W.C. Tuttle

W. C. Tuttle (November 11, 1883 – June 6, 1969) was an American writer who sold more than 1000 magazine stories and dozens of novels, almost all of which were westerns. Tuttle wrote mainly for pulp magazines; his main market was Adventure magazine. In a 1930 poll of its readers, Tuttle was voted the most popular writer in the magazine. Tuttle also wrote for other publications such as Argosy, Short Stories, Street & Smith’s Western Story Magazine, Field & Stream, West, New Western Magazine and Exciting Western. His best known character was Hashknife Hartley, who along with his friend Sleepy Stevens, served as unofficial detectives solving crimes on the ranches where they worked as cowboys. The Hashknife stories combined the western story with the detective story. Fellow western author and editor Jeff Sadler stated Tuttle's writing is "at its best" in the Hashknife stories. Sadler also claims Tuttle's novel Vanishing Brands is his finest novel:"...terse and dramatic, flecked with dry touches of wit, the novel is an excellent example of the Western form and a credit to its author". Other characters Tuttle created included Cultus Collins, Sad Sontag, and Henry Harrison Conroy, a former vaudeville actor turned sheriff.In 1950-1951, Tuttle was narrator of the old-time radio series Hashknife Hartley, which featured adaptations of his stories.He was also a screenwriter hailing back to the silent era. He wrote the screenplays for 52 films between 1915 and 1945.

A semi-pro baseball player in his youth, Tuttle served as President of the Pacific Coast Baseball League 1935-1943. Tuttle recommended to the Los Angeles Angels that the team should ask Gene Lillard to join them.He was born in Montana, and died in Los Angeles County, California.