- Donald E. Westlake
-
Donald Edwin Westlake 
Born July 12, 1933
Brooklyn, New YorkDied December 31, 2008 (aged 75)
MexicoPen name John B. Allan, Judson Jack Carmichael, Curt Clark, Timothy J. Culver, J. Morgan Cunningham, Richard Stark, Edwin West, among others Occupation novelist Nationality U.S. Genres crime fiction Notable work(s) The Hunter 
One of Westlake's earliest novels, reissued by Hard Case Crime
Donald Edwin Westlake (July 12, 1933 – December 31, 2008) was an American writer, with over a hundred novels and non-fiction books to his credit. He specialized in crime fiction, especially comic capers, with an occasional foray into science fiction or other genres. He was a three-time Edgar Award winner, one of only two writers (the other is Joe Gores) to win Edgars in three different categories (1968, Best Novel, God Save the Mark; 1990, Best Short Story, "Too Many Crooks"; 1991, Best Motion Picture Screenplay, The Grifters). In 1993, the Mystery Writers of America named Westlake a Grand Master, the highest honor bestowed by the society.
Contents
Personal life
Westlake was born in Brooklyn, New York, but raised upstate in Albany, New York.
Westlake wrote constantly in his teens, and after 200 rejections, his first short story sale was in 1954. Sporadic short story sales followed over the next few years, while Westlake attended Champlain College and Harpur College in Binghamton, New York. He also spent two years in the United States Air Force.
Westlake moved to New York City in 1959, initially to work for a literary agency while writing on the side. By 1960, he was writing full-time. His first novel under his own name, The Mercenaries, was published in 1960; over the next 48 years, Westlake published a variety of novels and short stories under his own name and a rainbow of pseudonyms.
He was married three times, the final time to Abigail Westlake (also known as Abby Adams Westlake and Abby Adams), a writer of nonfiction (her two published books are An Uncommon Scold and The Gardener's Gripe Book). The couple moved out of New York City to Ancram in upstate New York in 1990.[citation needed] Abby Westlake is a well-regarded gardener, and the Westlake garden has frequently been opened for public viewing in the summer.[1]
Westlake died of a heart attack on December 31, 2008 while on the way to a New Year's Eve dinner, while he and his wife were on vacation in Mexico.[2]
Pseudonyms
In addition to writing consistently under his own name, Westlake published under several pseudonyms.[3] In the order they debuted:
- Richard Stark: Westlake's best-known continuing pseudonym was that of Richard Stark. Stark debuted in 1959, with a story in Mystery Digest.[4] Three other Stark short stories followed through 1961, including "The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution",[4] later the title story in Westlake's first short-story collection. Then, from 1962 to 1974, sixteen novels about the relentless and remorseless professional thief Parker and his accomplices appeared and were credited to Richard Stark. "Stark" was then inactive until 1997, when Westlake once again began writing and publishing Parker novels under Stark's name. The University of Chicago began republishing the Richard Stark novels in 2008.[5]
- Alan Marshall (or Alan Marsh): Westlake acknowledged writing as many as 28 paperback soft-porn titles from 1959–64 under these names; titles include All My Lovers, Man Hungry, All About Annette, Sally, Virgin's Summer, Call Me Sinner, Off Limits, and three featuring the character of Phil Crawford: Apprentice Virgin, All the Girls Were Willing, and Sin Prowl.[6] Westlake was not the only author to work under Marshall's name, claiming that: "The publishers would either pay more for the names they already knew or would only buy from (those) names…so it became common practice for several of us to loan our names to friends…. Before…the end of 1961…six other people, friends of mine, published books as Alan Marshall, with my permission but without the publishers' knowledge." Two novels published in 1960 were co-authored by Westlake and Lawrence Block (who used the pen-name "Sheldon Lord") and were credited to "Sheldon Lord and Alan Marshall": A Girl Called Honey, dedicated to Westlake and Block, and So Willing, dedicated to "Nedra and Loretta," who were (at that time) Westlake and Block's wives.[6]
- James Blue: One-shot pseudonym, used as a third name circa 1959 when both Westlake and Stark already had stories in a magazine issue. In actuality, the name of Westlake's cat.[7]
- Ben Christopher: One-shot pseudonym for a 1960 story in 77 Sunset Strip magazine.[4]
- John Dexter: A house pseudonym used by Nightstand Books for the work of numerous authors. The very first novel credited to John Dexter is a collaborative soft-core work by Lawrence Block and Westlake called No Longer A Virgin (1960)
- Andrew Shaw: Pseudonym used by Westlake and Lawrence Block for their 1961 collaborative soft-core novel Sin Hellcat. Like John Dexter (above), "Andrew Shaw" was a house pseudonym used by a wide variety of authors.
