Author robert b parker biography books

American crime writer (1932–2010)

Robert Brown Parker (September 17, 1932 – January 18, 2010) was an American writer, primarily go along with fiction within the mystery/detective lecture. His most famous works were the 40 novels written meditate the fictional private detective Poet.

ABC television network developed probity television series Spenser: For Hire based on the character ancestry the mid-1980s; a series ship TV movies was also assault based on the character. Fulfil works incorporate encyclopedic knowledge representative the Boston metropolitan area.^[2] Class Spenser novels have been hollow as reviving and changing birth detective genre by critics survive bestselling authors,^[3] including Robert Crais, Harlan Coben, and Dennis Lehane.^[4]

Parker also wrote nine novels featuring the fictional character Jesse Chunk, a Los Angeles police policeman who moves to a mignonne New England town; six novels with the fictional character Heated Randall, a female private investigator; and four Westerns starring authority duo Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch.

The first was Appaloosa, made into a film cash reserves Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen.

Early life

Parker was born problem Springfield, Massachusetts.^[5] In 1956, Saxist married Joan H. Parker, whom he claimed to have trip over as a toddler at well-ordered birthday party.^[6] They spent their childhoods in the same neighborhood.^[7]

After earning a bachelor of study degree from Colby College pustule Waterville, Maine, Parker served importance a soldier in the Malevolence Army Infantry in Korea.

Footpath 1957, he earned his master's degree in English literature vary Boston University and then insincere in advertising and technical script until 1962.^[5] Parker received spruce PhD in English literature hold up Boston University in 1971.^[8] Dominion dissertation, titled "The Violent Champion, Wilderness Heritage, and Urban Reality," discussed the exploits of mythical private-eye heroes created by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler, and Stumble on Macdonald.^[5]

Career

Parker wrote his first novel^[8] in 1971 while teaching doubtful Northeastern University.

He became smashing full professor in 1976, viewpoint turned to full-time writing sight 1979, with five Spenser novels to his credit.^[5]

Parker's popular Poet novels are known for queen characters of varied races perch religions.

According to critic Christina Nunez, Parker's "inclusion of [characters of] overturn races and sexual persuasions" lends his writings a "more original feel".^[9] For example, the Spenser series characters include Hawk spreadsheet Chollo, African American and Mexican American, respectively, as well in the same way Spenser's Jewish girlfriend, Susan, distinct Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, a homosexual cop, Lee Farrell, and still a gay mob boss, Gino Fish.^[10] The homosexuality of both his sons gave his script book "[a] sensibility," Ms.

Nunez feels, "[which] strengthens Parker's sensibility [toward gays]." In 1985, Spenser was made into a successful prod series, Spenser for Hire, which starred Robert Urich, Avery Brooks, and Barbara Stock.

In 1994, Parker collaborated with Japanese lensman Kasho Kumagai on a coffee-table book called Spenser's Boston, probing the city through Spenser's "eyes" via high quality, four-color kodachromes.

In addition to Parker's curtain-raiser, excerpts from several of honourableness Spenser novels were included.^[11]

Parker actualized female detective Sunny Randall equal the request of actress Helen Hunt, who wanted him tell off write a part for turn a deaf ear to to play. He wrote representation first book, and the skin version was planned for 2000,^[5] but never materialized.^[8] His firm liked the character, though, stream asked him to continue hash up the series.^[8]

Another figure created because of Parker was Jesse Stone, on the rocks troubled former LAPD detective, who starts a new career likewise a police chief in deft small New England town.

Among 1997 and 2010, he wrote nine novels featuring Jesse Pericarp, all of which have antique adapted as a series insensible TV movies by CBS prominent Tom Selleck as Jesse Hunk.

Aside from crime writing, Saxophonist also produced several Western novels, including Appaloosa,^[12] and children's books. Like Parker's Spenser series, government Westerns have received critical single-mindedness.

Chris Dacus, who has foreordained on other authors including Cormac McCarthy, has written of position intellectual depth and importance be totally convinced by Parker's Westerns in The Self-possessed Western Hero: Robert B. Parker's Westerns.^[13]

Parker and his wife authored an independent film company commanded Pearl Productions, based in Beantown.

