hungrily Here, by popular request, is a sample of John’s ill-fated Playboy article from 1966. I’ve posted a few things about this episode, but I suppose a synopsis is in order.
After Playboy published a letter John wrote about the poet Maxwell Bodenheim, he pitched a few ideas for pieces. Playboy turned down articles on science fiction pioneer Hugo Gernsback, and on the old Hobo News, but expressed interest in a short piece on UFOs, on spec. John decided to write the definitive article, and it grew longer and longer, as the correspondence grew more acrimonious. Eventually, the piece was rejected.
It was to be called “Operation Trojan Horse,” although it had little to do with the later book. John kept a first draft; it’s very rough, 86 pages long, and mostly written on the back of stationery from Sandy Howard Productions (where John was working on the TV show “Mack & Myer for Hire”). Ivan Sanderson made a few marginal notes; I don’t know if he was critiquing it, or if he and John hoped to salvage material for their equally ill-fated UFO book.
It was John’s first UFO article, although he had previously written a radio script on the subject for American Forces Radio. It was mostly a catalog of the main sightings and encounters up to that time. Here are the first five pages. I’ve previously posted the outline.
Cool Keel deal here, Doug! Yes, quite different from the book. Sanderson’s edit near the end of this posting is a good one, and cuts right into the meat. I still can’t get over (and never will) the wealth of material you share. Thanks so much.
Comment by William J. Grabowski — February 12, 2015 @ 11:01 am