Ernest Haycox
Ernest James Haycox (1899-1950) was a prominent American author known for his extensive contributions to the Western genre. Born in Portland, Oregon, Haycox experienced a challenging childhood marked by poverty and instability, moving frequently between Oregon and Washington due to his father's work. His varied early jobs included magazine sales, commercial fishing, and serving as a train vendor, experiences that enriched his storytelling. After serving in the Oregon National Guard and working as a reporter, he began to gain recognition as a writer in the 1920s, selling stories to publications like Overland Monthly.
Haycox's prolific career saw him publish nearly one hundred short stories in Collier's magazine and produce novels at an impressive rate, often adapting his works for the screen, contributing to classic films like "Stagecoach" and "Union Pacific." Renowned for his disciplined writing routine, he created over 250 short stories and numerous novels. His work garnered the admiration of literary figures such as Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, solidifying his place in American literature. Haycox passed away in 1950, with many of his works published posthumously, continuing to influence the Western genre long after his death.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Ernest Haycox
Screenwriter
- Born: October 1, 1899
- Birthplace: Portland, Oregon
- Died: October 14, 1950
- Place of death: Portland, Oregon
Biography
Ernest James Haycox, one of America’s premier Western authors, was born in 1899 in Portland, Oregon, to William James Haycox and Bertha Mary Burghardt. Haycox lived his early life in poverty, constantly moving between Oregon and Washington, where his father found work in mills and logging camps and his mother worked as a cook. His parents’ separation in 1908 forced him to live with various relatives and he attended nine different schools, including Lincoln High School in Portland and the University of Oregon.
Haycox worked as a magazine subscription salesman in San Francisco, a commercial fisherman in Alaska, and a vendor on a passenger train between Oakland, California, and Sacramento, California, before joining the Oregon National Guard. He was mobilized in l916 and sent to the Mexican border, an adventure that resulted in his first published work in Lincoln’s magazine. Other National Guard adventures provided additional story ideas. After completing his National Guard service, Haycox was a reporter at the Portland Oregonian until 1923, when he moved to New York. In 1925, he married Jill Marie Chord, and the couple returned to Portland in 1928. He and his wife had a daughter, Mary Ann, and a son, Ernest, Jr.
In 1921, Haycox sold two stories to Overland Monthly and his reputation as a writer specializing in Westerns grew. Beginning in 1930, he produced nearly one hundred short stories for Collier’s magazine that were about the problems encountered in frontier communities. In time, he was producing a novel every nine months and a serial installment or short story for Collier’s twice a month.
Haycox found great acceptance in Hollywood, where other writers adapted his stories and novels to the screen. His story “Stage to Lordsburg” was adapted as the film Stagecoach, a Western classic directed by John Ford. Cecile B. DeMille directed Union Pacific, an adaptation of Haycox’s novel Trouble Shooter. Haycox built a large home with the money he earned from selling the film rights to numerous novels and stories.
Haycox died on October 14, 1950, and many of his novels and short stories were published posthumously. Highly disciplined, he wrote for eight hours every day. In addition to his numerous novels, many of which were serialized in Collier’s or The Saturday Evening Post, he published more than 250 short stories. Haycox counted among his fans such writers as Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway.