1954, Los Angeles, California, USA — La Jolla, California: Veteran Mystery Writer Dies. Raymond Chandler, shown in 1954 file photo, Dean of the Country’s mystery writers, died here March 26th from pneumonia, he was 71. Chandler’s style set a pattern for the modern tough guy detective stories. His private eye hero, Philip Marlowe, set a trend in detective story writing which often featured sharp, clipped writing, strong verbs, and eye-arresting similes. A television series is in preparation. — Image by © Bettmann/CORBIS