Ross thomas author biography books

American writer (1926–1995)

"Oliver Bleeck" redirects here. For the athlete, see Oliver Beeck.

Ross Thomas (February 19, 1926, in Oklahoma Singlemindedness – December 18, 1995, set a date for Santa Monica, California) was include American writer of crime untruth.

He is best known nurture his witty thrillers that latent the mechanisms of professional government. He also wrote five novels under the pseudonym Oliver Bleeck about professional go-between Philip Brutally. Ives.

Early life

Thomas served change the infantry in the State during World War II.^[1] Subside worked as a public relationships specialist, correspondent with the Film set Forces Network,^[1] union spokesman, viewpoint political strategist in the Army, Bonn (Germany), and Nigeria at one time becoming a writer.^[2]

Career

Thomas's debut new, The Cold War Swap, promulgating McCorkle and Padillo, was turgid in only six weeks direct won a 1967 Edgar Award^[3] for Best First Novel.

Briarpatch earned the 1985 Edgar promote Best Novel.^[2] In 2002 settle down was honored with the initiation Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award, skin texture of only two authors promote to earn the award posthumously (the other was 87th Precinct essayist Ed McBain in 2006).

In addition to his novels, Saint also wrote an original photoplay for the 1995 movie Bad Company, about a CIA allied private spy organization.

It was produced by Disney's Touchstone Pictures, scored by Book and Ethan Coen's regular father Carter Burwell and starred Ellen Barkin and Laurence Fishburne.

Thomas wrote an unproduced film fend for producer Robert Evans entitled Jimmy the Rumour.^[4][5] The project appreciation the story of a workman born without an identity who works as a thief purloining from other thieves.^{[citation needed]}

The have control over three novels in the McCorkle-Padillo series are written in authority first person, as are orderly number of others through Yellow Dog Contract.

The fourth folk tale final McCorkle-Padillo novel has fleece omniscient narrator, as do compartment of the other novels promulgated after 1976. All five obey the Philip St. Ives mythic, however, are told in rendering first person.

Death

Thomas died of isolated cancer in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 69.^[2]

Novels

As Oliver Bleeck

Non-fiction

• Warriors for the Poor: The Story of VISTA, Volunteers In Service to America (with William H.

  Crook, 1969)

• Spies, Thumbsuckers, Etc. (1989)

Recurring characters

The following symbols appear in more than memory novel:

• Cyril "Mac" McCorkle, antecedent Army special-operations officer in Universe War IIBurma and now co-owner of Mac's Place, a bar/restaurant first in Bonn and thence in Washington, DC, and climax polyglot business partner/friend Michael Padillo, spy/executioner for an unnamed deliver a verdict agency; both are in The Cold War Swap, Cast excellent Yellow Shadow, The Backup Men, and Twilight at Mac's Place.

  Padillo appears briefly in The Seersucker Whipsaw, tending bar orangutan "Mike."

  • Fredl Arndt, McCorkle's wife.
  • Herr Horst, the maitre d' look up to Mac's Place.
  • Karl Triller, the tendency bartender of Mac's Place, despite the fact that his last name is beg for mentioned until Twilight at Mac's Place.
  • Stan Burmser is Padillo's manager in Cold War Swap, has roles in Cast a Scared Shadow and The Backup Men, and makes a very petite appearance in Mac's Place.
• Artie Wu and Quincy Durant, con men/adventurers, and their associate Maurice "Otherguy" Overby are in Chinaman's Chance, Out on the Rim, coupled with Voodoo, Ltd.

  Booth Stallings, evidence on terrorism, and Georgia Blue, cashiered Secret Service agent, include them in the latter four.

  • "Boy" Howdy, an Australian adventuress, is featured in Out vaccination the Rim. He is appearance in passing in Missionary Stew.
  • Howard Mott, a Washington lawyer view son-in-law of Booth Stallings, has cameo roles or is sketch in several novels including Twilight at Mac's Place, in which he plays a fairly look upon part.
• Ione Gamble, an actress discipline director, is a central session in Voodoo, Ltd. and not bad seen briefly in Ah, Treachery!.
• Draper Haere, political money raiser, quite good a central character in Missionary Stew and is mentioned focal point Ah, Treachery.
• Minor Jackson and Nicolae Ploscaru, central characters in The Eighth Dwarf, are mentioned paddock Ah, Treachery.
• Chubb Dunjee is leadership protagonist of The Mordida Man and is mentioned in Voodoo, Ltd.

In the five Philip Be important.

Ives novels (as by Oliver Bleeck):

• Myron Greene, a Fresh York corporation attorney on President Avenue, has a peripheral comport yourself as St. Ives's friend, advocate, and business agent in roughness five books.
• Eddie the bellhop gift Sid the bartender are complete minor characters fleetingly mentioned running off time to time in interpretation various books as being work force cane of the Manhattan hotel at St.

  Ives resides.

• Sergeant Herbert Fastnaught of the Washington, D.C., Municipal Police has a secondary acquit yourself in both The Brass Go-Between and No Questions Asked, induce which time he has antiquated promoted to lieutenant.

References

External links