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You are here: Home / Books / Elmore Leonard RIP

Elmore Leonard RIP

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Elmore Leonard is dead at 87. My favorite passage of his, from Riding the Rap:

“ ‘No man who has ever passed a month in death cells believes in cages for beasts.’ You know who wrote that, you dumb fucks? Ezra Pound, that’s who. Ez was a very dear friend of mine.”

…

Louis found Chip in the kitchen making himself a Bloody Mary and asked him, “Who’s Ezra Pound?”

Chip said, “Ezra Pound,” stirring his drink and then pausing, “He was a heavyweight. Beat Joe Louis for the crown and lost it to Marciano. Or was it Jersey Joe Walcott?”

More prolific than my other favorite airplane reads — Hammet, Chandler, James Ellroy — and funnier, too. Too bad he won’t live to write another 45 books, but he sure had a hell of a run. If there’s one fiction writer who fits the BJ ethos, it’s Elmore Leonard, IHMO.

I’ve always mixed up James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and Elmore James.

Reader Interactions

67Comments

  1. 1.

    cleek

    Elmore James was the guy who figured out how to write a dozen songs by changing the words to Sweet Home Chicago, over and over.

  3. 3.

    Quaker in a Basement

    I’ve always mixed up James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and Elmore James.

    Yup. I did it when I read this headline.

  4. 4.

    Ajabu

    “Get Shorty” was a masterpiece. And they actually made the movie true to the book.
    The sequel “Be Cool”, not so much.
    I also highly recommend Rum Punch (from which the movie Jackie Brown was made) & Out of Sight
    (made into another good movie with Clooney & JLo)
    h/t to Mr. Leonard for a hell of a lot of reading pleasure.

  5. 5.

    Rex Everything

    Leonard wrote a lot of stuff, but most of the later stuff was crap. His good stuff, though—my, my, my.

  6. 6.

    Dead Ernest

    He did have a good run, and I’m all the richer for it.

    Appreciation to Elroy Jettson while we’re at it.

  7. 7.

    Felonius Monk

    RIP – Elmore.

    I certainly hope this does not bring an end to “Justified”. Perhaps, too, I will haul out my DVD of “52 Pickup” and watch it again. Great story, great movie. Thanks, Elmore.

  9. 9.

    Alexandra

    If there’s one fiction writer who fits the BJ ethos, it’s Elmore Leonard, IHMO.

    Perhaps Carl Hiaasen too?

    Canine anal glands, a jar of mysteriously lost mustard, late night drunken confessions and wine foil art… who could resist?

  10. 10.

    Cermet

    I always wondered why anyone would wish someone to be RIP if the person who died is 1) rather cool and 2) didn’t like the way things were run by the powers that be. Hell, what better way to enjoy death than hang around and make trouble for those SOB low life’s that make trouble for the living?

  12. 12.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    If there’s one fiction writer who fits the BJ ethos, it’s Elmore Leonard, IHMO.

    What exactly is the BJ ethos? Whining about firebaggers or crying that a front pager isn’t puking up exactly what they want to hear?

  14. 14.

    SFAW

    @Alexandra:
    Amen to Hiaasen.

    I have a bunch of Elmore books, only been through about half of them, guess I should finish the shelf out of respect for him.

    The first chapter of Freaky Deaky is one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for that, and everything else, Mr. Leonard.

  15. 15.

    c u n d gulag

    I’m a late convert to him.

    To me, he was like the literary equivalent of Bruce Springsteen, whom I didn’t like way back when because he was too popular – but now realize is one of the greatest of all time!

    R.I.P. Elmore Leonard.
    I’m glad I finally realized how great and funny a writer you’d been all along!

  18. 18.

    Elizabelle

    He still had more books in him. He was still writing.

    So, he went out still vital. Too young, at 87.

  20. 20.

    Aimai

    I loved Elmore. I ESP. Lived the earlier stuff before he got quite so self referential with Hollywood issues. Pagan babies was powerful, I thought.

  25. 25.

    Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader

    @Belafon: Is that like the old “being intolerant of intolerance makes you more intolerant” dodge?

  26. 26.

    raven

    None better, not even close:

    “The 1967 film Hombre starring Paul Newman was an adaptation of Leonard’s novel of the same name.”

    “You ever been hungry lady? “

  28. 28.

    Keith P.

    Who had more books adapted to films – Elmore Leonard or Philip K. Dick?

    (I looked it up, and it’s Leonard, but both have had a lot of works put to film)

  30. 30.

    raven

    Audra Favor: I can’t imagine eating a dog and not thinking anything of it.

    John Russell: You even been hungry, lady? Not just ready for supper. Hungry enough so that your belly swells?

    Audra Favor: I wouldn’t care how hungry I got. I know I wouldn’t eat one of those camp dogs.

    John Russell: You’d eat it. You’d fight for the bones, too.

    Audra Favor: Have you ever eaten a dog, Mr. Russell?

    John Russell: Eaten one and lived like one.

    Audra Favor: Dear me.

  31. 31.

    raven

    OR

    I been working since I was ten years old, Jessie, cleaning spittoons at a dime a day. It’s now thirty years later, and all I can see out the window here is a dirt road going nowhere. The only thing that changes the view is the spotted dog lifting his leg against the wall over there. Saturday nights, I haul out the town drunks. I get their 25-cent dinners and their rotgut liquor heaved up over the front of my one good shirt. I wear three pounds of iron strapped to my leg. That makes me fair game for any punk cowboy who’s had one too many. No, Jess, I don’t need a wife. I need out.

