Leonard, Elmore (John, Jr) (1925– )
US novelist and screenwriter. A prolific writer, Leonard is the author of numerous Westerns and crime novels. His writing is marked by vivid dialogue, and his crime novels, usually set in Detroit or Florida, often reflect the peculiarities and violence of contemporary US society. His works, from the short Western stories, ‘3:10 to Yuma’ (1957) and ‘The Tall-T’ (1957), to the more recent novels, Get Shorty (1990) and Rum Punch (1992), have proved popular with filmmakers, and many have been adapted for cinema or television.
During the 1990s Leonard became an influential figure in both the revitalized genre of US crime fiction and in the cinema, inspiring such filmmakers as Quentin Tarantino. His best-known novels include Swag (1976), City Primeval (1980), La Brava (1983), Stick (1983), Out of Sight (1996), and Be Cool (1999).
| Born in New Orleans, Leonard earned a PhD in English at the University of Detroit and worked in advertising while simultaneously writing Western stories for pulp magazines. His Hombre (1961; filmed in 1967) is considered one of the best Westerns ever written. Among his other novels are The Bounty Hunters (1953), The Big Bounce (1969), The Moonshine War (1969), Unknown Man No 89 (1977), Split Images (1982), Cat Chaser (1982), Glitz (1985), Freaky Deaky (1988), and Cuba Libre (1998). |
