Recognizing Philadelphia noir novelist David Goodis.

WHEREAS, David Goodis was born March 2, 1917 and was raised in Logan; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis graduated from the General David Bell Birney Elementary School, Jay Cooke Junior High School, Simon Gratz High School, and Temple University; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis began a remarkable career in New York as an advertising and radio writer, and moved to Hollywood, during World War II; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis gained national attention with his novel Dark Passage, which was made into a movie starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall; and

WHEREAS, After a contract with Warner Brothers as a screenwriter, David Goodis returned to Philadelphia in the early 1950's and settled in East Oak Lane; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis began the most productive stage of his writing career as a noir novelist, writing some 15 novels and a score of short stories, many of which were set in Philadelphia, particularly in Port Richmond, the Tenderloin, Southwark, and the Delaware River front; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis' novel The Burglar, was made into a movie by Paul Wenkos and starred Jayne Mansfield; and

WHEREAS, The French film maker Francois Truffaut adapted David Goodis' novel "Down There" into the movie "Shoot the Piano Player" starring Charles Aznavour; and

WHEREAS, David Goodis died on January 7, 1967 at Albert Einstein Medical Center; and

WHEREAS, In observance of the 40th anniversary of his death and in honor of his literary contributions, the works and life of David Goodis are being celebrated at GoodisCON, a writers symposium, January 5, 6, and 7 in Philadelphia; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby note with pride the literary accomplishments of native son David Goodis.

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