  33. 33.

    patroclus

    I don’t want to shock anyone but I think I’m switching sides on the Greenwald/Snowden/Miranda/Poitras kerfluffle. I saw Rachel Maddow’s segment on this last night and journalists shouldn’t be harassed. At airports or otherwise. I still despise Dear Leader Greenwald and don’t think he’s a particularly good journalist, but he’s not Snowden. And neither are Poitras or Miranda. Thay didn’t steal classified documents and fly off to Russia or China; they’re merely reporting that Snowden did. So, I’m going to stop lambasting John for flogging this issue and I’m going to try to take Greenwald’s side on this. It’ll be hard, and I’ll probably slip up, but count me as a Dear Leader Greenwald supporter for now.

    Oh, and RIP whoever it is. And I think it’s time for detente/rapproachment with Iran, especially in light of the Mossadegh disclosures.

  34. 34.

    mai naem(mobile)

    Rest in peace is better than rest in piss which is probably what most of us do initially, anyway.

  35. 35.

    PaulW

    It’s been 15 years since Out Of Sight was put to film. Good Lord, when I saw it in the theaters I swore it deserved Best Picture honors. Still can’t figure out who deserved best supporting actor more, Farina or Guzman. Everyone was on their A-game. And it remains a DAMN SHAME that the movie got snubbed.

    It’s pretty much the best Date movie ever. Guys get it: Gals get it. I showed it to my friends one evening for movie sit-in night and by the hotel bar scene the couples were curled up all lovey-dovey. It’s f-cking catnip for couples.

  37. 37.

    feebog

    A hell of a lot of movies were adapted from Elmore Leonard novels. Two in particular, 52 Pickup and Cat Chaser are worth ordering. I think I have read almost everything he wrote, western or otherwise. Some of his later stuff was not quite as good, but “The Hot Kid” is classic Leonard. RIP indeed.

  47. 47.

    gogol's wife

    @Just Some Fuckhead, Thought Leader:

    Okay, that says a lot about you.

    He was a great writer. My faves are Unknown Man No. 89 (great AA scenes, by the way) and The Big Bounce. But there are so many good ones, many of which still await my first reading. Too bad summer is ending!

  50. 50.

    WereBear

    I’m so sorry to see him go, but what a run. Best dialogue writer EVER.

    He was still going strong with stuff like Pagan Babies and The Hot Kid. Finally got a TV show from his stuff that worked, Justified.

    And if anyone wishes to look up The Tall T, that was the first movie based on his work – 1957. An excellent western.

  52. 52.

    SFAW

    @Doug Milhous J:

    If you have to ask, you ain’t never gonna know.

    Never would have figured you for a Zen kinda guy.

    Does BJ have a Buddha nature?
    (Ask a cow for the proper response.)

  55. 55.

    Dave

    Favorite line. From the novel “Glitz”

    “Nobody said a thing. I ran outside in my underwear, got my gun, I’m coming back in a drunk standing there on the sidewalk looking at me, weaving. You know what he said?”

    “Atlantic City, 3:00 in the morning,” Dixie said, “Resorts International across the street, he told you don’t do it, it ain’t worth it. Think of your wife and kids.”

    He said, “You should have bet your underwear. You never know when your luck’ll change.”

  56. 56.

    Fort Geek

    So far, I’ve only read “Maximum Bob” and the Raylan Givens books, but I’ve seen several of his movies and shows.

    One of my favorites. I like that he didn’t waste a lot of time getting the story going and just stayed the hell out of the way once it was moving. I especially liked his treatment of his bad guys, where they’re just regular dumbass hoods who screw themselves up. They end up doing most of Raylan’s work for him.

    Sorry to see him go, but Elmore had a hell of a good run.

  57. 57.

    Ben Grimm

    Damn. First Westlake, now Leonard. I’m losing all my favorite crime writers.

    Thank Xenu there’s about 300 books between the two of them.

  58. 58.

    chromeagnomen

    leonard once said that part of his success was leaving out all the stuff that wasn’t interesting. no one was better at crime fiction. i wholeheartedly agree, the best dialogue writer ever.

  59. 59.

    Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)

    Doug Dingus J: Familiar with Loren D. Estleman? He’s much, uhm, pulpier than the others you listed, but his Detroit Novels arc is pretty sweet.

  60. 60.

    danielx

    I’ve always mixed up James Ellroy, Elmore Leonard, and Elmore James.

    If you’re going to be confused, that’s not a bad kind of confusion. Sort of like The Right Madness.

    C.W. Sughrue…”Shoog as in sugar and rue as in rue the fuckin’ day.”

  62. 62.

    opiejeanne

    @Fort Geek: Just ordered Maximum Bob for my e-reader.

    We watched five of the seven episodes of Maximum Bob that summer it was on, and loved it. Was really sorry it didn’t continue, and now I’m trying to find it on DVD and the places I trust do not have it.

  63. 63.

    Jay

    Surprised Richard Price’s name isn’t listed with the greats you mentioned, Doug.

    Any other Price fans here?

  65. 65.

    burnspbesq

    @DougJ:

    More prolific than my other favorite airplane reads — Hammet, Chandler, James Ellroy

    Robert B. Parker, Walter Mosely, Patricia Cornwell, Dale Brown, Stephen Coonts. Tony Hillerman, may he rest in peace.

    LeCarre!

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