Prolific American writer who published from 1939 to 1976 more than 60
mystery novels that featured the private detective Michael Shayne. A
founding member of the Mystery Writers of America, he was given an
Edgar Award for his criticism in 1953. He also used the pseudonyms Asa
Baker, Mathew Blood, Kathryn Culver, Don Davis, Hal Debrett, Anthony
Scott, Anderson Wayne. "Brett Halliday" is also a pseudonym of
Bill Pronzini.
With his wife, mystery/detective author Helen McCloy, he co-founded the
Torquil Publishing Company, which from 1953 to 1964 published the
adventures of Michael Shayne, and the Halliday & McCloy Literary
Agency. He wrote as Hal Debrett when collaborating with his second
wife, Kathleen Rollins, on "Before I Wake" (1949) and "A Lonely Way to
Die" (1950), these collaborations leading to their marriage. His third
wife was writer Mary Savage, who outlived him.