October 2, 1950, Tom Corbett, Space Cadet first appeared on CBS television. The show used ideas from the newspaper strip that had not been published. The name was changed at the last minute.

Almost a year later, on September 9, 1951, a newspaper strip with the same name began. Paul S. Newman wrote it, and Ray Bailey drew it. This strip also used many ideas from the 1949 Tom Ranger strip.

In 1951, Joseph Greene had a disagreement with Rockhill about payments. He was given the rights to any comic book version of Tom Corbett. Greene then wrote Tom Corbett, Space Ranger comics for Dell Publishing from 1952 to 1954.

In the same year, Grosset & Dunlap started publishing Tom Corbett books. The first one was Stand by for Mars!. The Tom Corbett TV show continued for its second and third seasons on ABC. A radio show also aired on ABC for six months.

Tom Corbett Books

The Tom Corbett book series started in 1952. They were published by Grosset & Dunlap. This company was known for other popular series like Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys. The Tom Corbett books were connected to the TV show. Their stories aimed to inspire young readers.

The books were written under the name "Carey Rockwell." It is believed that Joseph Greene helped with these books, possibly as an editor or even a writer.

Willy Ley, a top rocket expert and science fiction writer, gave technical advice for the books. He also helped design a Tom Corbett Space Academy playset. Ley was known for encouraging U.S. space exploration.

Corbett Continues and Ends

The Tom Corbett TV series ran for five seasons. Its fourth season was on DuMont Television Network in 1953. The fifth and final season was on NBC in 1954. Grosset & Dunlap published the eighth Tom Corbett book, Robot Rocket, in 1955 or 1956. This marked the end of the series on radio, television, and in books.

In 1984, Greene gave his personal recordings of the TV episodes to Wade Williams. Williams later took over some of the rights to Tom Corbett.

In 1990, Eternity Comics released a five-issue collection of the 1950s newspaper strips. It was called Original Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.

Other Books and Later Career

Joseph Greene likely helped create and edit the eight Tom Corbett, Space Cadet novels. These were published between 1952 and 1956. From 1959 to 1962, he wrote six books in the "Dig Allen Space Explorer" series. These were for young readers and published by Golden Press. The series started with The Forgotten Star in 1959. It ended with Lost City of Uranus in 1962.

Greene worked as an editor at Grosset & Dunlap from about 1964 to 1973. He became a managing editor and acting editor-in-chief before he left the company.

In the late 1970s and 1980s, during his semi-retirement, he published several independent almanacs. Some were about astrology, and one was called American Elsewhen Almanac.

Joseph Greene's son, Paul, shared that his father passed away in 1990. He was 76 years old.