A place to explore all things surrounding Detective Charlie Chan, his creator Earl Derr Biggers, and their connection with Hawaii, Ohio and mystery fiction. – LOU ARMAGNO
Season's Greetings Friends! Here's something interesting for mystery buffs, but especially Chan fans. Want to hear how Charlie Chan sounds as a German speaking detective? Then you'll want to order one of four audiobooks voiced by German Actor Helmut Krauss. Krauss has lent his voice to Marlon Brando, John Goodman, Yaphet Kotto, Wilhelm von Homburg, … Continue reading Det. Chan, sprechen sie Deutsch? “Ya, ich spreche Deutch gern!”
They've back! Beginning tomorrow November 2nd, after a five-month hiatus the Charlie Chan Sunday Comics return for another 3-yr, 7-month run! A painstaking labor of love, Webmaster Rush Glick has collected these excellent comic strip over time, and will once again post a new (or continuing story) comic strip each Sunday for the next 43 … Continue reading It’s official: The Charlie Chan Sunday Comics are back!
Like yourself (I'm sure) I've always puzzled at the introduction of Egbert, the black cat in Earl Derr Biggers' fourth Charlie Chan novel Behind That Curtain? No really! I've always wondered what enticed Biggers to add him into the fold. And what's with that name...Egbert? He appears only briefly in Chapters I and II. Egbert … Continue reading About “Egbert” the Black Cat in Behind That Curtain (1928)?
Well, there are many reasons for wearing a hat. I personally prefer a fedora in the Ohio winters to keep the snow and wind off my head. However, if you plan to do some detecting in the tropics, a Panama Hat is a must to keep a cool head when solving those mysteries. In the … Continue reading A Hawaiian detective’s necessity, The Panama Hat.
(HAPPY 141st BIRTHDAY EARL - August 26th, 1884) What's that you say! Did Charlie Chan really investigate a mystery in Cleveland, Ohio? Cleveland, where his creator Author Earl Derr Biggers once worked as a night crime reporter on Cleveland's newspaper, The Plain Dealer. Cleveland an hour's drive from Warren, Ohio, where Biggers was born and … Continue reading Charlie Chan and the Unsolved Cleveland Caper!
Had it not been for George M. Cohan's complete enthusiasm for Earl Derr Biggers' first novel, Seven Keys to Baldpate (1913), I've often wondered if Biggers' would have been as successful with mystery writing, or even--who knows--gone on to create our hero Charlie Chan! So with this year being the Centennial of Detective Charlie Chan's … Continue reading A Panama hat tip to George M. Cohan: Earl & Charlie couldn’t have done it without ya!
Social Media isn't very old. But even before Friendster, MySpace, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter (X), Instagram, Snapchat, and all the others, a 1970s social media craze came in the form of CB (Citizen Band) radio. And a new fad developed: sending QSL postcards to acknowledge radio contact with someone. These postcards were sent "snail mail" via … Continue reading A 1970s Charlie Chan CB radio QSL postcard, Alliance Ohio
Before Roland Winters, before Sidney Toler, even before Warner Oland starred as Charlie Chan; Japanese born actor George Kuwa was the first to play the detective in a 1926, ten-episode serial, The House Without a Key. This immediately following publication of that first Chan story "House" the previous year; a foreshadowing Detective Chan was here … Continue reading The mostly invisible, but highly significant Charlie Chan Actor: George Kuwa
First, the Arrow pointed only East. Then, as they ventured further it pointed both East and West, eleven more times. Who dare follow this dark foretoken into the future, or into the past! What is the secret to activate it's wisdom? It has revealed much to those who've traveled it's path and promises great moments … Continue reading Charlie Chan and The Secret of The Black Arrow, an old mystery revealed!
February brings us Valentines day (have you made your Valentines card box yet?). So for all the heroines and femme fatales out there, we're looking at Chan film favorite Actor Harold Huber. With that telltale scar on his right cheek Harold Huber was not only a Charlie Chan favorite, but worked with many of Hollywood's … Continue reading A Charlie Chan favorite, Actor Harold Huber’s prolific career!
The Postman on Holiday 