George Baxt
George Baxt was a notable American author and screenwriter, recognized for his contributions to the genre of mystery fiction. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Baxt transitioned from his early career as a talent agent in the 1950s to screenwriting in Britain. His groundbreaking debut novel, *A Queer Kind of Death*, published in 1966, is often hailed as the first gay detective novel, featuring Pharoah Love, an African American homicide detective in Manhattan. This character was notable for his flamboyant personality and adventurous escapades, set against the backdrop of a society where LGBTQ+ representation was scarce in literature.
Baxt's writing style is characterized by satirical comedy and an emphasis on camp, making his works avant-garde for their time. After a long hiatus, he returned to the Pharoah Love series, which continued to blend humor with crime-solving, albeit with increasingly exaggerated elements. In addition to his detective novels, Baxt created a popular series featuring fictionalized accounts of celebrity figures, starting with *The Dorothy Parker Murder Case* in 1984. His extensive body of work also includes numerous short stories, primarily published in *Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine*, further solidifying his legacy in the mystery genre. Baxt's contributions have left a lasting impact, particularly in the representation of LGBTQ+ characters in detective fiction.
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George Baxt
Writer
- Born: June 11, 1923
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Died: June 28, 2003
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
George Baxt was born and educated in Brooklyn. In the 1950’s he worked as a talent agent before going to Britain to be a screenwriter, and much of his life was involved with films and television, including writing scripts. His first novel, A Queer Kind of Death, published in 1966, is often cited as the first gay detective novel. It brought him instant attention in an era when homosexuality was not a topic common in literature, and gay or lesbian characters did not appear as protagonists in detective fiction. The novel introduces Pharoah Love, an African American homicide detective whose beat is in Manhattan. Detective Love is sassy and flamboyant, and his adventures are fast-paced and often intentionally outrageous. In the following two years Baxt published two more novels with the Pharoah Love, but, though the novels provide a glimpse into the gay world of New York, they do not provide much insight into the gay subculture. They are not written in a realist tradition and do not specifically advocate gay rights. In the 1960’s, when the books first appeared, they were considered avant-garde because of their satiric comedy and their witty, stylized characters. In the twenty-first century, they are often referred to as having the feeling of underground comics. After a twenty-six-year hiatus, Baxt added two more books to the series. In these later books, Pharoah Love is a black supercop whose abilities are not always based in reality. The series is more often cited than read, although A Queer Kind of Death remains in print, and it will probably retain its historic label as the first overtly gay African American detective in American fiction.
Among Baxt’s other novels is one nominated for an Edgar award, A Parade of Cockeyed Creatures. It features Sylvia Plotkin, a high school teacher who is also a writer, and Max Van Larson, a missing persons detective. It was followed by other books filled with zany characters, most of whom live Greenwich Village in New York. These books are campy and joking in their writing style. Baxt’s third series, featuring fictional cases involving celebrity authors or film stars, was more popular. The first of the novels of which there are more than a dozen—was The Dorothy Parker Murder Case, in 1984. The subsequent titles follow the same formula, such as The Greta Garbo Murder Case, The Tallulah Bankhead Murder Case, which also features Jacob Singer, a 1940’s Hollywood private investigator, and The Clark Gable and Carole Lombard Murder Case, the final book in the series. The celebrity series provides various gossip and tidbits about the main characters in the course of their roles as amateur detectives. Throughout the series, Baxt thoroughly rewrites the history of Hollywood legends; for example, in one book Bette Davis partners with mystery writer Agatha Christie to solve a case in Egypt. Baxt also wrote some ninety mystery short stories, most of them published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine.