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Elmore John Leonard, Jr. (born October 11, 1925) is a popular and acclaimed American novelist and screenwriter.
His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, and Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, several of which have been adapted into successful motion pictures or TV movies.
ard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but since his father worked as a site locator for General Motors, the family moved frequently for several years.
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Quotations
If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.
My grandson, Max, who is an all state lacrosse player, once gave me some lacrosse advice: A limp pass is like a limp dick; it doesn't get the job done. I think the same can be said about limp writing. Elmore's Ten Rules of Writing (1999)
I try to leave out the parts that people skip.
It's like seeing someone for the first time, and you look at each other for a few seconds, and there's this kind of recognition like you both know something. Next moment the person's gone, and it's too late to do anything about it.
Jack Foley Out Of Sight (1998)
AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes.
Ordell Robbie:Jackie Brown (1997)
For a long time I've been walking down life's road with my two pals, Bad Luck and Bad Choices. Fortunately I'm a big believer in new beginnings, new friends, and running from my problems. So one day I decided to head for the island. Aloha, my name is Jack.
Jack Ryan:The Big Bounce (2004)
Encyclopedia
Elmore John Leonard, Jr. (born October 11, 1925) is a popular and acclaimed American novelist and screenwriter.
His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, and Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, several of which have been adapted into successful motion pictures or TV movies.
Biography
Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but since his father worked as a site locator for General Motors, the family moved frequently for several years. In 1934, the family finally settled in Detroit, Michigan. Leonard has made the Detroit area his home ever since.
In the 1930s, two major events occurred that would influence many of his works. Gangsters such as Bonnie and Clyde were making national headlines, as were the Detroit Tigers baseball team. From about 1931 to 1934, Bonnie and Clyde were on a rampage; they were killed in May 1934. The Tigers made it to the World Series in 1934. Leonard turned these events into lifelong fascinations with both sports and guns.
Leonard graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1943 and immediately joined the Navy, where he served with the Seabees for three years in the south Pacific. In 1946 he enrolled at the University of Detroit, where he pursued writing more seriously, entering his work in short story contests and sending it off to magazines. A year before he graduated, he got a job as a copy writer with Campbell-Ewald Advertising agency, a position he kept for several years as he wrote on the side. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in English and Philosophy.
Leonard had his first success in 1951 when Argosy published the short story "Trail of the Apaches". During the 1950s and early 1960s, he continued writing westerns, publishing over 30 short stories. He wrote his first novel, The Bounty Hunters, in 1953 and followed this with four other novels. Two of his stories were turned into movies at this time, The Tall T and 3:10 to Yuma.
Leonard—or "Dutch," as he is sometimes called—got his first break in the fiction market during the 1950s, regularly publishing pulp western novels. He has since forayed into mystery, crime, and more topical genres, as well as screenwriting.
Leonard now lives with his family in Oakland County, Michigan.
Writing style
He has been commended by critics for his gritty realism and strong dialogue. His writing style sometimes takes liberties with grammar in the interest of speeding along the story. In his essay, "Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing," he writes, "My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." His advice to writers also includes the hint, "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip."
Leonard has been called "the Dickens of Detroit" because of his intimate portraits of people from that city. Leonard's ear for dialogue and ability to render same on the printed page are uncanny and have been praised by writers such as Saul Bellow, Martin Amis, and Stephen King. "Your prose makes Raymond Chandler look clumsy," Amis told Leonard at a Writers Guild event in Beverly Hills in 1998.
He writes amusingly funny, and realisitic novels.
Film work
Aside from the short stories already noted, a number of Leonard's novels have been adapted as films, perhaps most notably Out of Sight, Get Shorty in 1995, and Rum Punch (as the 1997 film Jackie Brown). He has also written several screenplays.
The 1967 film Hombre starring Paul Newman was an adaptation of Leonard's novel of the same name.
His short story "Three-Ten to Yuma" and book The Big Bounce have each been filmed twice.
Other novels filmed include: Mr. Majestyk (with Charles Bronson), Valdez Is Coming (Burt Lancaster), 52 Pick-Up (Roy Scheider), Stick (Burt Reynolds), Moonshine War (Alan Alda), Last Stand at Saber River (Tom Selleck), Gold Coast (David Caruso), Glitz (Jimmy Smits), Cat Chaser (Peter Weller), Touch (Christopher Walken), Pronto (Peter Falk) and Be Cool (John Travolta). A version of Killshot with Diane Lane is due out in 2008.
The TV series Karen Sisco (2003-04) starring Carla Gugino was based on a character from Out of Sight played by Jennifer Lopez.
A 2001 comedy film, Bandits, was originally meant to be an adaptation of Leonard's novel by that name, to which Bruce Willis owns the film rights. However, the producers brought in writer Harley Peyton to write a new script from scratch.
An adaptation of Leonard's 1972 novel Forty Lashes Less One is currently in development.
Leonard was referenced in the television show Leverage in episode 105 "The Bank Shot Job" when Aldis Hodge as Alec Hardison and Beth Riesgraf as Parker introduced themselves to police officers as FBI agents Leonard and Elmore.
Works
Novels
Screenplays
Stories
Short stories turned into films:
Nonfiction
- 10 Rules of Writing (2007)
- Foreword to Walter Mirisch's book I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History
Awards
Leonard was the recipient of the 2006 .
Radio
External links
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- - at Double-Whammy
- - from Allmovie - at VH1.com
- - at TheGATE.ca
- - at the University of Albany
- , by Stephen Abell: a review in the The Times (UK), June 21, 2006.
- - at The Guardian (UK)
- - at BankRank.com
- - at BookReporter.com
- - by Ginny Dougary (2004)
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