Kin Platt


Kin Platt was an American writer, artist, painter, sculptor, caricaturist, and comics artist, best known for penning radio comedy and animated TV series, as well as children's mystery novels, one of which earned him the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award.
He additionally wrote and drew comic books and comic strips.

Biography

Early life and career

Kin Platt was born to Etta and Daniel Platt. In the mid-1930s he wrote radio comedy for George Burns, Jack Benny, the comedy team of Stoopnagle and Budd, and The National Biscuit Comedy Hour of 1936. Later in the 1930s, he wrote for Disney and Walter Lantz theatrical cartoons, and he scripted the Robert Benchley film How to Read.

Comic books

[Image:StartlingComics2.jpg|thumb|right|Startling Comics #2 (Aug. 1940). Captain Future cover art by Platt.]
He broke into comic books with humor stories featuring the character "Happy" in the Better Comics omnibus Best Comics #1. Platt went on to write and draw many features in the next few issues and to draw such features as "Captain Future" in Better's Startling Comics; "The Mask", featuring a district attorney turned costumed crimefighter, in Exciting Comics; and writer Richard Hughes' Doc Savage-like "Doc Strange", in Thrilling Comics.
After doing WWII military service with the U.S. Army Air Force's Air Transport Command from 1943–46, Platt began working for such comic-book companies as Timely Comics ; and Better/Nedor/Standard, where he created Supermouse in 1948. Additionally, Platt wrote for the Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis comics at DC. For two years he drew the adventures of Pepsi and Pete for the advertising strip, Pepsi Cola Cops.
Al Jaffee, then an editor of Timely's humor comics, recalled in 2004,
For the New York Herald Tribune Syndicate, Platt wrote and drew the comic strip Mr. and Mrs. from 1947–1963, and The Duke and the Duchess from 1950–1954. Additionally, he drew theatrical caricatures for such newspapers and magazines as The Village Voice and the Los Angeles Times.
In the 1960s, Platt scripted TV animation, including for the Hanna-Barbera series The Jetsons, The Flintstones, Yogi Bear, Top Cat and Jonny Quest, as well as for Hal Seeger Productions' Milton the Monster.

Young-readers' literature

Plat began writing children's books and young-adult mysteries in 1961. He eventually published more than 30 books, including general-reader mysteries. His pseudonyms included Guy West, Alan West, Wesley Simon York, Nick Tall, Nick West, Noah Zark and Kirby Carr. Platt wrote several novels in the "Hitman" series under the name Kirby Carr.
Platt also returned to comics around this time, writing occasional stories for the DC Comics titles G.I. Combat, Our Army at War and Star Spangled War Stories in 1964. His final known comics credit is a 48-page adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Marvel Classics Comics #1.

Later career

The 1973 film Baxter!, a psychological drama starring Patricia Neal, was based on a book by Platt, The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear.
He continued writing books throughout the 1980s, though some novels remained unpublished. This material, as well as unpublished caricatures submitted to magazines and newspapers, was donated to the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University. Big Max and the Missing Giraffe was published posthumously by HarperTrophy in 2005.

Awards

  • 1967 Edgar Award for juvenile mystery, for Sinbad and Me
  • 1970 Edgar Award nomination, for ''The Mystery of the Witch Who Wouldn't''

Children's books

Young adult books

  • The Boy Who Could Make Himself Disappear
  • Hey, Dummy
  • Chloris and the Creeps
  • Chloris and the Freaks
  • Headman
  • The Terrible Love Life of Dudley Cornflower
  • Run for Your Life
  • Chloris and the Weirdos
  • The Doomsday Gang
  • Dracula, Go Home
  • The Ape Inside Me
  • Flames Going Out
  • Brogg's Brain
  • Frank and Stein and Me
  • Crocker
  • ''A Mystery for Thoreau''

"Steve Forrester" young-adult mysteries

  • The Blue Man
  • Sinbad and Me
  • The Mystery of the Witch Who Wouldn't
  • ''The Ghost of Hellsfire Street''

Mysteries

  • Dead as They Come
  • A Pride of Women
  • ''Murder in Rosslare''

"Max Roper" mysteries

  • The Pushbutton Butterfly
  • The Kissing Gourami
  • The Princess Stakes Murder
  • The Giant Kill
  • Match Point for Murder
  • The Body Beautiful Murder
  • ''The Screwball King Murder''

"Hitman" Series (as Kirby Carr)

  • Who Killed You, Cindy Castle
  • Let Me Kill You, Sweetheart
  • The Girls Who Came To Murder
  • They're Coming to Kill You, Jane
  • You Die Next, Jill Baby
  • You're Hired, You're Dead
  • Don't Bet on Living Alice
  • ''The Impossible Spy''

Adult books (various pseudonyms)

  • Sex Heel as Guy West
  • Group Grope as Alan West
  • Pandora as Guy York
  • Lovers & Exorcists as Wesley Simon York