Robert Joyce Tasker ^{2 3}

  Research Notes:

Excerpt from Woody Haut's capsule bio of Robert Tasker, provided by Don Wallace on 1 July 2010:

"Robert Tasker. Knopf published his novel, Grimhaven, in 1927, which Willeford undoubtedly read (Grimhaven was also the name of one of Willeford's unpublished novels). Tasker's book concerns life in San Quentin where, in 1924, he was sentenced from five to life for robbing a dance hall in Oakland, California. After relieving patrons of their money - but telling the band, "Not you coloured folks. You've suffered enough" - the police found him on the stairs, smoking a cigarette, an unloaded gun at his side. In San Quentin, Tasker, who came from a wealthy family, encouraged fellow- prisoners to write (the warden would complain that so many inmates were submitting manuscripts to publishers that Quentin was in danger of turning into a literary agency), corresponded with Mencken, and wrote his novel. Upon his release, he travelled to Hollywood where he worked as a screenwriter and occasional actor. A condition of his parole was that he was not to write about prison life; consequently Frances Marion, with whom he was having an affair, received an Academy Award for The Big House, which was essentially Tasker's script. Unable to publish his second novel, and having no desire to take part in WW2, he went to Mexico where he died under mysterious circumstances." ⁵

  Noted events in his life were:

• Census: Canada, 1906, Saskatchewan, Canada. ² Household consisted of:
Arthur Tasker, Head, M, 35 b. United States
Hetta Crosky, Boarder, F, 25, United States
Ella Tasker, Wife, F, 38, United States
Honier (sic) Tasker, Son, M, 7, United States
Robert J. Tasker, Son,l M, 2, United States

• Census: Canada, 1906, Saskatchewan, Canada.

• Residence, 19 Jun 1937, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States.

Robert married Racquel Echeverria, daughter of Emilio Echeverria and Maria Raez, on 19 Jun 1937 in Santa Ana, Orange, California, United States.¹ (Racquel Echeverria was born about 1913 in Mexico.)