Bill Crider and Clyde Wilson, PI

What happens when a mild mannered, introverted English professor/mystery writer and an outgoing, hard-charging private investigator meet?  A two-book mystery series and a true crime book!  

Clyde Wilson was a bigger-than-life character and a legendary private investigator in Houston, having begun his PI business there in the 1950s.  He was the epitome of the phrase, “go big or go home,” and had a reputation for exposing corruption.  In the 1970s, Clyde Wilson made international headlines negotiating the release of hostages in Ethiopia for Tenneco.  One of his cases ended in adultery charges that broke up Donald Trump's marriage to his first wife, Ivana.  He was involved in high profile criminal investigations, including murder and cold cases.

He also liked crime novels, and happened to be a fan of Dad’s books.  When he retired, he decided he would like to try his hand at writing, and so struck up a relationship with Dad.  

I know Dad enjoyed his experience and collaboration with Clyde, although I didn’t find much that he wrote about it.  He provided a brief description for Ed Gorman on his blog here.  

Dad said that Clyde furnished a complete outline of the plot for the first mystery book and a partial outline for the second.  Dad filled in the rest with Clyde’s input.  He would travel to Houston to meet with Clyde at his house to discuss the books and the stories for the true crime book.  I don’t remember him telling me much about these meetings, except one thing in particular - Clyde had a pet bird who would sit on Dad’s shoulder while they talked.  The bird (I don’t recall what type of bird it was) would peck Dad’s head and bite his ears, sometimes drawing blood.  Dad didn’t complaint about this, just related the story, probably finding it amusing.  

The Ted Stephens mysteries, Houston Homicide (2007) and Mississippi Vivian (2010), involve fictionalized Houston private eye, Ted Stephens.  They are set in 1969 and 1970, and are loosely based on true murder cases investigated by Clyde Wilson. 

You can find an interesting blog post here, where Dad describes what actors he envisions as characters in one of the books.

Where the Hell Is Addis Ababa? Tales from the Files of a Very Public Private Investigator (2005), by Clyde A. Wilson, Mike Cochran, and Bill Crider, is just what the title implies, a recounting of some of Clyde’s most interesting and incredible cases.