US crime writer Elmore Leonard, author of such books as Get Shorty, Maximum Bob and Out of Sight, has died at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke.
A statement on his official website said he had died on Tuesday morning “surrounded by his loving family”.
The author of 45 novels, Leonard had been in the process of writing his 46th. Born in New Orleans in 1925, he started out writing western stories before turning to crime fiction in the 1960s.
Renowned for his terse, no-nonsense style and sparse use of dialogue, his works inspired numerous screen adaptations. Hombre, 3.10 to Yuma, Get Shorty and Rum Punch were among those filmed, the latter by Quentin Tarantino under the title Jackie Brown.
One of his more heroic characters, US Marshal Raylan Givens, inspired the TV series Justified, while his 1978 novel The Switch was filmed this year as Life of Crime.
His 10 Rules of Writing, published in 2001, contained such salutary admonishments as “never open a book with weather” and “avoid detailed descriptions of characters”.
Last year, he received a lifetime achievement prize at America’s National Book Awards. Leonard suffered a stroke earlier this month in Detroit and had been in hospital. According to the Detroit News, the author died at his home in the city’s Bloomfield Village suburb.
He is survived by five children, 12 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
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