- Edwin West: Brother and Sister, Campus Doll, Young and Innocent, all 1961; Strange Affair, 1962; Campus Lovers, 1963,[3] one 1966 short story.[4]
- John B. Allan: Elizabeth Taylor: A Fascinating Story of America's Most Talented Actress and the World's Most Beautiful Woman, 1961, biography.[3]
- Don Holliday: Pseudonym used by Westlake for two collaborative soft-core novels (with various authors, including Hal Dresner and Lawrence Block) in 1963/64.[6]
- Curt Clark: Debuted in 1964 with the short story "Nackles". Novel: Anarchaos, 1967, science fiction.[3]
- Tucker Coe: 5 mystery novels featuring the character of Mitch Tobin: Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death, 1966; Murder Among Children, 1967; Wax Apple and A Jade in Aries, both 1970; Don't Lie to Me, 1972.[3]
- P.N. Castor: Pseudonym used for one 1966 short story co-authored with Dave Foley.[4]
- Timothy J. Culver: Ex Officio, 1970, thriller.[3]
- J. Morgan Cunningham: Comfort Station, 1971, humor. Cover features the blurb, "I wish I had written this book! – Donald E. Westlake."[3]
- Samuel Holt: 4 mystery novels featuring the character of Sam Holt, 1986-1989: One of Us is Wrong and I Know a Trick Worth Two of That, both 1986; What I Tell You Three Times is False, 1987; The Fourth Dimension is Death, 1989.[3]
- Judson Jack Carmichael: The Scared Stiff, 2002, mystery; U.K. editions dropped the pseudonym.
Westlake sometimes made playful use of his pseudonyms in his work:
- "Richard Stark" is a minor character in Westlake's Jimmy The Kid.
- Richard Stark's character of Parker has ID that gives his name as "John B. Allan".
- The 'hero' of Westlake's novel Adios, Scheherezade is hack novelist Alan Marshall.
- In the film version of The Grifters (for which Westlake wrote the screenplay) a key scene takes place at the firm of Stark, Coe and Fellows. Westlake explains the in-joke in the film's DVD commentary track, noting that he wrote books as "Richard Stark, Tucker Coe and some other fellows."
Additionally, Westlake conducted a mock 'interview' with Richard Stark, Tucker Coe and Timothy J. Culver in an article for the non-fiction book The Fine Art of Murder.
Writing style
Donald Westlake was known for the great ingenuity of his plots and the audacity of his gimmicks. His writing and dialogue are lively. His main characters are fully rounded, believable, and clever. Westlake's most famous characters include the hard-boiled criminal Parker (appearing in fiction under the Richard Stark pseudonym) and Parker's comic flip-side John Dortmunder, the hard-luck criminal genius who began as Parker getting caught in a comic situation in the 1970 novel The Hot Rock.
Most of Donald Westlake's novels are set in New York City. In each of the Dortmunder novels, there is typically a detailed foray somewhere through the city. He wrote just two non-fiction books:[3] Under an English Heaven, regarding the unlikely 1967 Anguillan "revolution", and a biography of Elizabeth Taylor.
