Crime novelist Elmore Leonard dies
Crime novelist Elmore Leonard has died.
Leonard is most famous for his novels 鈥淥ut of Sight,鈥� 鈥淔reaky Deaky,鈥� and 鈥�Get Shorty,鈥� among others, and began his career by writing Western works, including the short story 鈥淭hree-Ten to Yuma.鈥� He also became well-known for his 鈥�,鈥� which he published in 2001 in the New York Times. (Maxims included 鈥淣ever open a book with weather鈥� and 鈥淭ry to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.鈥�)
鈥淢r. Leonard did not merely validate the popular crime thriller,鈥� writer Marilyn Stasio wrote. 鈥淗e stripped the form of its worn-out affectations, reinventing it for a new generation and elevating it to a higher literary shelf.鈥�
writer Susan Whitall said that Leonard's name "became a byword for tightly written urban noirs shot through with mordant humor.鈥澛�
Leonard was born in New Orleans, La. In 1925 and later moved to Detroit with his family, where he would live for the rest of his life. He served in the Navy and attended the University of Detroit before working at an ad agency as a copywriter. His first book, 鈥淭he Bounty Hunters,鈥� came out in 1953; 鈥淭hree-Ten to Yuma鈥� also came out that year.
He went on to publish more than 40 novels, making the switch to crime books in 1969 with 鈥淭he Big Bounce,鈥� and many of his works have been adapted for the screen. Two of his books, 鈥淧ronto鈥� and 鈥淩iding the Rap,鈥� as well as the short story 鈥淔ire in the Hole鈥� feature the hero Raylan Givens, who is currently the basis for the FX series 鈥淛ustified.鈥� Leonard was involved with the TV show, serving as an executive producer, and released the novel 鈥淩aylan,鈥� detailing the further adventures of the Kentucky marshal, in 2012.
The author was given the Grand Master Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in 1992 and was awarded the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award in 2008. Last year he received the National Book Award Medal for Distinguished Contribution, which is considered an honor for a lifetime of work.
鈥淢y most important rule is one that sums up the 10,鈥� Leonard wrote in 鈥�10 Rules of Writing,鈥� a book version of his suggestions. 鈥淚f it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.鈥�
