Walsh,+Thomas+F.M.

Biographical Information
Dates: 1908 -1984 Dates in Ridgefield: 1949 -1965 mysteries, journalism journalist “Writing mysteries takes a thief’s mind,” Thomas F.M. Walsh told //The Ridgefield Press// in a 1962 interview. But writing is “a frightening business. You sit down there with a blank piece of paper and you have to fill it. A doctor or lawyer or insurance man gets out and talks to people but a writer just sits by himself and writes.” Mr. Walsh was born in New York City in 1908. He started writing for his high school newspaper and, while attending Columbia University, continued writing. He left Columbia during his sophomore year and moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he became a journalist on the //Baltimore Sun//. In 1933 he retired from journalism and turned to mystery writing. Mr. Walsh’s credits included //Nightmare in Manhattan//, which in 1950 won the prestigious Edgar Allen Poe Award for best first mystery by the Mystery Writers of America; the book was made into the film, //Union Station//, starring William Holden. He wrote more than 50 stories for //The Saturday Evening Post,// //The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers,// and //Good Housekeeping//. Walsh won the first Inner Sanctum Mystery Award for //The Eye of the Needle// in 1961, and his books included //The Night Watch//, //The Dark Window//, and //Dangerous Passenger//. He and his family lived on Casey Lane from 1949 to 1965. He died in Danbury in 1984 at the age of 76. ** Titles (partial): ** //Dangerous Passenger, //1951 //The Night Watch, //1952  //Nightmare in Manhattan, //1955  //The Eye of the Needle, //1960  //The Dark Window, //1979 <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: justify;">--Sources: Notable Ridgefielders–Jack Sanders; //Contemporary Authors Online// //1999; [|www.maggieblanck.com/Mayopages/TFMW.html] // [|Check the library catalog for titles by this author.] <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px; text-align: justify;">