Gil Brewer

Gilbert John "Gil" Brewer (November 20, 1922 – January 9, 1983) was an American writer of crime novels and short stories. Born on November 20, 1922, in Canandaigua, New York, he was the son of Gilbert Thomas Brewer and Ruth Wilhelmina Olschewske.^[1] Brewer's father was a writer who also published under the name Gil Brewer, specializing in air adventure stories.^[2] The older Brewer is most often remembered for having written "Gorilla of the Gas Bags," the cover story for the rare June 1929 issue of Zeppelin Stories.^[3]

After leaving the army at the end of World War II, Brewer joined his family, who had settled in St. Petersburg, Florida.^[4] There he met Verlaine in 1947 and married her soon after. Brewer started by writing serious novels, but soon turned to pulp paperbacks after a sale to Gold Medal Books in 1950, and afterwards specialized in fast-paced crime novels with a dose of soft-core sexuality. At one point, he had five books on the stands simultaneously. His best-selling book was 13 French Street (1951), which sold over a million copies.^[4]

Unwilling to promote himself, his career took a turn for the worse after a mental breakdown, and a long decline into alcoholism.^[4] Brewer died on January 9, 1983.^[4]