Mary Higgins Clark, on writing:

 

A common question asked of writers is "When did you decide to become a writer?"
The answer, of course, is that we didn't decide anything.
It was decided for us.
I firmly believe that mythical godmothers make appearances at our cradles, and bestow their gifts.
The godmother who might have blessed me with a singing voice did not show up;
the goddess of dance was nowhere in sight;
the chef-to-the-angels was otherwise engaged.
Only one made the journey to my cradle, and she whispered, "You will be a storyteller."
- Mary Higgins Clark.

Recommended reading - Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography (2009)

Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography

by Ken Wlaschin. 

Published 2009.

ISBN-10: 0786443502

ISBN-13: 978-0786443505

Description:

The silent film era was known in part for its cliffhanger serials and air of suspense that kept audiences returning to theaters week after week. Icons such as Douglas Fairbanks, Laurel and Hardy, Lon Chaney and Harry Houdini were among those who graced the dark and shadowy screen. This reference guide to silent films with mystery and detective content lists more than 1,500 titles in one of entertainment’s most popular and enduring genres. While most of the films examined are from North America, mystery films from around the world are included.

The late Ken Wlaschin was former director of creative affairs at the American Film Institute, headed the Institute’s National Film Theater and founded its Los Angeles film festival. He previously directed the British Film Institute’s National Film Theater and London film festival for 14 years. Wlaschin, the author of three other McFarland books, lived in Palm Springs, California. 

Born on this day – Katherine Warren:

 

Katherine Warren

Actress

July 12, 1905 – July 17, 1965

Credits:

87th Precinct (1962); Alcoa Premiere (1962); Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1956–1957); All the King's Men (1949); And Baby Makes Three (1949); Bad for Each Other (1953); Battles of Chief Pontiac (1952); Blind Alley (1941); Bonanza (1961); Cavalcade of America (1952–1953); Checkmate (1960–1961); Climax! (1955–1957); Coronado 9 (1960); Crossroads (1956); Dear Brat (1951); Death Valley Days (1960); Dr. Christian (1957); Drango (1957); Father Knows Best (1956); Flat Top (1952); Footlights Theater (1953); Force of Arms (1951); Four Star Playhouse (1954–1955); Fury at Gunsight Pass (1956); General Electric Theater (1953–1956); Harriet Craig (1950); I'll Give My Life (1960); Inside Detroit (1956); It's a Great Life (1956); Jailhouse Rock (1957); Jane Wyman Presents the Fireside Theatre (1956); Kraft Mystery Theater (1963); Laramie (1960–1963); Leave It to Beaver (1957–1961); Lorna Doone (1951); Lux Video Theatre (1956); M Squad (1959); Mary Ryan, Detective (1949); Matinee Theatre (1955–1957); Mike Hammer (1958); Mystery Submarine (1950); Night Into Morning (1951); Outlaws (1961); Panic! (1957); Paula (1952); Playhouse 90 (1959); Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1958); Scandal Sheet (1952); Schlitz Playhouse (1953–1957); Shirley Temple's Storybook (1958); Son of Ali Baba (1952); State Trooper (1957); Talk About a Stranger (1952); Telephone Time (1956–1957); Tell It to the Judge (1949); The 20th Century-Fox Hour (1955–1956); The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1955); The Bamboo Prison (1954); The Beachcomber (1962); The Bigelow Theatre (1951); The Bob Cummings Show (1956); The Brothers Brannagan (1961); The Caine Mutiny (1954); The Country Girl (1954); The Court of Last Resort (1958); The Ford Television Theatre (1952–1957); The Frank Sinatra Show (1958); The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show (1956); The Glenn Miller Story (1954); The Gray Ghost (1957); The Lady Pays Off (1951); The Lineup (1959); The Lone Ranger (1955); The Loretta Young Show (1953–1959); The Man Behind the Gun (1953); The People Against O'Hara (1951); The Prowler (1951); The Star (1952); The Steel Trap (1952); The Story of Molly X (1949); The Tall Man (1962); The Tall Target (1951); The Thin Man (1958); The Violent Men (1955); This Is the Life (1956); This Woman Is Dangerous (1952); Three Guys Named Mike (1951); Three Secrets (1950); Topper (1954); TV Reader's Digest (1956); Washington Story (1952); Whirlybirds (1957); You Are There (1957); Zero Hour! (1957).

