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Elmore Leonard

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Elmore Leonard

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Also known as Dutch Leonard

American novelist and screenwriter (1925–2013)

OverviewAI-generated

Elmore John Leonard Jr. was an American screenwriter, writer, novelist, and film producer. Born in New Orleans on October 11, 1925, he served in the United States Navy during World War II. He was educated at the University of Detroit Mercy and resided in Michigan and Louisiana. His literary output included works in the detective fiction and Western genres, with his career beginning in 1953.

Leonard’s notable works include *Rum Punch*, *McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales*, *Friḳi Diḳi*, *Maḳsimum Bob*, *Naked Came the Manatee*, and *The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time*. He was influenced by Ernest Hemingway and identified with Catholicism. His writing earned him the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Novel, the Best Crime Novel in Swedish Translation, the Hammett Prize, and the Cartier Diamond Dagger. He was also nominated for the Hammett Prize.

Leonard died of a stroke in Detroit on August 20, 2013. His death was attributed to natural causes.

Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, TMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Person · Open Library

Born
11 October 1925
Died
20 August 2013
Works
165

Top works

  • McSweeney's Mammoth Treasury of Thrilling Tales
  • Friḳi Diḳi
  • Maḳsimum Bob
  • Naked Came the Manatee
  • The 50 Greatest Mysteries of All Time

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures.

Known for

  • Elmore Leonard: "But Don't Try to Write" — Self (archive footage)2021
  • Quentin Tarantino: From a Movie Buff to a Hollywood Legend — Self (archive footage)2021
  • The Culture Show — Self2004
  • Jackie Brown: How It Went Down — Self2002
  • Inside 'Out of Sight' — Self1998

via TMDB

Key facts

Born
Elmore John Leonard Jr. , ( 1925-10-11 ) October 11, 1925, New Orleans , Louisiana, U.S.
Died
August 20, 2013 (2013-08-20) (aged 87), Bloomfield Hills, Michigan , U.S.
Occupation
Writer
Alma mater
University of Detroit
Genre
Pulp fiction Westerns Crime fiction
Spouse
Beverly Claire Cline ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1949 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 1977 ) ​ Joan Shepard ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1979 ; died 1993 ) ​ Christine Kent ​ ​ ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1993 ; divorced</span>"}]]}'>div. 2012 ) ​
Children
5, including Peter
Relatives
Megan Freels Johnston (granddaughter)
Allegiance
United States
Branch
United States Navy
Service years
1943–1946
Rank
Petty officer third class
Unit
Seabees
Conflicts
World War II

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of
human
Gender
male
Citizenship
United States
Place of birth
New Orleans
Place of death
Detroit
Occupation
prose writer
Languages spoken
English language
Religion
Catholicism
Genre
Western
Conflict
World War II
Military branch
United States Navy
Official website
www.elmoreleonard.com
Image
Elmore Leonard.jpg
Residence
Louisiana
Show 13 more facts
date of birth
1925-10-11
date of death
2013-08-20
Commons category
Elmore Leonard
cause of death
stroke
topic's main category
Category:Elmore Leonard
birth name
Elmore John Leonard Jr.
manner of death
natural causes
influenced by
Ernest Hemingway
nominated for
Hammett Prize
start of work period
1953-00-00
name in native language
Elmore Leonard
pseudonym
«Голландец»
social media followers
9720
Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~15 min read

Encyclopedic overview

Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Among his best-known works are Hombre, Swag, City Primeval, LaBrava, Glitz, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight and Tishomingo Blues.

Leonard's short story "Three-Ten to Yuma" was adapted as the film 3:10 to Yuma, which was remade in 2007. Rum Punch was adapted as the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997). Steven Soderbergh adapted Out of Sight in 1998 into a film of the same name. Get Shorty was adapted into an eponymous film in 1995 and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. His writings were also the basis for The Tall T, as well as the FX television series Justified and Justified: City Primeval. Among other honors, he won the 2009 Pen Lifetime Award and the 2012 Medal For Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Elmore Leonard” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (2)