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Frank Merriwell

January 01, 1970

Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten, who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L. Standish. The character appeared in over 300 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 (some between 1927 and 1930 were written by other authors with the same pen name), numerous radio dramas in 1934 and again from 1946 through 1949, a comic strip from 1928 through 1936,[1] a comic book (four issues) Frank Merriwell At Yale, and a 12-chapter serialized film in 1936. The book series was relaunched (with a different author) in 1965, but only three books were published.

Frank Merriwell
Frank Merriwell's Discovery
on the cover of Tip Top Weekly (1900)
Created byGilbert Patten
In-universe information
GenderMale
NationalityAmerican

Character edit

 
Frank Merriwell's Tigers in Tip Top Weekly (December 23, 1905)
Tip Top produced the film Frank Merriwell in Arizona; or, The Mystery of the Mine (1910)
 
Poster for Frank Merriwell in Arizona (1910)
 
Frank Merriwell at Yale

The model for all later American juvenile sports fiction, Merriwell excelled at football, baseball, basketball, crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs.[2] He played with great strength and received traumatic blows without injury.[2]

A biographical entry on Patten noted dryly that Frank Merriwell "had little in common with his creator or his readers." Patten offered some background on his character: "The name was symbolic of the chief characteristics I desired my hero to have. Frank for frankness, merry for a happy disposition, well for health and abounding vitality."

Merriwell's classmates observed, "He never drinks. That's how he keeps himself in such fine condition all the time. He will not smoke, either, and he takes his exercise regularly. He is really a remarkable freshie."[3] American Olympic champion boxer and bobsledder Eddie Eagan commented in his autobiography: "To this day I have never used tobacco, because Frank Merriwell didn't. My first glass of wine, which I do not care for, was taken under social compulsion in Europe. Frank never drank."[4]

Merriwell originally appeared in a series of magazine stories starting April 18, 1896 ("Frank Merriwell: or, First Days at Fardale") in Tip Top Weekly, continuing through 1912, and later in dime novels and comic books. Patten would confine himself to a hotel room for a week to write an entire story.

The Frank Merriwell comic strip began in 1928, continuing until 1936. Daily strips from 1934 provided illustrations for the 1937 Big Little Book.

There are at least two generations of Merriwells: Frank, his half-brother Dick, and Frank's son, Frank Jr. There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick. Frank usually handles challenges on his own. Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him, especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not be quite as interesting.

Syndicated comic strips edit

The McClure Newspaper Syndicate distributed Young Frank Merriwell, written by Patten and illustrated by John Hix; it debuted on March 26, 1928, and ran for six months. The comic strip was resurrected in July 1931 as Frank Merriwell's Schooldays (this time syndicated by the Central Press Association and illustrated by Jack Wilhelm) and ran for three years.[1]

Radio edit

The Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22, 1934, as a 15-minute serial airing three times a week at 5:30pm. Sponsored by Dr. West's Toothpaste, this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role. Harlow Wilcox was the announcer.

After a 12-year gap, the series returned October 5, 1946, as a 30-minute Saturday morning show on NBC, continuing until June 4, 1949. Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell, Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage, Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood. Announcers were Mel Brandt and Harlow Wilcox, and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music.[5]

Yale's alma mater, "Bright College Years", was the theme song.

Film edit

A film serial entitled The Adventures of Frank Merriwell was created by Universal Studios in 1936.

Broadway edit

A Broadway musical called Frank Merriwell, or Honor Unchallenged, opened at the Longacre Theatre on April 24, 1971. It closed after one performance.

1965 relaunch edit

In 1965, a new book series was launched by author Mike Frederic, with cover tagline "The thrilling sequel to the all-time best-selling American sports series." Only three books were published: Frank Merriwell Returns (baseball theme, 1965), Frank Merriwell Quarterback (American football theme, 1965), and Frank Merriwell At The Wheel (sports car racing theme, 1967).