Westlake was an occasional contributor to science fiction fanzines such as Xero, and used Xero as a venue for a harsh announcement that he was leaving the science fiction field.[8]
Motion pictures
Several of Westlake's novels have been made into motion pictures: 1967's Point Blank (based on The Hunter) with Lee Marvin as Parker (changed to Walker); 1968's The Split (from the book The Seventh) with Jim Brown as Parker (changed to McClain); The Hot Rock in 1972 with Robert Redford; Cops and Robbers in 1973; The Outfit with Robert Duvall as Parker (changed to Macklin), also in 1973; Bank Shot in 1974 with George C. Scott; The Busy Body (with an "all-star cast") in 1967; Slayground with Peter Coyote in 1983; Why Me? with Christopher Lambert, Christopher Lloyd, and J. T. Walsh in 1990; Payback in 1999, the second film made from The Hunter, with Mel Gibson as Parker (changed to Porter); What's the Worst That Could Happen? in 2001 with Martin Lawrence. Costa Gavras adapted The Ax for the European screen in 2005, to great critical and public acclaim. Entitled Le Couperet, the film takes place in France and Belgium rather than the novel's setting of New England.
The novel Jimmy the Kid has been adapted three times: in Italy as Come ti rapisco il pupo in 1976; in the U.S. as Jimmy the Kid in 1982 starring Gary Coleman; and in Germany as Jimmy the Kid in 1998 starring Herbert Knaup.
The novel Two Much! has been adapted twice: in France as Le Jumeau (The Twin) in 1984; and in the U.S. as Two Much in 1995 starring Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith.
Jean-Luc Godard's Made in USA in 1966 was an extremely loose adaptation of The Jugger. Neither the film's producer nor Godard purchased the rights to the novel, so Westlake successfully sued to prevent the film's commercial distribution in the United States.
Westlake was himself a screenwriter. His script for the 1990 film The Grifters, adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson, was nominated for an Academy Award. (Westlake the screenwriter adapted Jim Thompson's work in a straightforward manner, but Westlake the humourist played on Thompson's name later that year in the Dortmunder novel Drowned Hopes by featuring a character named "Tom Jimson" who is a criminal psychopath.) Westlake also wrote the screenplay The Stepfather (from a story by Westlake, Brian Garfield and Carolyn Lefcourt), the film of which was sufficiently popular to receive two sequels and a remake, projects in which Westlake was not involved.
In 1987 Westlake wrote the teleplay Fatal Confession, a pilot for the TV series Father Dowling Mysteries based on the novels by Ralph McInerny.
Westlake also wrote a treatment for the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, which was adapted later by several screenwriters. How much of Westlake's story ended up in the screenplay is unknown; he does not receive either a story or screenplay credit for the finished film, suggesting that little if any of his original work was used .[9]
Works
Novels
The following table can be sorted to show Westlake's novels in chronological order,
or arranged alphabetically by title, or by author credit, or by series.Year Title Author Credit Series Notes 1959 All My Lovers Alan Marshall 1959 Backstage Love Alan Marshall Phil Crawford Also published as Apprentice Virgin 1959 Man Hungry Alan Marshall 1959 Sally Alan Marshall 1960 All About Annette Alan Marshall 1960 All the Girls Were Willing Alan Marshall Phil Crawford Later printed as What Girls Will Do 1960 A Girl Called Honey Alan Marshall & Sheldon Lord A collaboration between Westlake and Lawrence Block 1960 The Mercenaries Donald E. Westlake Also published in the UK as The Smashers. Republished in 2009 under Westlake's preferred title, The Cutie. 1960 So Willing Alan Marshall & Sheldon Lord A collaboration between Westlake and Lawrence Block 1960 Virgin's Summer Alan Marshall 1960 The Wife Next Door Alan Marshall 1961 Call Me Sinner Alan Marshall 1961 Passion's Plaything Alan Marshall 1961 Off Limits Alan Marshall 1961 Brother and Sister Edwin West 1961 Campus Doll Edwin West 1961 Young and Innocent Edwin West 1961 Killing Time Donald E. Westlake 1962 The Hunter Richard Stark Parker Later published as Point Blank and Payback. 