Mickey Spillane facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mickey Spillane
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Spillane in the "Publish or Perish" episode of Columbo in 1974
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| Born | Frank Morrison Spillane March 9, 1918 Brooklyn, New York City, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 2006 (aged 88) Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, U.S. |
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| Period | 1947–2006 |
| Genre | Hardboiled crime fiction, detective fiction |
| Notable awards | Inkpot Award (1994) |
| Spouse | Jane |
Frank Morrison Spillane (born March 9, 1918 – died July 17, 2006), known as Mickey Spillane, was a famous American writer. He wrote many exciting crime novels, especially those about his tough detective character, Mike Hammer. His books sold over 225 million copies around the world! Mickey Spillane also acted sometimes, and he even played Mike Hammer himself in a movie.
Contents
Early Life and War Service
Mickey Spillane was born in Brooklyn, New York City, on March 9, 1918. He grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was the only child of John Joseph Spillane and Catherine Anne.
Mickey went to Erasmus Hall High School and finished in 1935. He started writing stories while he was still in high school. He also worked different jobs, like being a lifeguard and even a trampoline artist for a circus!
During World War II, Spillane joined the Army Air Corps. He became a fighter pilot and later taught others how to fly. While stationed in Greenwood, Mississippi, he met and married his first wife, Mary Ann Pearce, in 1945.
Writing Career
Mickey Spillane wrote for many different types of publications. He started by writing for popular magazines, then for "pulps" (cheap magazines with exciting stories), and later for comic books.
Writing for Comic Books
In 1940, Mickey Spillane met Joe Gill, who worked in comics. Soon, Spillane began writing short, eight-page stories every day. He created adventures for popular comic book heroes like Captain Marvel, Superman, Batman, and Captain America.
He also wrote short text stories for comic books. These stories were needed to meet a rule that allowed comic books to be mailed cheaply. Spillane wrote about 50 of these "short-short stories." Many of these early works were later collected in books like Primal Spillane.
Writing Novels
After serving in the war, Spillane wanted to buy a house. To earn money quickly, he decided to write a novel. He wrote his first book, I, the Jury, in just nine days! He sent it to a publisher, and it became a huge success.
I, the Jury was published in 1947 and sold millions of copies. This book introduced his most famous character, the tough private detective Mike Hammer. Before this, Spillane had thought about making Mike Hammer a comic book character called Mike Danger.
The Mike Hammer books were very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They sold incredibly well, partly because they were very affordable. Even though some critics didn't like his writing style, his books were among the best-selling American fiction titles of all time. The paperback versions often had exciting cover art that helped them stand out.
Acting Roles
Mickey Spillane didn't just write; he also acted! In the 1954 movie Ring of Fear, he played a detective. Several of his Mike Hammer novels were turned into movies, like Kiss Me Deadly (1955).
In 1963, Spillane actually played his own character, Mike Hammer, in the movie The Girl Hunters. It's rare for an author to play their own famous character in a film! He also appeared in TV shows like Columbo in 1974 and in some movies in the 1990s.
You might have also seen him in commercials for Miller Lite beer during the 1980s.
Awards and Recognition
Mickey Spillane received important awards for his writing.
- In 1983, he got a lifetime achievement award from the Private Eye Writers of America.
- In 1995, he received the Edgar Allan Poe Grand Master Award, which is a very high honor for mystery writers.
Personal Life
Mickey Spillane was married three times. He had four children with his first wife, Mary Ann Spillane. Their marriage ended in 1962. In 1965, he married Sherri Malinou, a nightclub singer. After their marriage ended in 1983, he married Jane Rogers Johnson in the same year. They lived in his waterfront house in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, with her two daughters.
In the 1960s, Spillane became friends with another writer, Ayn Rand. Later in his life, Mickey Spillane became an active Jehovah's Witness.
In 1989, his house was badly damaged by Hurricane Hugo, and it had to be rebuilt almost completely.
Death and Legacy
Mickey Spillane passed away on July 17, 2006, at his home in Murrells Inlet, from pancreatic cancer. After he died, his friend and fellow writer, Max Allan Collins, helped finish and publish some of Spillane's stories that had not been released yet.
In 2011, the community of Murrells Inlet honored him by naming a part of U.S 17 Business the "Mickey Spillane Waterfront 17 Highway."
Novels
Mike Hammer Series
- 1947 I, the Jury
- 1950 My Gun Is Quick
- 1950 Vengeance Is Mine
- 1951 One Lonely Night
- 1951 The Big Kill
- 1952 Kiss Me, Deadly
- 1962 The Girl Hunters
- 1964 The Snake
- 1966 The Twisted Thing
- 1967 The Body Lovers
- 1970 Survival... Zero!
- 1989 The Killing Man
- 1996 Black Alley
Tiger Mann Series
- 1964 Day of the Guns
- 1965 Bloody Sunrise
- 1965 The Death Dealers
- 1966 The By-Pass Control
Morgan the Raider Series
- 1967 The Delta Factor
- 2011 The Consummata – completed by Max Allan Collins
Other Novels
- 1951 The Long Wait
- 1959 Me, Hood (a novelette)
- 1961 The Deep
- 1964 Return of the Hood
- 1964 The Flier
- 1965 Killer Mine
- 1965 Man Alone
- 1973 The Last Cop Out
- 1979 The Day The Sea Rolled Back (for young adults)
- 1982 The Ship That Never Was (for young adults)
- 1984 Tomorrow I Die (collection of short stories)
- 2001 Together We Kill: The Uncollected Stories of Mickey Spillane (collection of short stories)
- 2003 Something's Down There
- 2007 Dead Street – completed by Max Allan Collins
- 2015 The Legend of Caleb York – novel by Max Allan Collins (based on Spillane's script)
Short Stories
- 1989 The Killing Man
- 1996 Black Alley
- 1998 The Night I Died – Mike Hammer story (written in 1953, published in 1998)
- 2003 Primal Spillane: Early Stories 1941-1942
- 2004 The Duke Alexander – Mike Hammer story (written around 1956, published in 2004)
- 2008 The Big Switch – Mike Hammer story; completed by Max Allan Collins
- 2009 I'll Die Tomorrow – (illustrated short story, posthumous with Collins)
- 2010 A Long Time Dead – Mike Hammer story; completed by Collins
- 2010 Grave Matter – Mike Hammer story; completed by Collins
- 2012 Skin – Mike Hammer e-book short story; completed by Collins
- 2013 So Long, Chief – Mike Hammer story; completed by Collins
- 2014 It's In The Book – Mike Hammer e-book short story; completed by Collins
- 2015 Fallout – Mike Hammer story; completed by Collins
- 2016 A Dangerous Cat – Mike Hammer story; completed by Collins
- 2016 A Long Time Dead: A Mike Hammer Casebook – a collection of short stories by Mickey Spillane and Collins
- 2018 A Turn of the Tide — (written around 1950, published in 2018)
- 2018 Tonight My Love – Mike Hammer story; developed by Collins (from a 1954 playlet)
See also
In Spanish: Mickey Spillane para niños
