Leslie McFarlane was a Canadian journalist and author who, under the famous pseudonym, Franklin W. Dixon, wrote the original Hardy Boys mysteries for the Stratemeyer Syndicate (also the creators of Nancy Drew, Tom Swift, and the Bobbsey Twins). McFarlane wrote twenty-one tales of Frank and Joe Hardy, as well as many other novels under both his name and various pennames. He had a long and award-winning career with the Canadian National Film Board and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation-his script for the documentary Herring Hunt was nominated for an Academy Award. McFarlane died in 1977.