Born on this day – James E. Gunn:

James E. Gunn

Writer

Editor

Scholar

Anthologist

July 12, 1923 – December 23, 2020

Credits:

Books:

100 Astounding Little Alien Stories (1996); 100 Great Fantasy Short Short Stories (1984); 100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories (1978); 100 Great Science Fiction Stories (1978); Afterlives (1986); All I Need to Know About Filmmaking I Learned from the Toxic Avenger (1998); Alternate Worlds (1975); Arena (1976); Best SF: 1972 (1973); Best Tales of Terror (1962); Bio-Futures (1976); Breaking Point (1972); Comets (1986); Creations (1983); Crisis! (1986); Destination: Future (2010); Extraterrestrials (1988); Future Imperfect (1964); Gateways (2010); Gift from the Stars (2005); Golden Age SF (2006); Human Voices (1999); Inside Science Fiction (1992); Into the Unknown (1973); Isaac Asimov (1968); Kampus (1977); Little Green Men - Attack! (2017); Microcosmic Tales (1980); Mission: Tomorrow (2015); Modern Science Fiction: A Critical Analysis (2018); Nebula Award Stories 10 (1975); Nebula Award Stories 4 (1968); Nebula Awards Showcase 2008 (2008); Nova 2 (1972); One and Wonder (2013); One Hundred Hair-Raising Little Horror Stories (1993); Paratexts (2013); Pilgrims to Transcendence (2020); Reading Science Fiction (2018); Science Fiction A to Z (1982); Science Fiction Today And Tomorrow (1974); Sentinels (2010); Some Dreams Are Nightmares (1974); Space Opera (1974); Space Pioneers (2018); Star-Begotten (2017); Station in Space (1958); Synergy: New Science Fiction, Volume 4 (1989); Tales from Super-Science Fiction (2012); Talks with the Masters (2018); The 1978 Annual World's Best SF (1978); The Best of Astounding (1992); The Burning (1972); The Dreamers / aka The Mind Master (1980); The End of Summer (1979); The End of the Dreams (1975); The Gravity Business (1956); The Great SF Stories 17 (1988); The Great SF Stories 20 (1990); The Immortals (1962); The Joy Machine (1996); The Joy Makers (1961); The Last Dangerous Visions (2024); The Listeners (1972); The Magicians (1976); The Millennium Blues (2000); The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1988); The Road to Science Fiction 1 (1977); The Road to Science Fiction 2 (1979); The Road to Science Fiction 3 (1979); The Road to Science Fiction 4 (1982); The Road to Science Fiction 5 (1998); The Road to Science Fiction 6 (1998); The Science of Science Fiction Writing (1988); The Stars Around Us (1970); The Stilled Patter (1956); The Unpublished Gunn (2020); The Witching Hour (1970); This Fortress World (1955); Tiger! Tiger! (1984); Time Travelers (1997); Transcendental (2013); Transformation (2017); Transgalactic (2016); Triax (1977); TV: 2000 (1982); Visions of the Future (2015); Where Do We Go from Here? (1971); Young Extraterrestrials (1984).

Born on this day – Monte Hellman:

Monte Hellman

Director

Producer

Writer

Editor

July 12, 1929 – April 20, 2021

Credits:

