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Elmore Leonard (1925–2013), often known by his nickname “Dutch,” was born in New Orleans in 1925 and mostly grew up in Michigan. He began writing short stories while in elementary school. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and later attended the University of Detroit. Leonard wrote westerns, both novels and short stories, early on in his career before turning toward other genres, most notably crime and gangster fiction, in the 1960s. Leonard, who cited Ernest Hemingway and his spare writing style as one of his literary influences, adopted a writing style that was similarly utilitarian. It is characterized by to-the-point dialogue that contains several layers of meaning in only a few words, and without excessive description or internal monologues. Leonard’s first short western story was “Trail of the Apache,” which was published in Argosy magazine in 1951. 

Leonard’s shift away from westerns and into crime fiction began with his 1969 novel The Big Bounce. Some of his notable crime novels included LaBrava (1983), Freaky Deaky (1988), Killshot (1989), Get Shorty (1990), and Riding the Rap (1995). In interviews, Leonard expressed great fondness for the villains, bad guys, antiheroes, and flawed heroes that frequently appear in his stories and novels. Several of Leonard’s novels and stories were adapted for film and television shows in the 1990s and 2000s. Get Shorty was adapted into a 1995 film of the same name, starring John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Rene Russo, and Danny DeVito. The 2000 novella Fire in the Hole was adapted into the television series Justified. Leonard’s awards included the Cartier’s Diamond Dagger Award, the Raymond Chandler Award, the 2008 F. Scott Fitzgerald Award, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award, which he received in 2009. Leonard died at his home in Michigan in 2013 at the age of 87.

Next section Historical Context: Westerns as a Reflection of the American Ethos

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