- Born
- Died
- Earl Derr Biggers was born on August 24, 1884 in Warren, Ohio, USA. He was a writer, known for The House Without a Key (1926), Charlie Chan at Treasure Island (1939) and Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935). He was married to Eleanor Ladd. He died on April 5, 1933 in Pasadena, California, USA.
- SpouseEleanor Ladd(September 12, 1912 - April 5, 1933) (his death, 1 child)
- Biggers was a successful Broadway playwright, but the stress of the job shot his blood pressure to dangerous levels and he was advised by his doctor to take a long rest. He took a bungalow at a hotel on Hawaii's Waikiki Beach, and it was there he heard about the exploits of a legendary Chinese policeman in the Honolulu Police Department named Chang Apana. He used that officer as the basis for detective Charlie Chan in the first Chan book, "The House Without a Key" (the title came from the fact that the bungalows in the hotel he was staying at had no keys).
- Novelist and playwright, famous as the creator of detective Charlie Chan. He was a 1907 graduate of Harvard University and worked as a journalist before becoming an author of fiction. His novel "Seven Keys to Baldpate" was several times adapted for the screen.
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