A Decade Under the Influence (2003); A Fistful of Dollars (1964); A Fuller Life / Segment: Vision of the Impossible (2013); A Time for Killing (1967); An Almost Perfect Affair (1979); Avalanche Express (1979); Back Door to Hell (1964); Baretta (1975); Beach Ball (1965); Beast from Haunted Cave (1959); Buffalo '66 (1998); Bus Riley's Back in Town (1965); Chambre 666 (1982); China 9, Liberty 37 (1978); Close-Up (1995–1996); Cockfighter (1974); Cordillera (1964); Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011); Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961); Danger God (2018); Dementia 13 (1963); Du côté de chez Fred (1988); Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003); Fade to Black (1980); Family of Four (2009); Fighting Mad (1976); Film Genre (2002); Flight to Fury (1964); Footprints (2009); Godard Made in USA (2010); Grey Knight (1993); Harry and Walter Go to New York (1976); Head (1968); Headless (2014); Heisse Ware aus Hongkong (1974); Hellman Rider (1989); I dysi (2010); Iguana (1988); Incident at Barstow (2011); Inglourious Basterds (2009); Inside the Coppola Personality (1981); Janela Indiscreta (2012–2013); Kubrick's Universe: The Stanley Kubrick Podcast (2019); L.A. Without a Map (1998); Love, Cheat & Steal (1993); Make it Three Yards: A Conversation with James Taylor (2007); Marin Blue (2009); Monte Hellman: American Auteur (1997); Next (2015); Omnibus (1994); On the Road Again: Two-Lane Blacktop Revisited (2007); Out of the Blue and into the Black (1987); Plunging on Alone: Monte Hellman's Life in a Day (1986); Produce Your Own Damn Movie! (2011); Reservoir Dogs (1992); Reservoir Dogs Revisited (2005); Reservoir Dogs: Deleted Scenes (1992); Ride in the Whirlwind (1966); Road to Nowhere (2010); RoboCop (1987); Sam Peckinpah: Man of Iron (1993); Schwarze Erdbeeren (2005); Shatter (1974); Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989); Ski Troop Attack (1960); Sodankylä Forever (2010); Someone to Love (1987); Somewhere Near Salinas: A Conversation with Kris Kristofferson (2007); Stanley's Girlfriend (2006); Strutter (2012); Sudden Death (1977); Target: Harry (1969); TCM Remembers 2021 (2021); The Awakening (1980); The Big Red One (1980); The Christian Licorice Store (1971); The Greatest (1977); The Hired Hand: How Monte Hellman Almost Directed 'The Mechanic' (2017); The Killer Elite (1975); The Mechanic (1972); The Prospector (2009); The Shooting (1966); The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967); The Terror (1963); The Westing Game (1997); The Wild Angels (1966); The Wild Ride (1960); There Is No Direction (2005); To Have & to Hold (1996); Trapped Ashes (2006); Two-Lane Blacktop (1971); Última mirada al edén (2022); Venice 70: Future Reloaded (2013); Viernes 13: La Muerte del Verano (2022); Wanderlust (2006); Warren Oates: Across the Border (1993); Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004).

Born on this day – Donald E. Westlake:

 

Donald E. Westlake

Writer

July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008

Credits:

Books:

The Phil Crawford novel series: Backstage Love (1959); What Girls Will Do (1962). The Parker novel series, writing as Richard Stark: The Hunter (aka Point Blank / Payback) (1962); The Steel Hit (aka The Man With The Getaway Face) (1963); The Outfit (1963); The Mourner (1963); The Score (aka Killtown) (1963); The Jugger (1965); The Seventh (aka The Split) (1966); The Handle (aka Run Lethal) (1966); The Rare Coin Score (1967); The Green Eagle Score (1967); The Black Ice Score (1968); The Sour Lemon Score (1969); Slayground (1971); Deadly Edge (1971); Plunder Squad (1972); Butcher's Moon (1974); Comeback (1997); Backflash (1998); Flashfire (aka Parker) (2000); Firebreak (2001); Breakout (2002); Nobody Runs Forever (2004); Ask The Parrot (2006); Dirty Money (2008). The Mitch Tobin novel series: Kinds Of Love, Kinds Of Death (1966); Murder Among Children (1967); Wax Apple (1970); A Jade In Aries (1970); Don't Lie To Me (1972). The Alan Grofield novel series, writing as Richard Stark: The Damsel (1967); The Dame (1969); The Blackbird (1969); Lemons Never Lie (1971). The Dortmunder novel series: The Hot Rock (1970); Bank Shot (1972); Jimmy The Kid (1974); Nobody's Perfect (1977); Why Me? (1983); Good Behavior (1985); Drowned Hopes (1990); Don't Ask (1993); What's The Worst That Could Happen? (1996); Bad News (2001); The Road To Ruin (2004); Watch Your Back! (2005); What's So Funny? (2007); Get Real (2009). The Sam Holt novel series: One Of Us Is Wrong (1986); I Know A Trick Worth Two Of That (1986); What I Tell You Three Times Is False (1987); The Fourth Dimension Is Death (1989). The Sara & Jack novel series: Trust Me On This (1988); Baby, Would I Lie? (1994). Stand alone Novels: Sally (1959); Man Hungry (1959); All My Lovers (1959); SO WILLING (1960); All about Annette (1960); Virgin's Summer (1960); The Wife Next Door (1960); The Mercenaries (aka The Cutie) (1960); Passion's Playthings (1961); Call Me Sinner (1961); Campus Doll (1961); Brother and Sister (1961); Killing Time (1961); Young and Innocent (1961); 361 (1962); Strange affair (1962); Killy (1963); Campus Lovers (1963); Pity Him Afterwards (1964); The Fugitive Pigeon (1965); The Busy Body (1966); Spy in the Ointment (1966); God Save the Mark (1967); Anarchaos (1967); Philip (1967); Who stole Sassi Manoon? (1968); Up Your Banners (1969); Somebody Owes Me Money (1969); Adios Scheherazade (1970); Comfort Station (1970); Ex Officio (1970); I Gave at the Office (1971); Cops and Robbers (1972); Gangway! (collaborated with Brian Garfield) (1973); Help, I Am Being Held Prisoner (1974); Brothers Keepers (1975); Two Much (1975); Dancing Aztecs (1976); Castle in the Air (1980); Kahawa (1981); A Likely Story (1984); High Adventure (1985); Humans (1992); Smoke (1995); The Ax (1997); The Hook (2000); The Scared Stiff (2001); Put a Lid on It (2002); Money for Nothing (2003); Memory (2010); The Comedy is Finished (2012); Forever and a Death (2017); Call Me a Cab (2022); Too Many Crooks (1989); Curious Facts Preceding My Execution (1968); Enough (1977); Transylvania Station (collaborated with Abby Westlake and Gahan Wilson) (1987); Tomorrow's Crimes (1989); A Good Story and Other Stories (1999); Meteor Strike (2012); Double Feature (2020); The Getaway Car (2014); Terror's Echo: Novellas from Transgressions (2005); Transgressions (2006); Transgressions, Vol. 2 (2006); Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow... (1974); Tales to Send Chills Down Your Spine (1979); Alfred Hitchcock's A Choice of Evils (1983); Fifty Best Mysteries (1993); The Plot Thickens (1997); The Mysterious Press Anniversary Anthology: Celebrating 25 Years (2001); Brooklyn Noir 2: The Classics (2005); Price of Desire (2005).

