David Fury started Artist's Press in 1988 to publish his bio-filmography,
"The Cinema History of Burt Lancaster." Mr. Lancaster himself
was very
pleased with the volume, and made an appearance on the Dinah Shore
show where the book was featured in 1989. (A Conversation
with Dinah)
After garnering superb reviews from a variety of sources for his first book, David Fury researched another
film history titled "Kings of the Jungle," which was published by McFarland in 1994. This history and filmography of the Tarzan pictures
featured a Foreword written by Maureen O'Sullivan, the beloved Irish actress who was by far the most popular "Jane" in the long-running
Tarzan series. Maureen and Johnny were close, life-long friends.
David Fury wrote a screenplay for his friend
Chuck Connors, entitled "The Final Showdown: Return of the Tall Man." The story was unsold at the time of his death in 1992, and in
his final weeks Mr. Connors authorized David Fury to write his life story. "The Man Behind the Rifle" was published in 1997,
and remains popular to this day, which is a tribute to the affection screen fans have had for Connors in his role as "The Rifleman."
Chuck called the TV western "a love story between a father and a son," and indeed fathers and sons of the 1950s would watch the heroic
deeds of Lucas McCain together in front of their 12-inch television screens each week for five seasons. Johnny Crawford co-starred
as Mark McCain, the young son of widower McCain.
In 2000, David Fury completed his biography of Johnny Weissmuller,
the Olympic champion swimmer and Tarzan of the movies, 1932-1948. This heartfelt story of an immigrant boy from a broken marriage
was once again critically acclaimed, and "Johnny Weissmuller: Twice the Hero" was also published in a Large Print edition in 2001
by Thorndike Press. Johnny was in reality a real-life hero, who, along with his brother Peter, risked their own lives to
pull numerous survivors out of a frothy Lake Michigan, after a deadly and horrific boating accident in 1927. Weissmuller was married
five times, including actress Lupe Velez, who was known as the "Mexican Spitfire" during the 1930s. His final marrige to Maria lasted
25 years until his death in 1984 at age 79.
In 2007, after several years of research, David Fury completed
and published his biography of Maureen O'Sullivan, "No Average Jane." He received complete cooperation from Maureen's husband, James
Cushing, who volunteered his personal memories and numerous photographs.
