Wade Miller (pseudonym of Robert Wade and Bill Miller; they also wrote as Whit Masterson, Dale Wilmer, and Will Daemer). Robert Wade–born in San Diego, California, 1920. Presently living in San Diego, California. Bill Miller–born in Garrett, Indiana, 1920. Died in San Diego, California, 1961.
The team of Robert Wade and Bill Miller achieved several notable distinctions throughout their career: They successfully created their own private eye (Max Thursday); they wrote a book (Badge of Evil) that served as the basis for one of the best film noirs (Touch Of Evil); and wrote another book (Kitten With A Whip) that was the basis for one of the most entertaining “so-bad-it’s-good” films.
Wade and Miller started their partnership early. They were twelve years-old and both attending Woodrow Wilson Junior High when they met for the first time at a music lesson. They began writing together while teenagers–plays, sketches, and radio scripts. They both attended San Diego State college and edited the college newspaper. When WWII came along, they enlisted in the air force.
After WWII, Wade and Miller combined their surnames and wrote their first novel, Deadly Weapon (1946). It was a fine debut from the team and features P.I. Walter James, who is in San Diego investigating the shooting of his partner. Their next effort, Guilty Bystander (1947), features private detective Max Thursday, an unkempt alcoholic with an unpredictable temper who lives in a fleabag hotel. In the story, Thursday’s ex-wife shows up to tell him their son has been kidnapped and, along with battling to stay sober, he has to battle assorted cops, thugs, and double-crossing hookers. Reviewers compared Guilty Bystander favorably with the work of Hammett and Chandler. The other Thursday novels are Fatal Step (1948), Uneasy Street (1948), Calamity Fair (1950), Murder Charge (1950), and Shoot To Kill (1951).
Wade and Miller wrote numerous stand-alone novels, as well. One of their most famous (or infamous) books was Kitten With A Whip (1959)–made into an over-the-top, camp classic starring Ann-Margaret and John Forsythe.
Wade and Miller also wrote novels under the name Whit Masterson. They used the Masterson name on their novel Badge of Evil (1956)–the basis for the classic film noir Touch of Evil (1959), directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Charlton Heston, and Janet Leigh. Other excellent Masterson novels are A Cry In The Night (1955), which deals with a kidnapping, and A Hammer In His Hand (1960), which features a policewoman as the protagonist.
Bill Miller died of a heart attack in 1961. He was only 41 years-old. Robert Wade continued his career as a successful writer, penning novels both under his own name and as by Whit Masterson, as well as writing a regular column for the San Diego Union. In 1988, Wade was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Private Eye Writers of America.
Whit Masterson
- Wade Miller
- A Hammer in His Hand
- A Shadow in the Wild
- Badge of Evil
- Dead, She Was Beautiful
- Evil Come, Evil Go
- The Dark Fantastic
- A Cry in the Night
Wade Miller
