Elmore Leonard, the famed author of numerous gritty crime thrillers, has passed away at the age of 87 due to complications from a stroke. A Detroit native, known as “Dutch” amongst friends and family, Leonard leaves behind a tremendous legacy of work with more than 40 novels published, many of them adapted into films or TV shows. Among those adapted to the big screen are JOE KIDD with Clint Eastwood, MR. MAJESTYK with Charles Bronson, OUT OF SIGHT with George Clooney, 3:10 TO YUMA (both versions), GET SHORTY with John Travolta, and JACKIE BROWN (based on his novel “Rum Punch”) from Quentin Tarantino.
Leonard’s most recent work includes the hit FX series JUSTIFIED, based on his short story “Fire In The Hole,” which chronicles U.S. Federal Marshall Raylan Givens, as portrayed by Timothy Olyphant, now going into its fifth season. In addition, LIFE OF CRIME, the adaptation of “The Switch,” which is a prequel to JACKIE BROWN, is premiering at TIFF this month. The film stars Jennifer Aniston, John Hawkes, Isla Fisher, and Tim Robbins. Leonard’s last novel was the 2010 “Djibouti” about Somali pirates.
Leonard said of his success:
“My purpose is to entertain and please myself. I feel that if I am entertained, then there will be enough other readers who will be entertained, too.”