Oregon Movies, A to Z

Ernest Haycox tried being a Reedie, left to go to New York to be a Bohemian, came back to Portland, put on a suit and tie, and settled down to a life of writing fiction in a downtown Portland office. He was famous for keeping regular working hours, nine to five.

John Ford’s Stagecoach was based on a short story by Haycox.  Jacques Tourneau’s Canyon Passage was based on a novel by Haycox, as was Cecil B. DeMille’s Union Pacific.

Haycox began his career in pulp magazines, and graduated to “the slicks” (Saturday Evening Post and Colliers’ Weekly), where he was read by Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway, both big fans.

Here’s a wonderful biographical sketch by Haycox’s son, Ernest Haycox, Jr.