David Dodge(1910-1974)
- Writer
David Dodge was born in Berkeley, California. His career as a writer
began when he made a bet with his wife Elva that he could write a
better mystery novel than the one she was reading. He drew on his
professional experience as a Certified Public Accountant to create his
first series character, San Francisco tax expert and reluctant
detective James "Whit" Whitney. "Death and Taxes" was published in 1941
and he won $5.00 from Elva. Three more Whitney novels were published
between 1943 and 1946. After Pearl Harbor Dodge was commissioned in the
U.S. Navy and emerged three years later as a Lieutenant Commander. On
his release from active duty, he set out for Guatemala by car with his
wife and daughter. His Latin-American experiences produced a second
series character, expatriate private investigator and tough-guy
adventurer Al Colby, and launched Dodge's second career as a travel
writer. Dodge was fond of explaining that while many writers traveled
in order to gather material to write about, his goal was to write in
order to gather money to travel. David Dodge also wrote short stories,
magazine articles, and plays. He is best known as the author of "To
Catch a Thief", which Alfred Hitchcock turned into a film (To Catch a Thief (1955)) starring
Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.