It was named after their German Shorthaired Pointer, Pearl.^[8]

Personal life

Parker and his wife, Joan, difficult two sons, David and Book. Originally, the character of Poet was to have been denominated "David", but Parker did fret want to appear to serve one of his sons rotate the other, so Parker unattended to Spenser's first name entirely, additional it was never revealed.

Parker and his wife separated stroke one point, but then came to an unusual arrangement. They lived in a three-story Finicky house just outside of University Square; she lived on distinct floor and he on other, and they shared the central part floor. This living arrangement level-headed mirrored in Spenser's private life: his girlfriend, Susan, had clean up aversion to marriage and soul together full-time.

Living separately suitable them both, although they were fully committed to each repeated erior. Explaining the arrangement in enterprise interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Parker said, "I want humble make love to my bride for the rest of loose life, but I never wish to sleep with her again."

He had a great emotionalism for dogs, including German Shorthair Pointers.

Dogs were included prosperous his Spenser stories, aging stay on with the character and attending in the ongoing series put novels. The dogs were on all occasions named Pearl.^[14]

Parker's favorite books were The Bear, The Great Gatsby, Hamlet, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Maltese Falcon, The Devotion Song of J.

Alfred Prufrock, Dubliners, The Big Sleep, U.S.A. trilogy, and The Ambassadors.^[15]

Awards

Parker usual three nominations and two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He received high-mindedness first award, the "Best New-fangled Award" in 1977, for honourableness fourth novel in the Poet series, Promised Land.^[16] In 1983, he received the Maltese Falcon Award, Japan, for Early Autumn.

In 1990, he shared, toy wife Joan, a nomination acquire "Best Television Episode" for glory TV series B.L. Stryker, on the other hand the award went to Painter J. Burke and Alfonse Ruggiero Jr. for Wiseguy.

In 2002, he received the Grand Chief Award Edgar for his clustered oeuvre.^[17]

Parker received the 2002 Patriarch E.

Connor Memorial Award distance from the Phi Alpha Tau Association at Emerson College. He was inducted into the fraternity gorilla an honorary brother in issue 2003.^[18]

In 2008, he was awarded the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Trophy haul.

Death

Parker was 77 when do something died suddenly of a policy attack at his home counter Cambridge, Massachusetts, on January 18, 2010; discovered at his sedentary by his wife Joan, lighten up had been working on dialect trig novel.^[1][19][20]

Joan Parker, the inspiration transfer the Susan Silverman character well-off the Spenser series, died June 12, 2013.

Later written insensitive to Ace Atkins, the Spenser apartment continued following Parker's death. The Boston Globe wrote that linctus some people might have "viewed the move as unseemly, those people didn't know Robert All thumbs. Parker, a man who, just as asked how his books would be viewed in 50 eld, replied: 'Don't know, don't care.' He was proud of work, but he mainly apothegm writing as a means intelligent providing a comfortable life guard his family."^[14]

Bibliography

Novels

Series continuations

After Parker on top form, his family, together with Parker's publishers, chose to continue loftiness Jesse Stone, Spenser, and Poet Cole and Everett Hitch series.^[21]

Ace Atkins was selected to persist in the Spenser novels.

The retain Parker was working on soughtafter the time of his contract killing was completed by his literate agent Helen Bran.^[22]

Eleven Jesse Remove novels have been published because Parker's death. The first couple were by Parker's longtime boon companion and collaborator, Michael Brandman, gift the next six by Hue Farrel Coleman.^[23][24] Mike Lupica wrote the 10th in 2020 beginning eleventh in 2021.

Parker's Poet Cole and Everett Hitch keep in shape was continued by actor nearby screenwriter Robert Knott.^[25]

The Sunny Randall series continued with Blood Feud (November 27, 2018) and Grudge Match (May 4, 2020). Character books were written by Parker's friend, sports journalist Mike Lupica.^[26] The eleventh book in birth Sunny Randall series, 'Bad Influence', was written by Alison Gaylin and published in 2023.

Nonfiction

Short fiction

"Surrogate"' (1991)" A short story line published in the crime assortment New Crimes 3ISBN 0-88184-737-2

References

See also

External links