Dwight Bennett Newton (January 14, 1916 – June 30, 2013 ^[1]) was an American writer of westerns. ^[2] He also wrote under the names Dwight Bennett, Clement Hardin, Ford Logan, ^[3] Hank Mitchum ^[4] and Dan Temple. Newton was one of the six founder members of the Western Writers of America. ^[1] He was a writer and story consultant for various television shows including Wagon Train and Tales of Wells Fargo. ^[1]

Biography

Newton was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and began to write short stories for Western magazines while studying history at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. ^[1] After graduating with a master's degree in 1942, he served in the Army Corps of Engineers until 1946, ^[5] being based at Camp Abbot, a training center near Bend, Oregon, in 1943. After the war he settled in Bend, and became a professional writer, publishing 74 novels under various names, including one, Range Boss ( Pocket Books, 1949), that was the first work of fiction issued in paperback, without having first appeared in hardcovers. ^[1]

In 1952 Newton was one of the six founder members of Western Writers of America, Inc., serving as its first secretary-treasurer, and as a board member for ten years. ^[1]

In the late 1950s, Newton moved to Hollywood to work as a writer and story consultant for several television shows, before returning to Bend in 1965. ^[1]

During the 1970s, he gave classes in fiction writing at Central Oregon Community College, and at the Haystack summer school at Cannon Beach. ^[1]

Personal life

Newton married Mary Jane Kregel of Nebraska City, Nebraska, on January 29, 1941. They had two daughters. ^[1]

He died at his home in Bend, aged 97, and is buried at Tumalo Cemetery, Deschutes County, Oregon. ^[1]

Bibliography

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (September 2017)

Novels

As "D. B. Newton" ^[5]

• Guns of the Rimrock, Phoenix Press (1946)
• Range of No Return, Complete Western Book magazine (June 1949)
• The Outlaw Breed, Gold Medal Books (1955)
• Maverick Brand, Monarch Books (1962)
• On the Dodge, Berkley (1962)
• Guns of Warbonnet, Berkley (1963)
• Bullets on the Wind, Berkley (1964)
• Fury at Three Forks, Berkley (1964)
• The Savage Hills, Berkley (1964)
• The Manhunters, Berkley (1966)
• Hideout Valley, Berkley (1967)
• The Tabbart Brand, Berkley (1967)
• Shotgun Freighter, Berkley (1968)
• The Wolf Pack, Berkley (1968)
• The Judas Horse, Berkley (1969)
• Syndicate Gun, Berkley (1972)
• Massacre Valley, Curtis Books (1973)
• Range Tramp, Berkley (1973)
• Bounty on Bannister, Berkley (1975)
• The Landgrabbers, Popular Library (1975)
• Trail of the Bear, Popular Library (1975)
• Broken Spur, Berkley (1977)

As "Dwight Bennett" ^[5]

• Stormy Range, Doubleday & Co. (1951)
• Border Graze, Doubleday & Co. (1953)
• The Avenger, Permabooks (1956)
• Cherokee Outlet, Doubleday & Co. (1961)
• Rebel Trail, Doubleday & Co. (1963)
• Crooked River Canyon, Doubleday & Co. (1966)
• Legend in the Dust, Doubleday & Co. (1970)
• The Big Land, Doubleday & Co. (1972)
• The Guns of Ellsworth, Doubleday & Co. (1973)
• Hangman's Knot, Doubleday & Co. (1975)
• The Cheyenne Encounter, Doubleday & Co. (1976)
• West of Railhead, Doubleday and Co. (1977)
• The Texans, Doubleday & Co. (1979)
• Disaster Creek, Doubleday & Co. (1981)

As "Ford Logan" ^[5]

• Fire in the Desert, Ballantine Books (1954)

As "Dan Temple" ^[5]

• Bullet Lease, Popular Library (1957)
• Gun and Star, Monarch Books (1964)

As "Clement Hardin" ^[5]

• Cross Me in Gunsmoke, Ace Books (1957)
• The Lurking Gun, Ace Books (1961)
• Outcast of Ute Bend, Ace Books (1965)
• The Ruthless Breed, Ace Books (1966)
• The Oxbow Deed, Ace Books (1967)
• The Paxman Feud, Ace Books (1967)
• Ambush Reckoning, Ace Books (1968)
• Sheriff of Sentinel, Ace Books (1969)
• Colt Wages, Ace Books (1970)
• Stage Line to Rincon, Ace Books (1971)
• The Badge Shooters, Ace Books (1975)

As "Hank Mitchum" ^[5]

