Casey, Crime Photographer

Casey, Crime Photographer (aka Crime photographer; Flashgun Casey; Casey, Press Photographer; Stephen Bristol, Crime Photographer) was a media franchise, in the 1930s until the 1960s. Created by George Harmon Coxe, the photographer Casey was featured in radio, film, theater, novels, magazines and comic books. Launched in a 1934 issue of the pulp magazine Black Mask, the character Jack "Flashgun" Casey, was a crime photographer for the newspaper The Morning Express. With the help of reporter Ann Williams (portrayed on radio and TV by Jan Miner), he solved crimes and recounted his stories to friends at The Blue Note, their favorite tavern.

Casey's creator, George Harmon Coxe, was the 1964 recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's prestigious Grand Master Award representing the pinnacle of achievement in the mystery field. This award represents significant output of quality in mystery writing.

"Flashgun" Casey began in the March 1934 issue of Black Mask, in the story Return Engagement. This story was later used in the film "Here's Flash Casey". Twenty more stories appeared in the magazine over the next decades, and collections of these stories were published in anthology form as well. Two of the subsequent novels were serialized in the magazine, in addition to the 21 short stories.

Coxe wrote five novels featuring Casey.

Paul Ayres (Pseudonym of Edward S. Aaron) wrote a novel starring Casey, based on the works of Coxe

Begun as stories in Black Mask, the stories were brought to radio under multiple names. The series aired on CBS for its entirety. 07/07/43 - 11/16/50 and 01/13/54 - 04/22/55.

The radio show was sustained by the network, sponsored by Anchor Hocking, Toni home permanents, Toni Shampoo and Philip Morris. The Blue Note was a jazz club; the Archie Bleyer Orchestra and first Herman Chittison and later the The Teddy Wilson Trio were featured, usually in the introduction and wrapup of the show.