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About DonHerron.com
In 1977 Don Herron began leading The Dashiell Hammett Tour, now the longest-running literary tour in the nation. On this site you’ll find information on current walks — dates, where to meet, arranging tours by appointment — plus a hard-boiled blog with news, reviews of books and film, and a dash of noir.
The latest and greatest edition to self-guide you up and down the mean streets.
Willeford: The Book
Includes the first “Mr. Hunt” story, “Knives in the Dark.”
Tag Archives: Bill Arney
Frisco Beat: Mark Coggins on 891 Post and Bill Arney
Just got a note from crime writer Mark Coggins rounding up some stuff about the late Bill Arney on Twitter. One of the links offers Bill reading something by Mark on KQED. I bet there’s a lot of Bill’s voice … Continue reading
Frisco Beat: Up in Spade’s Room
Thomas Burchfield just put up an article on the late great Bill Arney — especially useful because it first appeared in 2009 and contains lots of info on Bill’s movements in San Francisco. I’d almost forgotten the breakup with a … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Hammett Cult in San Francisco, House of Fans, Maltese Falcon Society, Thomas Burchfield
Mort: Bill Arney
It’s a sad day in Sam Spade’s San Francisco. Got a note from Mike Humbert last night to inform me that Bill Arney died yesterday morning, September 28 2021. As of now, I don’t know what got him. I’m kicking … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, Bill Arney, Hammett Cult in San Francisco, Mike Humbert
Hammett: The Roscoe Barked
In Chapter II of The Maltese Falcon — Death in the Fog — Sam Spade describes the gun used to bump off his partner Miles Archer: “Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. That’s it. Thirty-eight, eight shot. They don’t make them any more.” … Continue reading
891 Post: The Reign of Wild Bill Arney, Remembered
Just got a note from Bill Arney, who you’ll remember as the longtime Keeper of the Sacred Shrine, i.e. Hammett’s apartment in 891 Post Street — where a little classic titled The Maltese Falcon was written. Bill just got a … Continue reading
Hammett: “Brigid Skates”
Back in 2009 I had a potential brush with the Court of Historical Review in San Francisco, which plays with old crimes — for fun, they re-try them. The loose plan was that I would provide background info on evidence … Continue reading
Hammett: Trouble in Paradise
Shot above from a few years ago, Mike Humbert, Don, Bill Arney standing in front of the folded-up Murphy bed in Sam Spade’s apartment, 891 Post Street. Mike maintains a Hammett website and Bill is famed as the one-time occupant … Continue reading
Hammett: Gutman’s Daughter Preying on Minds
I was just mentioning to Bill Arney that our days of hanging out in San Francisco bars between ten and twenty years ago was a Golden Age, and that I said so at the time. Golden Ages don’t slip past me … Continue reading
Tour: The Kermit Sheets Copy
Grizzled eBay gunhawk Brian Leno told me that a signed copy of an old tour book currently is on the block — Buy It Now for $39.50. First printing of the second edition from 1982. Same printing as the copy I … Continue reading
Posted in Frisco, News, Tour
Tagged Autographs, Bill Arney, Book Collecting, Bouchercon, Brian Leno, Hammett Tour Book, Kermit Sheets, PulpFest, Tiny Boyles
Hammett: And Chandler, and Nigel, Bill and Don
Slightly over twenty people did the “just show up and walk the walk” routine for the tour yesterday. I always think of twenty as being the average number of tourists gumshoeing the mean streets on the walk over the years, though … Continue reading
Posted in Dash, Film, Lit, Tour
Tagged 891 Post, BBC, Bill Arney, Delicatessen, Dominque Pinon, Dwight Frye, Fatty Arbuckle, Jo Hammett, Mark Murphy, Murphy bed, Nigel Williams, Raymond Chandler
