Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu: Fu Manchu Radio Shows

The chimes of Big Ben ring out. A sharp rap on a door is heard. A door creaks, the warning of a stealthy entrance. The girl gasps. Her scream pierces the night. A solitary shot is fired. Evil Incarnate laughs maniacally and sends shivers through millions of listeners from coast to coast. Dr. Fu Manchu, Mastermind of Crime, is on the air!

London at midnight, the city is wrapped in a heavy shroud of dense, yellow, fog. Streetlights, weird as elfen lamps, glow mistily, like something fashioned in a dream. The murmur of creeping traffic is low, hushed, mysterious.

Behind an ancient wall surrounding unkept lawns a vast, gloomy, old mansion crouches like an evil beast of prey. Inside that dwelling, unknown to all but a chosen few, unvisited by the police, resides a luxurious residence. Orientally furnished, cushioned, and perfumed, stands a palace of Eastern magnificence, a jewel in the grimy casket of Limehouse.

Amidst those stone walls, concealed by heavy tapestries magnificently fashioned with golden dragons and floors carpeted with deep pile Chinese rugs, at huge dragon-legged table covered with scintillating globes and instruments unknown to western science, sits that master scientist, that prince of evil, Dr. Fu Manchu!

Introduction

If you're like me, you can never get enough lurid, pulse-pounding, pulp-style action, thrilling adventure, and suspenseful mystery. Fu Manchu novels are enjoyable reads. They offer escapism in the classic blood & thunder tradition. Fu Manchu's adventures are many and well-documented.

However, information and documentation concerning the radio dramatizations is scarce and difficult to locate. In years past, Fu Manchu appeared on radio in multiple incarnations. Unfortunately, only an incomplete collection of recordings, from one of those incarnations, has been preserved and made available. Listen to those recordings here!

In the interest of preserving information and documentation concerning the Fu Manchu radio dramatizations, I present to you the following.

Fu Manchu radio dramatizations, based on the villainous character created by British author Sax Rohmer, first appeared on the airwaves in the late 1920s. In the early years of radio broadcasting, it was only natural to adapt Fu Manchu's adventures for the airwaves. A handful of Fu Manchu radio productions were broadcast throughout the years. So let's travel through time and explore the history of Fu Manchu on the air!

The Collier Hour
The Collier Hour, also known as Collier's Radio Hour, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network from 1927 to 1932. It was created and produced by Malcolm LaPrade. This program was radio's first major dramatic anthology.

The Collier Hour was created to promote Collier's magazine, to increase subscriptions, and compete with The Saturday Evening Post. It presented 60-minute weekly dramatizations of both short stories and serials from the magazine's current issue. Originally broadcast on Wednesday evenings at 6:15 pm, before publication of that week's magazine issue, the program later moved to 8:15 pm on Sundays.

Story segments during the hour-long program were introduced by a host, known as the Editor, portrayed by John B. Kennedy, Jack Arthur, Phil Barrison, and Arthur Hughes. Directed by Colonel Thomas Davis, the series was created and produced by Malcolm LaPrade with music under supervision of his brother, Ernest LaPrade, who also conducted for the Orchestra of the Nation series.

In 1929, the format was altered and The Collier Hour became a variety show, featuring music, news, sports, and comedy in addition to the dramatizations. Helen Hayes appeared on the show October 5, 1930. Guests on the series included George M. Cohan in his radio debut, John D. Rockefeller, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Helen Keller.

When Robert Ripley's 1930 debut on The Collier Hour brought a strong listener reaction, he was given a Monday night NBC series beginning April 14, 1930, followed by a 1931-32 series airing twice a week.

Four Sax Rohmer serials, from Collier's magazine, were produced for the Collier Hour radio program, each in 12 weekly parts.

The Emperor of America 11/27/1927 - 01/08/1928 (Wednesdays)

05/13/1928 - 06/17/1928 (Wednesdays)
The Day the World Ended 05/01/1929 - 07/17/1929 (Wednesdays)
Daughter of Fu Manchu 03/02/1930 - 05/18/1930 (Sundays)
Yu'an Hee See Laughs 03/01/1931 - 05/17/1931 (Sundays)

by Shawn Van Briesen

Arthur Hughes, who also served as one of the program's announcers, played the part of Dr. Fu Manchu in the second serial. Rohmer himself participated in the 03/01/1931 broadcast, presenting a brief introduction to the third serial.

