Biography of Rick Abbot

Jack Sharkey was born on May 6, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. He began writing when he was 10 years old. He graduated from college with a BA in the Creative Writing Field of the English Major. After that, he taught school for two years from 1953 to 1955. In mid 1955, Jack enlisted in the Army. He served at Sandia Base, New Mexico as a Special Services worker. He wrote, produced, and directed one show per month for the Enlisted Men's Club. After the Army, he worked as a copywriter for Sears, Roebuck and Company from 1957 to 1958. In 1958, Jack went to New York to begin a full-time freelance writing career. He wrote Science Fiction stories and novels, humor articles, and mystery novels. Jack wrote his first stage comedy in 1965. Soon afterwards, he went exclusively into playwriting which he continued until a few months before his death. He has 82 published plays written under his own name and four others --- Rick Abbot, Monk Ferris, Mark Chandler, and Mike Johnson. Mike Johnson wrote only stage thrillers. All the other plays are comedies and/or musicals. The plays are performed all around the world. Jack passed away on September 28, 1992 after a bout with cancer.