Charles Mergendahl (February 23, 1919 – April 27, 1959) was an American writer, best known for his salacious 1958 novel The Bramble Bush (1958) and its 1960 film adaptation. He also contributed original scripts and adaptations to various American television anthology series throughout the 1950s.
Throughout high school and college, Mergendahl had been involved in theater;[7][8] in 1941, his play, My Last Duchess (a blank-verse dramatization of Robert Browning's much-anthologized poem), was awarded 1st prize in Bowdoin College's annual one-act play competition[9] and his next play prompted the Boston Globe to write:
Mr. Mergendahl shows promise. He has a clever manner of writing lines that bring out what is really inside of his characters. He also has the ability to create a tense situations and to draw characters in contrast. Less commendable, however, is his way of looking at the world as though everyone in it is in the wrong profession and unhappy.[10]
Although an extended tour of duty in World War II necessarily brought his direct participation in theatre to an end, it does not appear to have adversely affected Mergendahl's productivity. In 1945, United Press reported that "during eight major engagements," Mergendahl had, by his own account, "written four novels, eight plays, and thirty short stories."[11]
He was awarded a Bronze Star decoration for his military service in leading the first wave of Marines onto the beach during the Battle of Tarawa in the Pacific War.
During the filming of his most famous novel, which was being reprinted to coincide with the release, Mergendahl died of brain trauma following an accidental fall at his home. He was only 40 years old; leaving behind a teenage daughter whose mother (his wife) had predeceased him.[12]
Mergendahl, Charles (April 7, 1945). "One Was Disloyal". The Saturday Evening Post. pp. 16, 105–106, 108.
Mergendahl, Charles (July 15, 1945). "Well, Good Night". MacLean's Magazine. pp. 13, 28–30.
Mergendahl, Charles (September 1945). "The Best I Ever Had". Adventure. pp. 82–89, 143.
Mergendahl, Charles (November 1945). "Thanksgiving". Hearst's International combined with Cosmopolitan. pp. 10–11.
Mergendahl, Charles (May 1946). "The Marvelous Adventure of Sidney J. Nealy". Hearst's International combined with Cosmopolitan. pp. 36–37, 143–148; also p. 17 (brief explanation of the image created by artist Austin Briggs and photographer Ralph Steiner, which is seen on pp. 36–37).
Mergendahl, Charles (June 1953). "Mrs. Morrison's Kiss". Cosmopolitan. pp. 65–69.
"Secret Recipe"; Hubin, Allen, ed. (1971). Best of the Best Detective Stories, 25th Anniversary Collection. New York: E.P. Dutton and Company. pp. 203–211. ISBN0525064508.
"Do It Yourself"; Lore, Elana, ed. (1983). Alfred Hitchcock's A Choice of Evils. New York: The Dial Press. pp. 87–92. ISBN9781555044749.