Lawrence Malcolm Nadle was born on September 29, 1913, in Manhattan, New York, New York, according to the New York, New York Birth Index at Ancestry.com and his World War II draft card which had his full name. Nadle was occasionally misspelled Nadel.
Nadle’s paternal grandfather, Julius Nadle, submitted a naturalization petition, dated August 11, 1900 (at Ancestry.com). The petition said he was born on August 26, 1859 in Russia. On August 1, 1887, he arrived in New York City. Julius was naturalized on August 22, 1900.
The 1900 United States Census recorded Julius (a tailor), his wife, Johannah, and three sons, Joseph (age 15; Nadle’s father), Alexander (age 8) and Henry (age 6), in Manhattan at 242 East Houston Street.
The same address was in the 1905 New York state census. Joseph was a salesman.
On February 8, 1910, Joseph and Anna Gerler obtained, in Manhattan, marriage license number 3680. They married on February 15, 1910.
The 1910 census counted the couple in Manhattan at 202 East Seventh Street. Joseph was a ribbon salesman.
The 1915 New York state census said one-year-old Nadle, his parents and four-year-old brother, Martin, were Manhattan residents at 1968 Seventh Avenue. His father was a ribbon buyer.
On September 12, 1918, Nadle’s father signed his World War I draft card. His address was 3 West 116th Street in Manhattan.
The same address was on the 1920 census. In the household were Nadle (age 6), his parents, and brothers, Martin (age 9) and Henry (age 2).
In Alter Ego #72, September 2007, Nadle’s son, Ken, wrote about his father and two uncles, Martin and Henry.
… Larry distinguished himself as being a good writer when he was just nine. He won a story-writing contest and had his picture in the newspaper. He never went to college. Instead, he teamed up with his best friend, Jack Arnold (who later directed the movies The Mouse That Roared and The Creature from the Black Lagoon), and they performed an acrobatic/tap dance/comic routine in vaudeville. …
In the 1925 New York state census, the Nadle family were Bronx residents at 643 Southern Boulevard. Nadle’s sister, Jean, was a year old.
The 1930 census said the Nadle family lived in the Bronx at 2105 Walton Avenue. Nadle’s brother, Martin, was a newspaper cartoonist. The name of Nadle’s high school is not known.
Nadle’s father passed away on October 9, 1935.
Around 1932, Nadle married Sylvia Resnikoff (1914–1998).
According to the 1940 census, Nadle, his wife and four-year-old son, Bruce, were Bronx residents at 2819 Morris Avenue. Nadle was manager of retail men’s clothing store. He had four years of high school and earned $2,150 in 1939.
On October 16, 1940, Nadle signed his World War II draft card. His address was updated from 2819 Morris Avenue to 521 West 112th Street. His employer was H. Lowenthal, 114 East Fordham Road in the Bronx. Nadle’s description was five feet nine inches, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and hair.
Ken Nadle said
… it was also Martin who opened the door for Larry to get some writing assignments with King Features Syndicate. …
In the mid-1940s Nadle entered the comic book field at National Comics.
Nadle was mentioned in The Exhibitor, March 9, 1949.
The other day. Paramount’s Sid Mesibov, company promotion director, asked if we wouldn’t like to look at a comic book. We agreed to witness the latest in the field, “Miss Beverly Hills,” which has to do with a non-existent girl and her adventures in Hollywood, on the motion picture sets, on location, etc. We weren’t very surprised to see that Alan Ladd and his latest release, “Whispering Smith,” had received more than a fair share of publicity in the first issue. Forthcoming issues also are to feature Paramount and its stars.After laying the preliminary groundwork, we were whisked over to the editorial offices of the National Comics Publications, where, after bowing three times in the direction of a huge oil portrait of “Superman,” we were introduced to Larry Nadle, editor, “Miss Beverly Hills,” and others of the 30 different books put out by the organization, which has a circulation of some 60 million people. He told us how well the initial combination of a fan magazine plus a comic book had been received by some million readers, and we read a portion of the 4,000 letters received from readers from 8 to 50. Especially commendable were those which praised the book for providing proper reading for all audiences, and for the way that Hollywood was treated.Paramount thinks that much value for the company, its films, stars, and, finally, for exhibitors, can be gained through this promotion, and we agree. Some gal, that “Beverly Hills.”
The 1950 census counted Nadle, his wife, and two sons, Bruce and Kenneth, in New York City at 45 Park Terrace West. Nadle was an editor and writer at a publishing company.
Editor & Publisher, November 22, 1952, reported the upcoming I Love Lucy gag-a-day comic strip from King Features Syndicate. American Newspaper Comics (2012) said Nadle and Bob Oksner teamed up, under the pseudonym Bob Lawrence, to produce the I Love Lucy comic series which ran from December 8, 1952 to June 4, 1955. Editor & Publisher, January 24, 1953, said the series incorporated the real-life birth of Lucy’s son.
1/19/1953
The Nero Wolfe comic strip ran from November 26, 1956 to July 13, 1957. In American Newspaper Comics, Alberto Becattini said Nadle wrote three weeks of the series. Ken Nadle said
… But if there was one thing he did that most impressed me, it was ghosting the syndicated strip Nero Wolfe. The creator of the famous detective character was also impressed. I have a letter from Rex Stout to my father stating, “Today I received the text for the 6th, 7th, and 8th weeks of the third daily sequence, have read and enjoyed it…”
Art Direction, June 1957, identified the people involved with the School of Industrial Art’s new location. The group included “Sol Harrison, Natl. Comics Publications”, “Lawrence Nadel, art editor Superman DC Comics” and “Arthur Weiss, Terrytoons”.
Nadle passed away on December 26, 1963, in Lynbrook, New York according to the obituary in Newsday, December 27, 1963. He was survived by his wife, three sons, mother, and siblings Martin and Jean. The New York Times printed an obituary on December 28.
Nadle was laid to rest at New Montefiore Cemetery. (Find a Grave has the wrong date.)
Further Reading
Grand Comics Database, Larry Nadle and Lawrence Nadle
Todd’s Blog, The DC Comics Offices 1930s–1950s Part 2, DC Comics’ 1945 Christmas Party photograph includes Martin and Larry Nadle