Movies and television:

24th Street (2009); 87th Precinct (1962); A Slight Case of Murder (1999); Baby, I Got Your Money (2012); Come ti rapisco il pupo (1977); Cops and Robbers (1973); Fallen Angels (1995); Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery (1987 / 1991); Hot Stuff (1979); Jimmy the Kid (1982 / 1998); Journey to the Unknown (1968); Le cercle du cinéma (1998); Le commissaire mène l'enquête (1963); Les Chroniques du Mea (2023); Made in U.S.A (1966); Mike Hammer's Mickey Spillane (1998); Mise à sac (1967); Mordslust (1995); Muy personal (1988); Myster Mocky présente (2007); Nulle part ailleurs (1999); Numéros de Série (1995); Ordo (2004); Parker (2013); Payback (1999); Payback: Straight Up (2006); Paybacks Are a Bitch (2007); Play Dirty (2024); Point Blank (1967); Ripley Under Ground (2005); Slayground (1983); Stepfather 3 (1992); Stepfather II: Make Room for Daddy (1989); Supertrain (1979); The Ax (2005); The Bank Shot (1974); The Busy Body (1967); The Getaway Face (1963); The Gods Must Be Daring (1997); The Grifters (1990); The Hook (2004); The Hot Rock (1972); The Hunter: A Conversation with Author Donald E. Westlake (2007); The Media Show (1990); The Outfit (1973); The Split (1968); The Stepfather (1987 / 2009); The Twin (1984); Two Much (1995); What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001); Why Me? (1990).

Born on this day – Ken Wlaschin:

 

Ken Wlaschin

Actor

Writer

July 12, 1934 – November 10, 2009

Credits:

Books:

Encyclopedia of American Opera (2006); Encyclopedia of Opera on Screen: A Guide to More Than 100 Years of Opera Films, Videos, and DVDs (2004); Gian Carlo Menotti on Screen: Opera, Dance and Choral Works on Film, Television and Video (1999); Opera on Screen: A Guide to 100 Years of Films and Videos (1997); Silent Mystery and Detective Movies: A Comprehensive Filmography (2009); The Bluffer's Guide to the Cinema / aka Bluff Your Way in the Cinema (1971); The Faber Book of Movie Verse / with Philip French (1993); The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the World's Great Movie Stars (1979); The Silent Cinema in Song, 1896-1929: An Illustrated History and Catalog of Songs Inspired by the Movies and Stars (2008).

Movies and television:

Five More (1966); Jean Renoir: An Auteur to Remember (2007); Muffled Darkness (1987); Storyboard (1961); The History and Allure of Time Travel (2004); The Tramplers (1965); Valkokangas (1982).