1962 361 Donald E. Westlake 1962 Strange Affair Edwin West 1963 Killy Donald E. Westlake 1963 Sin Prowl Alan Marshall Phil Crawford 1963 Campus Lovers Edwin West 1963 The Man With the Getaway Face Richard Stark Parker Also published in the UK as Steel Hit. 1963 The Outfit Richard Stark Parker 1963 The Mourner Richard Stark Parker 1963 The Score Richard Stark Parker Also published in the UK as Killtown. 1964 Pity Him Afterwards Donald E. Westlake 1965 The Fugitive Pigeon Donald E. Westlake 1965 The Jugger Richard Stark Parker 1966 The Seventh Richard Stark Parker Later published as The Split. 1966 The Busy Body Donald E. Westlake 1966 The Handle Richard Stark Parker Also published in the UK as Run Lethal. 1966 The Spy In The Ointment Donald E. Westlake 1966 Kinds of Love, Kinds of Death Tucker Coe Mitchell Tobin 1967 Murder Among Children Tucker Coe Mitchell Tobin 1967 The Damsel Richard Stark Grofield 1967 The Rare Coin Score Richard Stark Parker 1967 God Save The Mark Donald E. Westlake Edgar Award winner for Best Novel 1967 Philip Donald E. Westlake 1967 Anarchaos Curt Clark 1967 The Green Eagle Score Richard Stark Parker 1968 Who Stole Sassi Manoon? Donald E. Westlake 1968 The Black Ice Score Richard Stark Parker 1969 The Sour Lemon Score Richard Stark Parker 1969 Somebody Owes Me Money Donald E. Westlake 1969 Up Your Banners Donald E. Westlake 1969 The Dame Richard Stark Grofield 1969 The Blackbird Richard Stark Grofield 1970 The Hot Rock Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1970 Adios Scheherezade Donald E. Westlake 1970 Comfort Station J. Morgan Cunningham 1970 Wax Apple Tucker Coe Mitchell Tobin 1970 A Jade in Aries Tucker Coe Mitchell Tobin 1970 Ex Officio Timothy J. Culver Also published under the title Power Play. 1971 Lemons Never Lie Richard Stark Grofield 1971 I Gave At The Office Donald E. Westlake 1971 Slayground Richard Stark Parker 1971 Deadly Edge Richard Stark Parker 1972 Bank Shot Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1972 Cops And Robbers Donald E. Westlake 1972 Don't Lie To Me Tucker Coe Mitchell Tobin 1972 Plunder Squad Richard Stark Parker Crosses over with the 1972 Joe Gores novel Dead Skip 1973 Gangway! Donald E. Westlake and Brian Garfield 1974 Butcher's Moon Richard Stark Parker 1974 Help I Am Being Held Prisoner Donald E. Westlake 1974 Jimmy the Kid Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder Includes chapters from an otherwise non-existent novel by Richard Stark entitled The Child Heist. 1975 Two Much Donald E. Westlake 1975 Brothers Keepers Donald E. Westlake 1976 Dancing Aztecs Donald E. Westlake 1977 Nobody's Perfect Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1980 Castle In The Air Donald E. Westlake 1981 Kahawa Donald E. Westlake 1983 Why Me? Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1984 A Likely Story Donald E. Westlake 1985 High Adventure Donald E. Westlake 1985 Good Behavior Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1986 One Of Us Is Wrong Samuel Holt Sam Holt 1986 I Know A Trick Worth Two Of That Samuel Holt Sam Holt 1987 What I Tell You Three Times Is False Samuel Holt Sam Holt 1988 Trust Me On This Donald E. Westlake Sara Joslyn 1989 Sacred Monster Donald E. Westlake 1989 The Fourth Dimension Is Death Samuel Holt Sam Holt 1990 Drowned Hopes Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder Crosses over with the 1992 Joe Gores novel 32 Cadillacs 1991 The Perfect Murder Jack Hitt with Lawrence Block, Sarah Caudwell, Tony Hillerman, Peter Lovesey, Donald E. Westlake Collaborative novel, devised and edited by Hitt. Westlake contributes two chapters. 1992 Humans Donald E. Westlake 1993 Don't Ask Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1994 Baby, Would I Lie? Donald E. Westlake Sara Joslyn 1995 Smoke Donald E. Westlake 1996 What's The Worst That Could Happen? Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 1997 The Ax Donald E. Westlake 1997 Comeback Richard Stark Parker 1998 Backflash Richard Stark Parker 2000 The Hook Donald E. Westlake Published in the UK as Corkscrew 2000 Flashfire Richard Stark Parker 2001 Firebreak Richard Stark Parker 2001 Bad News Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 2002 Put A Lid On It Donald E. Westlake 2002 Breakout Richard Stark Parker 2002 The Scared Stiff Judson Jack Carmichael Published in the UK as by Donald E. Westlake 2003 Money For Nothing Donald E. Westlake 2004 The Road to Ruin Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 2004 Nobody Runs Forever Richard Stark Parker 2005 Watch Your Back! Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 2006 Ask the Parrot Richard Stark Parker 2007 What's So Funny? Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 2008 Dirty Money Richard Stark Parker 2009 Get Real Donald E. Westlake Dortmunder 2010 Memory Donald E. Westlake Written in the 1960s, published posthumously. 2012 The Comedy Is Finished Donald E. Westlake Written in the early 1980s, published posthumously. Collections
- The Curious Facts Preceding My Execution (1968)
- Enough! ("A Travesty" & "Ordo") (1977)
- Levine (1984)
- Tomorrow's Crimes (1989), includes the novel Anarchaos
- Horse Laugh and Other Stories (1991)
- The Parker Omnibus, Volume 1 (1997), published in UK, containing The Man with the Getaway Face, The Outfit, and The Deadly Edge.
- The Parker Omnibus, Volume 2 (1999), published in UK, containing The Split (alternate name for The Seventh), The Score, and The Handle.
- A Good Story and Other Stories (1999)
- Thieves' Dozen (2004), a collection of ten Dortmunder short stories and one related story.
Non-fiction
- Elizabeth Taylor: A Fascinating Story of America's Most Talented Actress and the World's Most Beautiful Woman (1961, as "John B. Allan")
- Under an English Heaven (1972)
Produced Screenplays
- Cops And Robbers (1973)
- Hot Stuff (1979)co-written with Michael Kane
- The Stepfather (1987)
- Why Me? (1990)co-written with Leonard Maas, Jr.
- The Grifters (1990)
- Ripley Under Ground (2005)co-written with William Blake Herron
References
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922799/bio
- ^ New York Times Obituary Accessed January 1, 2009
- ^ a b c d e f g h i http://www.donaldwestlake.com/wks_biblio.html
- ^ a b c d e http://thrillingdetective.com/trivia/westlake.html
- ^ http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/author.epl?fullauthor=Richard%20Stark
- ^ a b c http://efanzines.com/EK/eI13/index.htm#westlake
- ^ http://www.chronogram.com/issue/2006/04/arts/books/
- ^ Westlake, Donald. "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" and responses by Frederik Pohl, Donald Wollheim, Harry Warner, Jr., Steve Stiles and others, reprinted in: Lupoff, Richard A., & Pat Lupoff. The Best of Xero. Tachyon Publications, 2004. pp. 120 et seq.
- ^ http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/movies/tnd_production.php3?t=tnd&s=tnd
External links
- Works by Donald E. Westlake at Project Gutenberg
- Official webpage
- Donald E. Westlake at the Internet Movie Database
- Web site devoted to the Parker novels written as Richard Stark
- Better bibliography
- Annotated booklist
- Annotated bibliography with correspondence
- An interview with Donald Westlake
- Donald E. Westlake, Mystery Writer, Is Dead at 75, The New York Times, January 1, 2009
- AP Obituary in The New York Times
- Nackles Story
- "Donald Westlake Memorium" (YouTube video) Westlake talking about his work and life.
- Donald Westlake / Stark bibliography at HARD-BOILED site (Comprehensive Bibliographies by Vladimir)
- University of Chicago Interview 2008, upon republication of three of the Richard Stark "Parker" novels.
- "Donald Westlake: New York City Personified" (YouTube video) What if NYC were a character in a mystery novel?
Categories:- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- American crime fiction writers
- American novelists
- Edgar Award winners
- Writers from New York
- People from Brooklyn
- United States Air Force airmen
- 1933 births
- 2008 deaths
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