Book titles edit

Listen to edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Stripper's Guide: A Frank Merriwell Bulletin!, May 30th, 2006.
  2. ^ a b [1] November 22, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Standish, Burt L (2004-02-16). "Frank Merriwell at Yale". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
  4. ^ Bull, Andy (February 25, 2010). "The forgotten story of ... those magnificent men and their flying bobsled". The forgotten story of ... Winter Olympics 2010. The Guardian. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  5. ^ Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984:A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-0351-9.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Merriwell.
  • Tip Top Weekly on Nickels and Dimes, Northern Illinois University's dime novel online database.
  • Tip Top Weekly (January 6, 1900): "Frank Merriwell's Limit (full text) November 3, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  • Adventures of Frank Merriwell collection, at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
  • Holbrook, Stewart H. (June 1961). "Frank Merriwell At Yale Again And Again And Again". American Heritage. Vol. 12, no. 4. Retrieved August 13, 2021.

January 01, 1970
frank, merriwell, fictional, character, appearing, series, novels, short, stories, gilbert, patten, wrote, under, pseudonym, burt, standish, character, appeared, over, dime, novels, between, 1896, 1930, some, between, 1927, 1930, were, written, other, authors,. Frank Merriwell is a fictional character appearing in a series of novels and short stories by Gilbert Patten who wrote under the pseudonym Burt L Standish The character appeared in over 300 dime novels between 1896 and 1930 some between 1927 and 1930 were written by other authors with the same pen name numerous radio dramas in 1934 and again from 1946 through 1949 a comic strip from 1928 through 1936 1 a comic book four issues Frank Merriwell At Yale and a 12 chapter serialized film in 1936 The book series was relaunched with a different author in 1965 but only three books were published Frank MerriwellFrank Merriwell s Discoveryon the cover of Tip Top Weekly 1900 Created byGilbert PattenIn universe informationGenderMaleNationalityAmerican Contents 1 Character 2 Syndicated comic strips 3 Radio 4 Film 5 Broadway 6 1965 relaunch 7 Book titles 8 Listen to 9 References 10 External linksCharacter edit nbsp Frank Merriwell s Tigers in Tip Top Weekly December 23 1905 source source source source source Tip Top produced the film Frank Merriwell in Arizona or The Mystery of the Mine 1910 nbsp Poster for Frank Merriwell in Arizona 1910 nbsp Frank Merriwell at Yale The model for all later American juvenile sports fiction Merriwell excelled at football baseball basketball crew and track at Yale while solving mysteries and righting wrongs 2 He played with great strength and received traumatic blows without injury 2 A biographical entry on Patten noted dryly that Frank Merriwell had little in common with his creator or his readers Patten offered some background on his character The name was symbolic of the chief characteristics I desired my hero to have Frank for frankness merry for a happy disposition well for health and abounding vitality Merriwell s classmates observed He never drinks That s how he keeps himself in such fine condition all the time He will not smoke either and he takes his exercise regularly He is really a remarkable freshie 3 American Olympic champion boxer and bobsledder Eddie Eagan commented in his autobiography To this day I have never used tobacco because Frank Merriwell didn t My first glass of wine which I do not care for was taken under social compulsion in Europe Frank never drank 4 Merriwell originally appeared in a series of magazine stories starting April 18 1896 Frank Merriwell