No recordings of these productions are known to exist at this time.

Fu Manchu Mysteries aka The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu
The Fu Manchu Mysteries radio drama was originally broadcast from September 26, 1932 to April 24, 1933. It aired as 31 half-hour episodes on Mondays at 7:45 pm Chicago time on station WGN or 8:45 pm New York time on WABC, and was sponsored by Campana Balm. The series was directed by Fred Ibbett and starred John C. Daly, later Harold Huber, as Fu Manchu, Charles Warburton as Nayland Smith, Bob White as Dr. James Petrie, Sunda Love, later Charlotte Manson, as Karameneh [sic], and Stanley Andrews as Malik, the French detective.

Martin Grams states, in his book The Radio Adventures of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu, the correct name for this production is The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu, but it was incorrectly identified as Fu Manchu Mysteries due to radio logs in newspapers of that time. However, this CBS press release clearly identifies this program as the Fu Manchu Mysteries. Notice the handwritten script, "Love, Sunda", in that lower right corner on the paper behind this press release.

From Gordon Lutz at The Sax Rohmer Society

John C. Daly in costume as Fu Manchu

From The Rohmer Review No. 9

This production was recorded at WBBM studios in Chicago and was broadcast over the CBS Chicago affiliate, WGN. Sax and Elizabeth Rohmer were present in Chicago for the first broadcast, where the cast appeared in full costume. Sunday morning, September 25th, before the first episode, Rohmer made a rare radio appearance for a fifteen-minute interview, to publicize the new radio series, with CBS writer Steve Trumbull on WGN. That interview was rebroadcast at 12:30 pm on WABC in New York. Rohmer also spoke briefly at the end of the first broadcast on Monday, September 26.

Unlike the other Fu Manchu radio productions, this one went all out for preparation and performances. It was, by far, the most ambitious production of all the Fu Manchu radio adaptations. The actors dressed in full costume, and instead of the performance being acted out in a small sound studio, it was performed on stage before a live audience, recorded, and later broadcast via transcription disc.

According to a press release, the "sound effects were as authentic as possible". The solemn note of Big Ben and the background traffic noises of the Thames embankment were as true as could be. They were actual recordings specifically made and imported from England. G. Fred Ibbett, director of radio for the McCann-Erickson Company, and in charge of the production, would have nothing but exact sound effects. Ibbett knew his native London, having been an engineer for the BBC previous to his service with NBC and CBS. When Nate Caldwell, with an option on the radio rights to Rohmer’s mystery in hand, convinced Ibbett that Fu Manchu was a natural, the radio director readily agreed. Ibbett convinced the Campana Company to sponsor the dramas and began a diligent search for the right actors and actresses to make Rohmer’s characters spring realistically to life.

No recordings of this production are known to exist at this time.

Dr. Fu Manchu

Fu Manchu Radio Show Advertisement,
Radio Luxembourg, reprinted from

The Rohmer Review No. 11

In the 1930's, various radio stations broadcast shows in competition with the BBC. Two of these stations, Radio Luxembourg and Radio Lyons, broadcast Dr. Fu Manchu. In their article, SH-H-H! Dr. Fu Manchu Is On The Air, published in The Rohmer Review No. 11, W.O.G. Lofts and R.E. Briney provide a detailed account.

The Dr. Fu Manchu series, on Radio Luxembourg, consisted of 52 fifteen-minute episodes. It was originally broadcast every Sunday at 7 pm from December 6, 1936 to November 28, 1937. Following the completion of the series, episodes 19 through 28 were repeated from 5 December 5, 1937 to February 6, 1938, when transmission ended. Earlier, the first eleven episodes had been repeated in a different time slot, Wednesdays at 4:45 pm, from July 21 through September 29, 1937. The entire series was also broadcast over Radio Lyons, Sundays at 10:15 pm, from March 7, 1937 to March 6, 1938. Thus, for an eleven-week period during the summer of 1937, listeners to these radio stations could hear Dr. Fu Manchu three times a week, three different episodes, at three different times.

