Elmore Leonard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Elmore Leonard
Leonard at the 70th Annual Peabody Awards Luncheon, 2011
Born	Elmore John Leonard Jr. (1925-10-11)October 11, 1925 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	August 20, 2013(2013-08-20) (aged 87) Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Alma mater	University of Detroit
Genre	Pulp fiction Westerns Crime fiction
Spouse	Beverly Claire Cline ​ ​ (m. 1949; div. 1977)​ Joan Shepard ​ ​ (m. 1979; died 1993)​ Christine Kent ​ ​ (m. 1993; div. 2012)​
Children	5, including Peter
Relatives	Megan Freels Johnston
Military career
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Years of service	1943–1946
Rank	Petty officer third class
Unit	Seabees
Battles/wars	World War II

Elmore John Leonard Jr. (born October 11, 1925 – died August 20, 2013) was a famous American writer. He wrote many novels, short stories, and screenplays. He started by writing exciting Western stories in the 1950s. Later, he became well-known for his crime and suspense thrillers.

Many of his books were turned into popular movies. Some of his most famous works include Get Shorty, Out of Sight, and Rum Punch. Rum Punch was made into the movie Jackie Brown. His short stories also became movies like 3:10 to Yuma and the TV show Justified.

Early life and learning

Elmore Leonard was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. His father worked for General Motors, so his family moved around a lot. In 1934, they finally settled down in Detroit, Michigan.

He finished high school in 1943. After being told he couldn't join the Marines because of his eyesight, he joined the Navy. He served for three years during World War II in the South Pacific. While in the Navy, he was nicknamed "Dutch."

After the war, he went to the University of Detroit in 1946. He started taking his writing seriously there. He sent his stories to magazines and entered writing contests. In 1950, he earned a degree in English and philosophy. Before graduating, he also worked as a writer for an advertising company.

Writing career

Elmore Leonard's first story, "Trail of the Apaches," was published in Argosy magazine in 1951. During the 1950s and early 1960s, he wrote over 30 Western short stories. His first novel, The Bounty Hunters, came out in 1953. He wrote four more Western novels after that.

His Western stories often featured unique characters and underdogs. He was great at showing who his characters were through their conversations. Many of his stories took place in Arizona and New Mexico. Several of his Westerns became major movies, including The Tall T and 3:10 to Yuma.

In 1969, he published his first crime story, The Big Bounce. Leonard's crime stories were different from others. They didn't have a lot of drama or sadness. Instead, he focused on interesting characters and realistic conversations. His stories were often set in Detroit or South Florida.

His book Glitz, published in 1985, became a huge hit. It stayed on The New York Times Best Seller list for 16 weeks. Many of his crime novels after that also became bestsellers. Famous author Stephen King even compared him to great writers like Raymond Chandler.

Leonard felt his books became more funny and natural in the 1980s. He especially liked his books Tishomingo Blues and Freaky Deaky. Some of his characters, like mobster Chili Palmer and U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, appeared in several of his novels.

By the time he passed away, his novels had sold tens of millions of copies around the world.

Movies and TV shows

Many of Elmore Leonard's works were made into movies and TV shows.

• Jackie Brown (1997), directed by Quentin Tarantino, was based on his novel Rum Punch.
• Get Shorty (1995), starring John Travolta, was a big hit.
• Out of Sight (1998), starring George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez, was directed by Steven Soderbergh.
• The TV series Justified (2010–2015) was based on his character U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens.

Nearly 30 movies were made from Leonard's books and stories.

Personal life

Elmore Leonard married Beverly Clare Cline in 1949. They had five children together. They divorced in 1977. In 1979, he married Joan Leanne Lancaster, who passed away in 1993. Later that year, he married Christine Kent, and they divorced in 2012.

Leonard spent his last years living with his family in Oakland County, Michigan. He had a stroke in July 2013. He passed away on August 20, 2013, at his home in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, from complications from the stroke. He was 87 years old. One of his grandchildren is Alex Leonard, a drummer in the band Protomartyr.

Writing tips

Critics praised Elmore Leonard for his realistic stories and strong conversations. He sometimes bent grammar rules to make his stories flow faster. He once said, "My most important rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." He also tried to "leave out the parts that readers tend to skip."

Many writers, like Stephen King, admired his writing. Stephen King called him "the great American writer." Leonard often said Ernest Hemingway was his biggest influence. He also sent his personal papers to the University of South Carolina, where many of Hemingway's papers are kept.

Leonard had a big influence on many crime writers who came after him.

Awards and honors

Elmore Leonard received many awards for his writing:

• 1984: Edgar Award for Best Mystery Novel for LaBrava.
• 1992: Grand Master Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Mystery Writers of America.
• 2008: F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award for his great work in American literature.
• 2010: Peabody Award for the TV show Justified.
• 2012: National Book Award, Medal for Distinguished Contribution.

Works

Novels

Elmore Leonard wrote many novels throughout his career. Here are some of them, along with their movie adaptations:

Short stories

Many of Leonard's short stories were also adapted into films or TV shows. One of his most famous short stories is "Three-Ten to Yuma", which was made into movies in 1957 and 2007. Another notable story, "Fire in the Hole", became the basis for the TV series Justified.

Screenplays

Elmore Leonard also wrote screenplays for movies. This means he wrote the scripts for films. Some of the movies he wrote the screenplays for include:

• The Moonshine War (1970)
• Joe Kidd (1972)
• Mr. Majestyk (1974)
• Stick (1985)

Audiobooks

Most of Elmore Leonard's novels have been made into audiobooks. These are books you can listen to. Many famous actors have read his books for audiobooks, including Steve Buscemi, Liev Schreiber, and Neil Patrick Harris.

See also

In Spanish: Elmore Leonard para niños