or First Days at Fardale in Tip Top Weekly continuing through 1912 and later in dime novels and comic books Patten would confine himself to a hotel room for a week to write an entire story The Frank Merriwell comic strip began in 1928 continuing until 1936 Daily strips from 1934 provided illustrations for the 1937 Big Little Book There are at least two generations of Merriwells Frank his half brother Dick and Frank s son Frank Jr There is a marked difference between Frank and Dick Frank usually handles challenges on his own Dick has mysterious friends and skills that help him especially an old Indian friend without whom the stories would not be quite as interesting Syndicated comic strips editThe McClure Newspaper Syndicate distributed Young Frank Merriwell written by Patten and illustrated by John Hix it debuted on March 26 1928 and ran for six months The comic strip was resurrected in July 1931 as Frank Merriwell s Schooldays this time syndicated by the Central Press Association and illustrated by Jack Wilhelm and ran for three years 1 Radio editThe Adventures of Frank Merriwell first ran on NBC radio from March 26 to June 22 1934 as a 15 minute serial airing three times a week at 5 30pm Sponsored by Dr West s Toothpaste this program starred Donald Briggs in the title role Harlow Wilcox was the announcer After a 12 year gap the series returned October 5 1946 as a 30 minute Saturday morning show on NBC continuing until June 4 1949 Lawson Zerbe starred as Merriwell Jean Gillespie and Elaine Rostas as Inza Burrage Harold Studer as Bart Hodge and Patricia Hosley as Elsie Belwood Announcers were Mel Brandt and Harlow Wilcox and the Paul Taubman Orchestra supplied the background music 5 Yale s alma mater Bright College Years was the theme song Film editA film serial entitled The Adventures of Frank Merriwell was created by Universal Studios in 1936 Broadway editA Broadway musical called Frank Merriwell or Honor Unchallenged opened at the Longacre Theatre on April 24 1971 It closed after one performance 1965 relaunch editIn 1965 a new book series was launched by author Mike Frederic with cover tagline The thrilling sequel to the all time best selling American sports series Only three books were published Frank Merriwell Returns baseball theme 1965 Frank Merriwell Quarterback American football theme 1965 and Frank Merriwell At The Wheel sports car racing theme 1967 Book titles editTitle Series Project Gutenberg Dick Merriwell a Winner 178 Dick Merriwell Abroad 118 41827 Dick Merriwell Adrift 154 Dick Merriwell and June Arlington 234 Dick Merriwell and The Burglar 236 Dick Merriwell at Fardale 76 Dick Merriwell at the County Fair 179 Dick Merriwell at the Olympics 212 Dick Merriwell Doubted 164 Dick Merriwell Freshman 142 Dick Merriwell Game to the Last 186 Dick Merriwell in Panama 206 Dick Merriwell in South America 207 Dick Merriwell in the Wilds 167 Dick Merriwell Motor King 187 Dick Merriwell on the Gridiron 102 Dick Merriwell the Wizard 126 Dick Merriwell Universal Coach 209 Dick Merriwell s Ability 90 Dick Merriwell s Aero Dash 189 Dick Merriwell s Assurance 109 61830 Dick Merriwell s Backers 149 Dick Merriwell s Backstop 96 Dick Merriwell s Best Work 150 Dick Merriwell s Black Star 158 Dick Merriwell s Charm 241 Dick Merriwell s Cleverness 124 Dick Merriwell s Close Call 156 Dick Merriwell s Commencement 200 Dick Merriwell s Coolness 202 Dick Merriwell s Counsel 208 Dick Merriwell s Dare 136 Dick Merriwell s Dash 89 Dick Merriwell s Day 114 61174 Dick Merriwell s Debt 152 Dick Merriwell s Decision 201 Dick Merriwell s Defense 92 Dick Merriwell s Delivery 84 Dick Merriwell s Detective Work 199 Dick Merriwell s Diamond 87 Dick Merriwell s Disguise 103 Dick Merriwell s Distrust 151 Dick Merriwell s Downfall 116 Dick Merriwell s Example 166 Dick Merriwell s Fighting Chance 192 Dick Merriwell s