George Thomas Roberts, better known as G. T. Fleming-Roberts, was born on April 17, 1910, in Lafayette, Indiana. Starting out as a veterinary surgeon following in his father’s footsteps, he soon took up a sideline as a pulp writer.
Best known as the creator of The Green Ghost, the prolific pulp writer also regularly wrote for Secret Agent X, Dan Fowler, and Captain Zero. Fleming-Roberts wrote hundreds of pulp stories from the early 1930s to the mid-1950s under a variety of house names, with only his service during the Second World War slowing him down. His career peaked in the 1940s, when Hollywood filmed two of his stories: Warner Brothers released Find the Blackmailer in 1943, and PRC released Lady Chaser in 1946.
While The Green Ghost remains his best-known creation, Fleming-Roberts also wrote popular pulp series about two other magician detectives, Diamondstone for POPULAR DETECTIVE and Jeffrey Wren for DIME DETECTIVE. Once the pulp era ended, Fleming-Roberts turned to the lecture circuit to share his experiences with aspiring writers and fans alike. Late in life, George “Tommy” Roberts was active in Indiana politics. He died in 1968 and was survived by his wife of nearly 30 years, Agatha Halcyon Amell.
Monte Herridge compiled an excellent survey of Fleming-Roberts’ works, including the most comprehensive bibliography available along with biographical information on the writer. Herridge’s work on Fleming-Roberts is available on the Mystery File website.
Soon after Popular Publications took over Black Mask in 1940, G. T. Fleming-Roberts began appearing in the magazine. His story, “Rats Breed Rats,” appeared in the August 1940 issue of Black Mask, with cover art by Rafael M. DeSoto. It was Fleming-Roberts’ first appearance in the classic detective pulp. Between 1940 and 1951, he sold eight stories to Black Mask, the pulp’s final year of publication.