• Dodge City: Stagecoach Station #1, Bantam Books (1982)
• Laredo: Stagecoach Station #2, Bantam Books (1982)
• Santa Fe: Stagecoach Station #6, Bantam Books (1983)
• Tombstone: Stagecoach Station #4, Bantam Books (1983)
• Carson City: Stagecoach Station #13, Bantam Books (1984)
• Deadwood: Stagecoach Station #11, Bantam Books (1984)
• Leadville: Stagecoach Station #20, Bantam Books (1985)
• Tulsa: Stagecoach Station #26, Bantam Books (1986)

Short stories

As "D. B. Newton" ^[5]

• "Swing High, Nester!", Lariat Story (March 1949)
• "White Thunder of the Cherokees", Frontier Stories, (Summer 1949)
• "Three Guns and a Girl", Best Western (September 1951)
• "Rogue's Rendezvous", Rio Kid Western (January 1952)
• "Stage Coach West", Frontier Stories (Spring 1952)
• "The Slack Rein", Western Short Stories (June 1952)
• "The Kid Who Wouldn't Talk", Best Western, (July 1952)
• "The Kid That Satan Sent", Western Novels and Short Stories (April 1953)
• "Mule Tracks", Bad Men and Good (WWA anthology), Dodd, Mead, (1953)
• "Chain of Command", With Guidons Flying (WWA anthology), edited by Charles N. Heckelmann. Doubleday & Co., (1970)
• "The Storm Riders", Zane Grey Western (October 1970)

As "Dwight Bennett" ^[5]

• "Trail's End at the Hangtree", Five Western Novels (October 1951)

As "Jackson Cole" ^[5]

• "The Barbed Barrier", Texas Rangers (July 1953)

Teleplays

• Cimarron City ^[5]
  • "Kid on a Calico Horse". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and Thomas Thompson. Story by E. Jack Neuman (April 28, 1958)
• Colt .45 ^[5]
  • "Under False Pretenses". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by Elmer Kelton (October 3, 1959)
• Overland Trail ^[5]
  • "Daughter of the Sioux". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (January 6, 1960)
• Shotgun Slade ^[5]
  • "Mesa of Missing Men". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (June 19, 1959)
  • "Barbed Wire". Teleplay by Frank Bonham and Dwight Newton (July 17, 1959)
  • "Major Trouble". Teleplay by Bob Mitchell and Dwight Newton. Story by Ralph Conger (July 30, 1959)
  • "Bob Ford". Teleplay by Tod Ballard and Dwight Newton (August 24, 1959)
• Tales of Wells Fargo ^[5]
  • "The Hasty Gun". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (January 28, 1957)
  • "Shotgun Messenger". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and Sloan Nibley (February 26, 1957)
  • "Jesse James". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (March 5, 1957)
  • "Ride With a Killer". Teleplay by Verne Athanas and Dwight Newton (March 19, 1957)
  • "Fort Massacre". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and David Chandler. Story by David Chandler (April 8, 1957)
  • "Luke Frazer". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by T. T. Flynn (July 9, 1958)
  • "The Branding Iron". Teleplay by A. I. Bezzerides and Dwight Newton (August 6, 1958)
  • "Wild Cargo". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by Steve Fisher (August 14, 1958)
  • "The House I Enter". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by William F. Leicester (October 31, 1958)
  • "The Last Stand". Teleplay by Dwight Newton. Story by John Cunningham (November 21, 1958)
  • "Tall Texan". Teleplay by D. D. Beauchamp, Mary Beauchamp and Dwight Newton (January 13, 1959)
  • "Kid Curry". Teleplay by D. D. Beauchamp and Dwight Newton. Story by D. D. Beauchamp (March 6, 1959)
  • "The Daltons". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (April 9, 1959)
  • "The Dynamite Kid". Teleplay by Dwight Newton (September 1, 1959)
  • "Frightened Witness". Teleplay by Dwight Newton and Barney Slater. Story by Dwight Newton (October 27, 1960)
• Wagon Train ^[5]
  • "The Jesse Cowan Story". Story and teleplay by Dwight Newton (October 28, 1957)
  • "The Bill Tawnee Story". Teleplay by Rik Vollaerts and Dwight Newton. Story by Rik Vollaerts (February 12, 1958)
• Whiplash ^[5]
  • "Convict Town". By Dwight Newton (September 17, 1960)

Legacy

Nineteen linear feet of the author's papers are held at the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives. ^[5]

References

External links

• Dwight Newton at IMDb
• Dashner, Garry. "Dwight B. Newton: Collection of articles and yearbooks, a biography and bibliography".