Five 130 Dick Merriwell s Glory 77 62411 Dick Merriwell s Grit 108 Dick Merriwell s Heroic Players 211 Dick Merriwell s Home Run 135 Dick Merriwell s Honors 173 Dick Merriwell s Influence 141 Dick Merriwell s Intuition 190 Dick Merriwell s Joke 144 Dick Merriwell s Long Slide 110 Dick Merriwell s Magnetism 148 Dick Merriwell s Marked Money 100 Dick Merriwell s Mastery 153 Dick Merriwell s Model 93 Dick Merriwell s Mystery 94 Dick Merriwell s Narrow Escape 80 Dick Merriwell s Perception 198 Dick Merriwell s Persistence 113 Dick Merriwell s Placer Find 191 Dick Merriwell s Polo Team 132 Dick Merriwell s Power 181 Dick Merriwell s Pranks 120 41879 Dick Merriwell s Promise 78 Dick Merriwell s Race 175 Dick Merriwell s Racket 81 Dick Merriwell s Regret 147 Dick Merriwell s Reliance 203 Dick Merriwell s Reputation 171 Dick Merriwell s Rescue 79 Dick Merriwell s Resource 129 Dick Merriwell s Return 128 Dick Merriwell s Revenge 82 Dick Merriwell s Ruse 83 Dick Merriwell s Stanchness 161 Dick Merriwell s Stand 163 Dick Merriwell s Star Play 176 Dick Merriwell s Staying Power 143 Dick Merriwell s Stroke 127 Dick Merriwell s Team Mate 138 Dick Merriwell s Test 104 Dick Merriwell s Threat 112 Dick Merriwell s Trap 91 41866 Dick Merriwell s Tussle 188 Dick Merriwell s Varsity Nine 210 Dick Merriwell s Way 169 Dick Merriwell s Western Mission 97 Dick Merriwell s Wonders 85 Frank Merriwell As Coach 72 Frank Merriwell at Phantom Lake 177 Frank Merriwell at the Cowboy Carnival 237 Frank Merriwell at Yale 9 11115 Frank Merriwell Down South 5 22424 Frank Merriwell Facing His Foes 160 Frank Merriwell in Camp 24 Frank Merriwell in England 44 Frank Merriwell in Europe 8 Frank Merriwell in Kentucky 63 Frank Merriwell in Maine 28 61535 Frank Merriwell in Peru 182 Frank Merriwell in the Rockies 119 Frank Merriwell in The Yellowstone 243 Frank Merriwell in Wall Street 159 Frank Merriwell Jr and The Talking Head 245 Frank Merriwell Jr at The Old School 228 Frank Merriwell Jr Birdman 227 Frank Merriwell Jr in Arizona 217 61349 Frank Merriwell Jr in the Desert 221 Frank Merriwell Jr On The Border 231 Frank Merriwell Jr Tested 213 Frank Merriwell Jr s Athletic Team 224 Frank Merriwell Jr s Conquests 214 Frank Merriwell Jr s Cross Country Run 238 Frank Merriwell Jr s Fardale Visit 242 Frank Merriwell Jr s Fight For Right 222 Frank Merriwell Jr s Gridiron Honors 230 Frank Merriwell Jr s Helping Hand 216 62421 Frank Merriwell Jr s Ice boat Adventure 219 Frank Merriwell Jr s Indian entanglement 239 Frank Merriwell Jr s Mission 218 Frank Merriwell Jr s Ordeal 226 Frank Merriwell Jr s Peck of Trouble 225 Frank Merriwell Jr s Repentant Enemy 229 Frank Merriwell Jr s Rivals 215 Frank Merriwell Jr s Team Work 223 Frank Merriwell Jr s Timely Aid 220 Frank Merriwell Jr s Yacht Victory 244 Frank Merriwell on the Boulevards 45 Frank Merriwell on the Road 34 Frank Merriwell on Top 55 Frank Merriwell the Lionhearted 196 Frank Merriwell Wins An Enemy 240 Frank Merriwell s Air Voyage 157 Frank Merriwell s Alarm 16 38429 Frank Merriwell s Athletes 17 41996 Frank Merriwell s Auto 50 Frank Merriwell s Backers 95 39433 Frank Merriwell s Baseball Victories 48 Frank Merriwell s Bicycle Tour 13 Frank Merriwell s Bravery 6 22571 Frank Merriwell s Brother 73 Frank Merriwell s Challengers 122 Frank Merriwell s Champions 19 42049 Frank Merriwell s Chase 27 Frank Merriwell s Chums 2 19502 Frank Merriwell s Club 68 Frank Merriwell s College Chums 37 Frank Merriwell s Confidence 49 Frank Merriwell s Courage 14 Frank Merriwell s Cruise 26 22265 Frank Merriwell s Danger 22 Frank Merriwell s Daring 15 Frank Merriwell s Diamond Foes 232 60463 Frank Merriwell s Double Shot 47 Frank Merriwell s Duel 46 Frank Merriwell s Encounter 99 Frank Merriwell s Encouragement 172 Frank Merriwell s Endurance 123 56278 Frank Merriwell s Faith 60 Frank Merriwell s False Friend 