In a letter to R.E. Briney dated May 1, 1973, Cay Van Ash notes:

"Sax himself wrote the scripts during the first half of the series. Thereafter, when the series continued beyond his original expectations, he found it too great an imposition on his time. He continued to write some of the scripts, but others were written either by Elizabeth or myself." - The Rohmer Review No. 11

In Master of Villainy, Cay Van Ash calls these fifty-two episodes "the most faithful versions of the original stories that have so far appeared on the air". In a letter to Briney, Cay Van Ash explains "We just went straight through the books in their natural sequence. The dialogue did not require changing very much." - The Rohmer Review No. 11

This production starred Frank Cochrane as Fu Manchu, D.A. Clarke-Smith as Nayland Smith, Jack Lambert (episodes 1-9), John Rae (episodes 10-24), Gordon McLeod (episodes 27-43), Cameron Hall (episodes 44-52) as Dr. Petrie, Pamela Titheradge, later Rani Waller, as Karamaneh. Other actors included Arthur Young, Mervyn Johns, and Vernon Kelso.

Episodes:
01 12/06/1936 The Painted Kiss
02 12/13/1936 The Clue of the Pigtail
03 12/20/1936 The Mystery of the Red Moat
04 12/27/1936 The Green Mist
05 01/03/1937 The Call of Siva
06 01/10/1937 The Hulk of the Flats
07 01/17/1937 The Brain Thief
08 01/24/1937 Aaron's Rod
09 01/31/1937 The Living Dead
10 02/07/1937 The Fungi Cellers
11 02/14/1937 The Lord of Fires
12 02/21/1937 The Wire Jacket
13 02/28/1937 The Cry of the Nighthawk
14 03/07/1947 The White Peacock
15 03/14/1947 The Coughing Horror
16 03/21/1947 The Capture of Karamaneh
17 03/28/1947 The Silver Buddha
18 04/04/1937 The Terror Tower
19 04/11/1937 The Fiery Hand
20 04/18/1937 The Return of Aziz
21 04/25/1937 The Six Gates
22 05/02/1937 The Mummy
23 05/09/1937 The Brass Box
24 05/16/1937 The Flower of Silence
25 05/23/1937 The Golden Pomegranates
26 05/30/1937 The Adventure of the Queen of Hearts
27 06/06/1937 The Xagazig Mystery
28 06/13/1937 The House of Hashish
29 06/20/1937 The Lillies of Death
30 06/27/1937 Lady of the Si-Fan
31 07/04/1937 The House of the Wild Cat
32 07/11/1937 The Lion Crypt
33 07/18/1937 The Flying Death
34 07/25/1937 The Shadow Army
35 08/01/1937 Satan's Chapel
36 08/08/1937 The Purple Shadow
37 08/15/1937 The Flying Plague
38 08/22/1937 The House of the Devil Doctor
39 08/29/1937 The Hairless Horror
40 09/05/1937 The Scented Drug
41 09/12/1937 The Devil Doctor's Daughter
42 09/19/1937 The Flower of Eternal Life
43 09/26/1937 The Return of the Monk
44 10/03/1937 The Big Raid
45 10/10/1937 The Arrest of the Devil Doctor
46 10/17/1937 The Secret of the Living Dead
47 10/24/1937 The Sleeping Vennus
48 10/31/1937 The Vault of the Living Dead
49 11/07/1937 The House of the Bloodhound
50 11/14/1937 Man Made Gold
51 11/21/1937 The Human Incinerator
52 11/28/1937 The Hell Below the Thames

No recordings of this production are known to exist at this time.

The Peculiar Case of the Poppy Club
This radio script was written by Rohmer. The dramatization was broadcast by the BBC in late December or early January 1939. It was later broadcast in Australia. Rohmer then converted the script to a short story. However, that story was never published. No recordings of this production are known to exist at this time.

The Shadow of Fu Manchu

Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Show Advertisement

The Shadow of Fu Manchu was originally broadcast from May 8, 1939 to November 4, 1939. It aired as 156 fifteen-minute episodes, initially three times a week Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Later, episodes would air daily. The series was made available in transcription and was rebroadcast on other dates in various parts of the country.

This production was recorded, transcribed, and released through Fields Brothers in Hollywood. Once recording was complete, all 156 episodes were copied on transcription discs and distributed to radio stations across the country. This allowed stations to play episodes in any time slot. Some presented the series on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, while others broadcast on all five weekdays.

