Lee Goldberg

Lee Goldberg is an American author, screenwriter, publisher and producer known for his work on several different TV crime series, including Diagnosis: Murder, A Nero Wolfe Mystery, Hunter, Spenser: For Hire, Martial Law, She-Wolf of London, SeaQuest, 1-800-Missing, The Glades and Monk.

Career

Goldberg began his career by putting himself through college as a reporter covering the entertainment industry for The Los Angeles Times Syndicate, Starlog Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Contra Costa Times and American Film, among many other publications. His first novel, ".357 Vigilante," written under the pseudonym "Ian Ludlow," was published in the mid-1980s while he was still a UCLA student. Three more books in the series followed and the movie rights were optioned by New World Pictures. Although the movie was never made, his script for the movie, co-written with William Rabkin, led to a long career in television and film. His first produced television script was the "If You Knew Sammy" episode of "Spenser: For Hire" about an author of vigilante novels. His subsequent writing and producing credits include "Murphy's Law", "SeaQuest DSV", "The Cosby Mysteries", and "Monk", among others. He is perhaps best known for his stint as supervising producer & executive producer of the long-running series "Diagnosis Murder" starring Dick Van Dyke as a doctor who solves crimes. In 2007, Goldberg wrote and produced the pilot for a German television program, Fast Track: No Limits.^[1][2] which aired on television in some countries and was releasted a theatrical film in others.

In 2010, he wrote and directed the short film Remaindered, based on his short story for Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, on location in Kentucky. He wrote and directed the sequel, Bumsicle, in 2012.

In conjunction with his work on Monk and Diagnosis Murder, Goldberg wrote several original tie-in novels based on those series.^[3][4] He has also penned several original crime novels, two featuring ex-cop-turned-Hollywood troubleshooter Charlie Willis and four in the .357 Vigilante series, which he wrote under the pseudonym Ian Ludlow, while still a student.^[5] His novel, The Man with the Iron-On Badge (titled Watch Me Die for its re-release), was nominated for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America and was produced in 2007 as the stage play, Mapes For Hire, in Owensboro, Kentucky at the International Mystery Writers Festival.

Goldberg has also written non-fiction books about the entertainment industry, including Unsold Television Pilots and Successful Television Writing. His book, Unsold Television Pilots, was turned into two TV specials -- The Greatest Shows You Never Saw on CBS and The Best TV Shows That Never Were on ABC, both written and produced by William Rabkin and Goldberg. They also co-created The Dead Man an original, monthly series of horror novels that rolled-out in October 2011 ^[6] as the premiere titles of Amazon's new 47North sf/horror/fantasy imprint.^[7] Amazon initially ordered 12 books and, in February 2012, extended the series by 12 more. The 24th title, the Kindle Serial "Reborn," was published in January 2014, and is the final book in the series to date.

In June 2013, his novel "The Heist," the first in a five-book series written with Janet Evanovich, was published by Random House.^[8] A prequel short story, "Pros and Cons," was published in May 2013 and became the #1 bestselling Kindle Single for seven straight weeks...and hit both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.^[9] "The Heist" debuted at #2 on the USA Today bestseller list & #5 on the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel, "The Chase," debuted at #1 on the Publisher's Weekly bestseller list ^[10] and #2 on the New York Times bestseller list ^[11] in March 2014. The fifth book in the series, "The Pursuit," was published in June 2016 and hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.^[12]

His novel True Fiction, published by Amazon/Thomas & Mercer in April 2018, launched a new series of adventures ^[13] that will be followed by Killer Thriller in February 2019. Both books are "Ian Ludlow" thrillers, the novelist hero sharing the same name as the pseudonym that Goldberg used to write his .357 Vigilante paperbacks when he was in college in the 1980s. A second series about Detective Eve Ronin, the youngest homicide detective on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department history, kicks off with Lost Hills in September 2019 to be followed by a sequel in 2020 ^[14]

In September 2014, Goldberg launched the publishing company Brash Books^[15] with novelist Joel Goldman. The company publishes new crime fiction as well as award-winning, highly acclaimed crime, thriller and suspense novels that have fallen out of print by authors like Bill Crider, Mark Smith, Phoef Sutton, Carolyn Weston, Max Allan Collins, Jim Sanderson, Jane Waterhouse, Tom Kakonis, Maxine O'Callaghan, Gar Anthony Haywood, Robin Burcell, Jack Lynch, and Andy Straka among others. They also publish original novels, such as Jack Bunker's True Grift and Leo W. Bank's Double Wide, which won two 2018 Spur Awards, for Best First Novel and Best Contemporary Western, from the Western Writers of America ^[16]

Awards

Goldberg has been nominated twice for an Edgar Award by the Mystery Writers of America and twice for a Shamus Award by the Private Eye Writers of America. He was the 2012 recipient of the Poirot Award from Malice Domestic. He has served as a board member for the Mystery Writers of America and also founded, alongside novelist Max Allan Collins, the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers.^[17]

Personal life

Goldberg has three younger siblings -- Tod Goldberg, Linda Woods and Karen Dinino—all of whom are writers. His uncle is true crime author Burl Barer.

He lives with his wife and daughter in Calabasas.

Bibliography

References

External links

• Official Website
• Diagnosis Murder Website
• Interview at earthprime.com
• Interview at Storylink
• Quotenmeter review of Fast Track
• Lee Goldberg on IMDb
• Interview for Serien Junkies
• Interview Honolulu Star Bulletin
• interview St. Petersburg Times
• Entertainment Weekly on the Monk Books
• Lee Goldberg on "Frak" in the Atlanta Constitution
• Two Authors Launch Brash Books "Publishers Weekly"
• Sibling Revelry: Goldberg Brothers Hit Bestseller List Publishers Weekly
• The Brothers Goldberg: Tod Goldberg interviews Lee Goldberg in the Los Angeles Review of Books
• The Opposite of Jack Reacher: Publishers Weekly Talks to Lee Goldberg