70 61853 Frank Merriwell s Fame 36 Frank Merriwell s First Job 30 Frank Merriwell s Foes 3 Frank Merriwell s Fortune 39 Frank Merriwell s Fun 51 Frank Merriwell s Generosity 52 Frank Merriwell s Great Scheme 43 Frank Merriwell s Grit 180 Frank Merriwell s Happy Camp 140 Frank Merriwell s Hard Case 162 Frank Merriwell s Hard Luck 32 Frank Merriwell s Honor 86 Frank Merriwell s Horse 146 Frank Merriwell s Hunting Tour 7 Frank Merriwell s Iron Nerve 62 Frank Merriwell s Lads 205 Frank Merriwell s Leaguers 139 Frank Merriwell s Lesson 170 Frank Merriwell s Long Chance 183 Frank Merriwell s Loyalty 23 Frank Merriwell s Luck 56 Frank Merriwell s Marriage 125 62072 Frank Merriwell s Marvel 74 Frank Merriwell s Mascot 57 Frank Merriwell s Mystery 195 Frank Merriwell s New Boy 134 Frank Merriwell s New Comedian 40 38610 Frank Merriwell s Nomads 101 Frank Merriwell s Old Form 184 Frank Merriwell s Opportunity 31 Frank Merriwell s Own Company 35 Frank Merriwell s Party 12 Frank Merriwell s Peril 115 Frank Merriwell s Phantom 59 Frank Merriwell s Power 64 Frank Merriwell s Pride 121 Frank Merriwell s Problem 38 Frank Merriwell s Prosperity 41 Frank Merriwell s ProtA c gA c 33 Frank Merriwell s Pupils 133 Frank Merriwell s Pursuit 117 22874 Frank Merriwell s Puzzle 194 Frank Merriwell s Races 11 21958 Frank Merriwell s Ranch 168 Frank Merriwell s Rescue 98 Frank Merriwell s Return to Yale 20 35127 Frank Merriwell s Reward 58 19402 Frank Merriwell s Rough Deal 111 Frank Merriwell s School Days 1 Frank Merriwell s Search 67 Frank Merriwell s Secret 21 Frank Merriwell s Set Back 66 Frank Merriwell s Shrewdness 65 Frank Merriwell s Skill 18 Frank Merriwell s Son 137 25316 Frank Merriwell s Sports Afield 10 Frank Merriwell s Stage Hit 42 Frank Merriwell s Steadying Hand 165 Frank Merriwell s Strategy 106 Frank Merriwell s Strong Arm 71 61558 Frank Merriwell s Struggle 29 Frank Merriwell s Support 75 Frank Merriwell s Tact 193 Frank Merriwell s Talisman 145 Frank Merriwell s Temptation 54 Frank Merriwell s Tenacity 197 Frank Merriwell s Tigers 131 Frank Merriwell s Treasure Hunt 185 Frank Merriwell s Tricks 53 Frank Merriwell s Trip West 4 Frank Merriwell s Triumph 107 40262 Frank Merriwell s Trump Card 105 Frank Merriwell s Trust 69 Frank Merriwell s Vacation 25 Frank Merriwell s Victories 61 Frank Merriwell s Winners 88 Frank Merriwell s Wizard 174 Frank Merriwell s Worst Boy 155 Frank Merriwell s Young Warriors 204 Merriwell vs Merriwell 235 The Merriwell Company 233Listen to editThe Adventures of Frank Merriwell in the Internet Archive s Old Time Radio Collection Zoot Radio free old time radio show downloads of Frank Merriwell References edit a b Stripper s Guide A Frank Merriwell Bulletin May 30th 2006 a b 1 Archived November 22 2005 at the Wayback Machine Standish Burt L 2004 02 16 Frank Merriwell at Yale Project Gutenberg Retrieved 2011 06 06 Bull Andy February 25 2010 The forgotten story of those magnificent men and their flying bobsled The forgotten story of Winter Olympics 2010 The Guardian Retrieved August 13 2021 Terrace Vincent 1999 Radio Programs 1924 1984 A Catalog of Over 1800 Shows Jefferson NC McFarland ISBN 0 7864 0351 9 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Merriwell Tip Top Weekly on Nickels and Dimes Northern Illinois University s dime novel online database Tip Top Weekly January 6 1900 Frank Merriwell s Limit full text Archived November 3 2006 at the Wayback Machine Adventures of Frank Merriwell collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Holbrook Stewart H June 1961 Frank Merriwell At Yale Again And Again And Again American Heritage Vol 12 no 4 Retrieved August 13 2021 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frank Merriwell amp oldid 1217540607, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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