On this day, in 1925, Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana . As most of you will know, Mr. Leonard went on to provide inspiration, and advice, to generations of crime writers,as well as some film makers, and created some of the more memorable characters in the genre.
Over the course of 58 years, Mr. Leonard published 45 novels. They earned him numerous awards, including The Hammett, Edgar, Peabody and F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award. The Mystery Writers of America bestowed upon him the title of Grand Master, the Crime Writers Association presented to him the Cartier Diamond Dagger for lifetime’s achievement and, in 2013, the National Book Foundation honored him with the medal for distinguished contribution to American letters.
From those tales, and some short stories, over twenty films were made, including GET SHORTY, 3:10 TO YUMA (twice), OUT OF SIGHT, JACKIE BROWN and 52 PICK-UP. Raylan Givens, one of Leonard’s creations, is about to head off into the sunset as FX’s hit JUSTIFIED prepares for it’s final season. JUSTIFIED is just the latest, and most successful, of Elmore’s characters to grace the small screen.
Mr. Leonard passed away earlier in August of last year. Gregg Sutter, Elmore’s research and web manager, has announced plans to launch a campaign to get Elmore on a stamp. Visit elmoreleonard.com for updates.
