6/25/1963 Created: The Destroyer is created

June 25, 1963.  On this date Warren Murphy and Richard Ben Sapir finished their first novel about a secret American operative named Remo Williams.  From then on, it was smooth-sailing.

No, I lie.  When they sent the manuscript (their only copy) to an agent the response was:

You wrote this like a series book and nobody published series books.  What you really ought to do is end this book on a big note by killing off your main character.  And the little (Asian ethic slur) too.

Eight years later Created: The Destroyer was published.  There are currently 145 books in the series, and a second movie is being made.  Murphy used to keep the letter from the agent hanging on the wall over his typewriter.