This production starred Ted Osborne as Fu Manchu, Hanley Stafford as Nayland Smith, Gale Gordon as Dr. James Petrie, Paula Winslowe as Karame, and Edmond O'Brien as Inspector Rymer. Frank Nelson and Norman Fields played supporting roles. It's interesting to note the character Karamaneh is named, or re-named, Karame in this series!

It's not been confirmed whether Edmond O’Brien or Gerald Mohr was the announcer. It was common for radio announcers to double in an acting role, which would give credence to the claim that it was O’Brien. However until someone discovers an interview with either actor providing that information, or finds an original script with cast credits included, the question remains unresolved. Without archival documents, the announcer's identity shall remain a mystery.

In On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio, John Dunning states "The show captured admirably the creeping yellow fog of London at midnight and the sense of evil that were so much a part of Rohmer's books".

Ray Stanich provides a quite thorough discussion of Radio Fu Manchu in The Rohmer Review No 12. He notes "The adaptation is quite faithful to the original books, though in the middle of the series, episodes occur in a somewhat jumbled order".

Based on the available episodes, the complete series was adapted and initially broadcast as follows:

Episodes Broadcast Date Plots Derived From Published
01-21 05/08/1939 - 06/23/1939 The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu 1913
22-27 06/26/1939 - 07/07/1939 The Hand of Fu Manchu 1917
28-39 07/10/1939 - 08/04/1939 The Return of Fu Manchu 1916
40-78 unknown The Trail of Fu Manchu & 1934
President Fu Manchu 1936
79-94 08/07/1939 - 08/24/1939 Daughter of Fu Manchu 1931
95-97 unknown unknown
99-117 08/30/1939 - 09/20/1939 The Mask of Fu Manchu 1932
118-135 09/21/1939 - 10/11/1939 The Drums of Fu Manchu 1939
136-141 unknown unknown
142-156 10/19/1939 - 11/04/1939 Bride of Fu Manchu 1933

The episodes themselves originally had no titles. Subsequently, radio stations titled them. As a result, there are a variety of titles associated with each episode. Ray Stanich reported the following episode titles and airdates in The Rohmer Review No. 12.

Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Show Advertisement

1 05/08/1939 The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu
2 05/10/1939 The Zayat Kiss
3 05/12/1939 The Zayat Kiss
4 05/15/1939 The Clue of the Pigtail
5 05/17/1939 The Clue of the Pigtail
6 05/19/1939 Red Moat
7 05/22/1939 Red Moat
8 05/24/1939 The Green Mist
9 05/26/1939 The Green Mist
10 05/29/1939 The Call of Siva
11 05/31/1939 The Call of Siva
12 06/02/1939 Karamaneh
13 06/05/1939 Karamaneh
14 06/07/1939 Andaman - Second!
15 06/09/1939 Andaman - Second!
16 06/12/1939 The Golden Flask
17 06/14/1939 The Golden Flask
18 06/16/1939 The Spores of Death
19 06/19/1939 The Spores of Death
20 06/21/1939 The Knocking on the Door
21 06/23/1939 The Knocking on the Door
22 06/26/1939 The Traveler from Tibet
23 06/28/1939 The Flower of Silence
24 06/30/1939 The Si-Fan Move
25 07/03/1939 Zarmi of the Joy Shop
26 07/05/1939 The Tulun-Nur Chest
27 07/07/1939 The Golden Pomegranates
28 07/10/1939 A Midnight Summons
29 07/12/1939 The Cry of a Nighthawk
30 07/14/1939 Under the Elms
31 07/17/1939 Enter Mr. Abel Slattin
32 07/19/1939 The Climber
33 07/21/1939 The White Peacock
34 07/24/1939 Dark Eyes Look into Mine
35 07/26/1939 The Coughing Horror
36 07/28/1939 The Questing Hands
37 07/30/1939 The Silver Buddha
38 08/02/1939 The Bells
39 08/04/1939 The Six Gates

The set of tapes from Ted Davenport's Radio Memories lists this set of titles for the same dates. In a few instances, the titles are identical. In other cases, they are closely related.

