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Dashiell Hammett expert
Don Herron is
a hard-boiled hero
By: Sean McCourt
Special to The Examiner
September 1, 2009
Fact and fiction: Dashiell Hammett expert
Don Herron leads tours focusing
on the famed writer’s life and books. (Courtesy photo)
Don Herron at NoirCon 2008, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Revered as one of the greatest
detective novelists of all time, Dashiell Hammett
perfected his hard-boiled prose living in
the Tenderloin neighborhood in the 1920s.
It’s where the writer set what turned out
to be classics — “The Maltese Falcon”
and the “Continental Op” series.
detective novelists of all time, Dashiell Hammett
perfected his hard-boiled prose living in
the Tenderloin neighborhood in the 1920s.
It’s where the writer set what turned out
to be classics — “The Maltese Falcon”
and the “Continental Op” series.
In 1977, Hammett aficionado Don Herron
started taking people on walking tours
highlighting sites important in the
writer’s life and books.
started taking people on walking tours
highlighting sites important in the
writer’s life and books.
Three decades later, he still leads the tour.
He’s also celebrating a new 30th anniversary
edition of his “Dashiell Hammett Tour”
guidebook (Vince Emery Productions),
released earlier this year.
He’s also celebrating a new 30th anniversary
edition of his “Dashiell Hammett Tour”
guidebook (Vince Emery Productions),
released earlier this year.
The tour combines Herron’s encyclopedic
knowledge of the writer and his work with
a rapid-fire dispensation of history,
anecdotes and passages from the books,
all delivered in a tone and manner befitting
a pulp story by Hammett himself.
knowledge of the writer and his work with
a rapid-fire dispensation of history,
anecdotes and passages from the books,
all delivered in a tone and manner befitting
a pulp story by Hammett himself.
“I never expected to last 30 years; it wasn’t
in my mind anywhere along the way,” Herron
says. “I’ve never really done it for money;
the reason I started is because I really like
the stories. If I didn’t like the stories,
I wouldn’t bother.”
in my mind anywhere along the way,” Herron
says. “I’ve never really done it for money;
the reason I started is because I really like
the stories. If I didn’t like the stories,
I wouldn’t bother.”
Stops along the way include the alley at
Burritt Street, where Miles Archer was done
in by Brigid O’Shaughnessy; the Geary Theater,
where Joel Cairo had tickets to see a play;
and the apartment building on Post Street
where Hammett actually wrote “The Maltese Falcon”
— used as the model for Sam Spade’s apartment in the novel.
Burritt Street, where Miles Archer was done
in by Brigid O’Shaughnessy; the Geary Theater,
where Joel Cairo had tickets to see a play;
and the apartment building on Post Street
where Hammett actually wrote “The Maltese Falcon”
— used as the model for Sam Spade’s apartment in the novel.
The new book, packed with more background
information, detailed maps and vintage photographs,
also features a great, concise biography of Hammett
written by Herron, who admires the writer not only for
his work, but also his character.
information, detailed maps and vintage photographs,
also features a great, concise biography of Hammett
written by Herron, who admires the writer not only for
his work, but also his character.
During the early 1950s, Hammett was
sent to prison for refusing to cooperate
with authorities during the communist witch
hunts of the time.
sent to prison for refusing to cooperate
with authorities during the communist witch
hunts of the time.
“The idea that appeals to me about Hammett
in the [Sen. Joseph] McCarthy era is that he
was proving that the code presented in his
pulp fiction actually meant something to him.
He was a stand-up guy, like his detectives.
In the stories, he wasn’t just saying
something he didn’t believe in. I think this gives
the fiction that much more credibility.”
in the [Sen. Joseph] McCarthy era is that he
was proving that the code presented in his
pulp fiction actually meant something to him.
He was a stand-up guy, like his detectives.
In the stories, he wasn’t just saying
something he didn’t believe in. I think this gives
the fiction that much more credibility.”
IF YOU GO
Don Herron’s Dashiell Hammett Tour
When: Noon Sundays in September
Where: San Francisco Public Library,
100 Larkin St., San Francisco
(meet at northwest corner near Larkin
and Fulton streets — “just show up”)
100 Larkin St., San Francisco
(meet at northwest corner near Larkin
and Fulton streets — “just show up”)
Tickets: $10
On the tour
Places you’ll visit walking around with Herron:
Every place where Hammett lived in The CityMost settings from “The Maltese Falcon”
Back alleys where the Continental Op fought crooks
Where Sam Spade went in his quest for the bird
Hammett’s Pinkerton’s Detective Agency journey
working on the Fatty Arbuckle case
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