William Diehl(1924-2006)
- Writer
- Director
- Actor
William Diehl was born in 1924 in Jamaica, New York. At age 17, he lied
about his age to enlist in the Army Air Corps, volunteering for the US
Army Corps Aviation Cadet Program. After washing out of pilot school,
he served as a ball turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator where he flew 24
missions over Germany during World War II. He was the recipient of the
Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal with three Oak
Leaf Clusters.
After the war, he enrolled at the University of Missouri and graduated
with a degree in creative writing and history. He moved to Atlanta in
1949 and joined the staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he
served as a writer, photojournalist and editor.
He remained at the paper as a reporter and columnist until 1955, then
freelanced for several years. In 1960 he became the first managing
editor of Atlanta Magazine. He taught himself how to take photographs
for his stories and later worked as a freelance photographer.
He started on the plot of his first novel, "Sharky's Machine", while
serving as a juror. Diehl, then 50, was bored by the trial and started
writing the story on a notepad. The book was published in 1978.
His other novels, all with plot lines fueled by murder, greed, romance
and various forms of mayhem, included "Chameleon" (1981), "Hooligans"
(1984), "The Horse" (1987), "27" (1990), "Primal Fear" (1992), "Show of
Evil" (1995), "Reign in Hell" (1997) and "Eureka" (2002).
He had been working on another novel "Seven Ways to Die," when he died
in 2006 at Emory University Hospital. That book was completed by a
colleague, Kenneth Atchity, based on
over 400 pages of manuscript Diehl had left behind, a working outline,
notes and chapter drafts. The book was published in early 2012.
about his age to enlist in the Army Air Corps, volunteering for the US
Army Corps Aviation Cadet Program. After washing out of pilot school,
he served as a ball turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator where he flew 24
missions over Germany during World War II. He was the recipient of the
Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal with three Oak
Leaf Clusters.
After the war, he enrolled at the University of Missouri and graduated
with a degree in creative writing and history. He moved to Atlanta in
1949 and joined the staff of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution where he
served as a writer, photojournalist and editor.
He remained at the paper as a reporter and columnist until 1955, then
freelanced for several years. In 1960 he became the first managing
editor of Atlanta Magazine. He taught himself how to take photographs
for his stories and later worked as a freelance photographer.
He started on the plot of his first novel, "Sharky's Machine", while
serving as a juror. Diehl, then 50, was bored by the trial and started
writing the story on a notepad. The book was published in 1978.
His other novels, all with plot lines fueled by murder, greed, romance
and various forms of mayhem, included "Chameleon" (1981), "Hooligans"
(1984), "The Horse" (1987), "27" (1990), "Primal Fear" (1992), "Show of
Evil" (1995), "Reign in Hell" (1997) and "Eureka" (2002).
He had been working on another novel "Seven Ways to Die," when he died
in 2006 at Emory University Hospital. That book was completed by a
colleague, Kenneth Atchity, based on
over 400 pages of manuscript Diehl had left behind, a working outline,
notes and chapter drafts. The book was published in early 2012.