Shadow of Fu Manchu pinback button
distributed in 1939 to promote
the radio serial.

01 05/08/1939 Nayland Smith Enlists Dr. James Petrie
02 05/10/1939 A Zayat Kiss For Nayland Smith
03 05/12/1939 Cadby & Mason Were Murdered
04 05/15/1939 Planning Raid On Chin Yan's
05 05/17/1939 Arrive At Red Moat
06 05/19/1939 Barking Dog At Red Moat
07 05/22/1939 Red Moat's Secret Revealed
08 05/24/1939 A Green Mist At Sir Lionel's House
09 05/26/1939 How The Green Mist Was Released From Tomb
10 05/29/1939 Kidnapped Outside Sir Guthrie's Hotel
11 05/31/1939 On A Train To Save Sir Guthrie
12 06/02/1939 Smith Captures Karame
13 06/05/1939 Karame Leaves A Message About Houseboat
14 06/07/1939 Karame Throws A Message From A Car
15 06/09/1939 Hashish Switched With Sleeping Pills
16 06/12/1939 Lord Sotherby Found Dead
17 06/14/1939 Dr. Petrie Sees Karame's Brother
18 06/16/1939 Dr. Petrie Injects Karame's Brother
19 06/19/1939 An Experiment In Fungology
20 06/21/1939 On Fu's Launch
21 06/23/1939 Seek Not My Ashes
22 06/26/1939 Watch Out For The Si-Fan
23 06/28/1939 The Flower of Silence
24 06/30/1939 Si-Fan Kidnaps Nayland Smith
25 07/03/1939 At John Key's Joy Shop
26 07/05/1939 Having The Chest Appraised
27 07/07/1939 The Golden Pomegranates
28 07/10/1939 Sir Guthrie Kidnapped Again
29 07/12/1939 Nayland Smith Has A Double
30 07/14/1939 Karame Has A Bird Net
31 07/17/1939 Slade Will Sell Out Fu
32 07/19/1939 Did A Snake Kill Slade
33 07/21/1939 The White Peacock
34 07/24/1939 The Sacred Order of The White Peacock
35 07/26/1939 Coughing Horror Attacks Nayland
36 07/28/1939 Burk Will Sell Slade's Papers
37 07/30/1939 Smith And Petrie Visit Antique Shop
38 08/02/1939 Is The Gable House Haunted
39 08/04/1939 The Six Gates of Joyful Wisdom

The set of tapes from Adventures in Cassettes lists yet another set of titles for the same dates.

Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Show Advertisement

01 05/08/1939 Smith Enlists the Doctor

02 05/10/1939 A Zayat Kiss

03 05/12/1939 Murders

04 05/15/1939 Raid On Chin Yan's

05 05/17/1939 Red Moat

06 05/19/1939 Barking Dog

07 05/22/1939 Secret Revealed

08 05/24/1939 A Green Mist

09 05/26/1939 Released From the Tomb

10 05/29/1939 Kidnapped

11 05/31/1939 Sir Guthrie in Danger

12 06/02/1939 Captures of Karame

13 06/05/1939 Karame's Message

14 06/07/1939 Second Message

15 06/09/1939 Sleeping Pills

16 06/12/1939 Found Dead

17 06/14/1939 Karame's Brother

18 06/16/1939 Injection

19 06/19/1939 Deadly Fungi

20 06/21/1939 Fu's Launch

21 06/23/1939 Seek Not My Ashes

22 06/26/1939 Si-Fan

23 06/28/1939 Flower of Silence

24 06/30/1939 Nayland Smith Kidnapped

25 07/03/1939 Joy Shop

26 07/05/1939 Chest Appraised

27 07/07/1939 Golden Pomegranates

28 07/10/1939 Sir Guthrie Kidnapped

29 07/12/1939 Smith's Double

30 07/14/1939 Bird Net

31 07/17/1939 The Sell Out

32 07/19/1939 Slade's Death

33 07/21/1939 The White Peacock

34 07/24/1939 The Sacred Order

35 07/26/1939 Coughing Horror

36 07/28/1939 Slade's Papers

37 07/30/1939 Antique Shop

38 08/02/1939 Haunted House

39 08/04/1939 The Six Gates of Joyful Wisdom

The following titles were used for the New York rebroadcast dates.

Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Show Advertisement

01 03/18/1940 Enter Sir Nayland Smith
02 03/20/1940 The Red Hand of Death
03 03/22/1940 The Death List
04 03/25/1940 In The Clutches of Fu Manchu
05 03/27/1940 An Ally of Love
06 03/29/1940 The Creature In The Night
07 04/01/1940 Terror At Greymoat
08 04/03/1940 Green Mist of Death
09 04/05/1940 Nocturnal Visit
10 04/08/1940 Prisoners of Fu Manchu
11 04/10/1940 The Call of Siva
12 04/12/1940 Karamaneh's Story
13 04/15/1940 The Deadly Bargin
14 04/17/1940 Plans of Destruction
15 04/19/1940 Ship of Spies
16 04/22/1940 Karameneh's Plea
17 04/24/1940 The Undead
18 04/26/1940 Back To Life
19 04/29/1940 The Poison Pit
20 05/01/1940 The Last Laugh
21 05/03/1940 Into The Flames
22 05/06/1940 Mystery of The Sifan
23 05/08/1940 Flower of Silence
24 05/10/1940 The Man With Limp
25 05/13/1940 The Treasure of The Sifan
26 05/15/1940 The Return of Nayland Smith
27 05/17/1940 The Golden Pomegranite
28 05/20/1940 Kidnapped
29 05/22/1940 Double For Murder
30 05/24/1940 A Slave Once More
31 05/24/1940 Conversation In The Dark
32 05/27/1940 Snake's Head
33 05/31/1940 Riddle of The White Peacock
34 06/03/1940 The Sacred Order of The White Peacock
35 06/05/1940 The Coughing Horror
36 06/05/1940 In The Grip of Death
37 06/10/1940 In The Lair of Fu Manchu
38 06/12/1940 The Ghost of The Gables
39 06/14/1940 The Sword of Samurai

Shadow of Fu Manchu Matchbook distributed in 1939 to promote the radio serial.

For many years, only the first 39 episodes were available. In addition to the initial 39 episodes, a 40th episode, The Purple Spot, has been included on many compilations. While it's clearly a fortieth episode, it is not necessarily or even likely to be episode 40. The plot of this episode is derived from Bride of Fu Manchu and is likely to be one of the later missing episodes 136-141.

Additional episodes were made available by Ted Davenport who purchased the original 16" transcription discs from a collector in Ohio sometime in 2003. As of February 2023, 87 of the 156 episodes are presently available, to the best of our knowledge.

NBC Molle Mystery Theatre
This last broadcast was a one-time presentation. The Molle Mystery Theatre was an anthology series, aired over a decade under different titles. The program featured the best in mystery and detective stories, all adaptations of short stories, stage plays and novels by such stalwarts as Raymond Chandler, Jack London, W.W. Jacobs, Rufus King, and Craig Rice.

Tuesday, October 3, 1944, from 9:00 to 9:30 pm, EST, The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu novel, was dramatized at NBC studios in New York. The program was narrated by Roc Rogers and selected by Geoffrey Barnes, the on-the-air pseudonym of Bernard Lenrow. Jack Miller supplied the music.

Newspapers reported The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu was broadcast on August 22, 1944. However, it's common knowledge that newspapers reported what was "planned" to air, not verify what was actually broadcast. Both NBC files and the actual scripts, as they were registered for copyright at the Library of Congress, show "The Case of the Talking Pills" was broadcast on August 22 and the Fu Manchu production was broadcast on October 3.

No recordings of this production are known to exist at this time.

The Return of Fu Manchu
These Fu Manchu radio productions are interesting pieces of radio broadcasting history. Although detailed information about these programs is difficult to find, it's clear they were popular and well-received at the time. It's no surprise the character of Fu Manchu remains a fascinating figure in popular culture to this day.

Will Dr. Fu Manchu ever return to the airwaves? Well, Sherlock Holmes did. So, we certainly hope...

Still Want More?
For more information on Fu Manchu radio productions, check out The Radio Adventures of Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu by Martin Grams.

'Nuff said!

Note: This article was originally written long before Martin Grams' book was published. However, I had read In the Shadow of Fu Manchu, which is linked in the sources listed below. Since then, this article has been updated to address some of the "new" information from Grams' research.