One of the all-time great comic book writers, Bill Finger, passed away in 1974. Among his many achievements was that he wrote the first Batman story and most of the early ones that established the character and his supporting cast. Some have argued that Finger should be billed as co-creator of Batman but, for contractual reasons, the late Bob Kane received sole credit…and still does.
It may be a slight exaggeration to say that Finger died in poverty but, clearly, he never received just compensation for his role in making Batman perhaps the most lucrative property ever in comics. To this day, he is spoken of on convention panels — by those who know his work as well as those who knew the man — as one who was extremely wronged. Alas, his tenure in comics was at a time when publishers were too-often successful in avoiding the payment of royalties or reprint fees. If Finger had received the same kind of minimum deal that new writers in the field now get without even asking, he would have been a very wealthy man. (He also was ousted from the company for a time for his role in a brief, unsuccessful attempt by some writers to form a union. Maddeningly, Finger's employment was terminated shortly after Kane had received a buyout on Batman worth more than a million dollars.)
The comic book business has always been somewhat behind other fields in treating its creative talent with decency. The Writers Guild, for example, has long policed residuals for its members' efforts in film and television. In fact, even after a member passes away, the WGA collects such cash and forwards it to the member's heirs. If no heirs can be located, the Guild searches for them. The Writers Guild of America, East (the New York outlet) has posted a web page listing missing or deceased members for whom they are holding bucks. You can see it by clicking here and, if they haven't updated it yet, you will see the name of "William Finger" on it. He has unclaimed moola from episodes he wrote of the Batman TV show, as well as 77 Sunset Strip. Thanks to the fine folks at DC Comics, the WGAe has been notified of the particulars of the Finger estate, and it will receive whatever bucks he was due.
I'm not entirely sure why I'm showing/telling you this. I just thought it was interesting and that someone might find a moral somewhere. His estate now receives money when his comics are reprinted but, while he was alive, the one episode that Finger wrote of the Batman TV show paid him more residuals than all the Batman comic book stories he authored, combined.
By the way: At the moment, the list also includes the name of Gerard Allesandrini. Gerry is the brilliant creator of the revue, Forbidden Broadway, which I have long touted. I called Gerard and he'll be picking up his money. You may also spot the name of Charlie Rogers, who was the main writer for Laurel and Hardy in their glory days. Rogers, who passed away in 1956, is owed some cash for his work on A Chump at Oxford, which was released in 1940. If you know of any of his heirs, either drop me a line or call the Writers Guild of America, East and ask for the Residuals Department.