Elmore Leonard (1925-2013)

Elmore Leonard, one of our most celebrated and prolific writers, passed away this morning due to stroke complications.  He was 87.

Leonard was born in New Orleans, but his family relocated to Detroit in 1934, and he remained a Michigan resident the rest of his life.  After a stint in the Navy, he enrolled at the University Of Detroit earning a degree in English and philosophy.  It was there where Leonard developed his passion for writing, submitting short stories for contests and magazines.  He had his first success in 1951 when the pulp magazine Argosy published ‘Trail Of The Apaches’.  Leonard would continue to write short story Westerns through the 50s and 60s.  Two of his stories – ‘Three-Ten To Yuma’ and ‘The Captives’ – became the basis for full length feature films.  When he made the transition from Westerns to crime thrillers with the publication of The Big Bounce, Elmore Leonard didn’t just jump start the genre, he reinvented it.

Elmore Leonard novels were concise, well researched, featured strong, funny dialogue, concise and well paced.  ‘I try to leave out the parts that people skip’ became a famous Leonard quote.  His prose was so detailed and precise, it was inevitable that it would be adapted into movies.  Notable film adaptations of his work included Out Of Sight, 3:10 To Yuma, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown (which came from his novel Rum Punch), Hombre, and Mr Majestyk.  The hit FX series Justified is based on two novels Leonard wrote in the 90s: Pronto and Riding The Rap.

A literary giant , Elmore Leonard leaves behind a rich and vivid body of work that will stand the test of time.