Welcome to a hard-boiled and not without noir blog with news and reviews, occasional outbursts of maniacal Autograph Hound activity, plus archival records from the forty-five year run of The Dashiell Hammett Tour. 
The Dashiell Hammett Tour
1977-2022
Arkham House Ephemera
The Classic Years 1937–1973
Death Lit
Essays and Reviews Selected from Fifty Years of Writing 1974–2024
Willeford
The Book
Category Archives: Boxing
Rediscovered: The Return of Joe Memoli
If you’ve got a long memory, you may recall that Iris Odonata — daughter of Joe Memoli, Made Man — once asked for a few points about him I once wrote be corrected. No sweat. Happy to do it. She … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Like Brian Leno Needed Another John Hancock from Jack Dempsey
Our maniacal Autograph Hound pal Brian Leno got a surprise for Xmas — an item of Jack Dempsey ephemera. Let Brian explain it: “A friend of mine was at a library book sale in North Carolina and found a promotional … Continue reading
Mort: Floyd Salas
Just got word that Floyd Salas died Sunday the 17th at the age of 90. Tattoo the Wicked Cross, baby. His companion of 38 years, Claire Ortalda, did the obit for Berkleyside — an excellent piece of writing, rounding up … Continue reading
Rediscovered: Charles Saunders
You can tell that at the time Cheryl Cline wrote her article on Sword-and-Sorcery for Portable Storage 4 she was unaware of the death of Imaro creator Charles Saunders. Like most, I only got the news late in the year. … Continue reading
Posted in Boxing, Lit, News
Tagged Charles Saunders, Imaro, Karl Edward Wagner, Kevin Cook, Leo Grin, Morgan Holmes, Tompk
Rediscovered: Freddie Mills Leads the Pack
Autograph Hound Saturday once again. Kind of snuck up on me. I mentioned the other week that Brian Leno has been collecting signatures like hell recently — on top of collecting like hell his whole life — and he’s here … Continue reading
Two-Gun Bob: The Chastain Connection
The handsome devil above is Don Chastain, and the mere mention of his name sent Brian Leno off into a web of connections — no doubt prompted by all his ongoing work on the boxing scene known to Texas writer … Continue reading
Posted in Boxing, Film, REH
Tagged Brian Leno, Clyde Chastain, Don Chastain, Glenn Lord, Kid Dula, Larry Belling, Raquel Welch
Rediscovered: More on Joe Memoli
Who would have thought a casual mention made when I was working up an article on the boxer-poet Floyd Salas would lead to more about Joe Memoli on These Mean Streets — and now, years later, to even more. Just … Continue reading
Two-Gun Bob: Zuvembie
Brian Leno was digging around in his stuff after telling me that no Halloween would be complete without a zombie — and who could argue that point? Here’s Brian with another treat for the holiday: This Scott Hampton artwork of … Continue reading
