Elmore Leonard | Biography, Books, Justified, Raylan Givens, & Facts (2024)

Elmore Leonard (born October 11, 1925, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.—died August 20, 2013, Bloomfield township, Michigan) was an American author of popular crime novels known for his clean prose style, uncanny ear for realistic dialogue, effective use of violence, unforced satiric wit, and colourful characters.

Leonard served in the U.S. Naval Reserve (1943–46), then graduated with a bachelor of philosophy degree from the University of Detroit (later called University of Detroit Mercy) in 1950. While composing scripts for advertising and educational films, he began writing western novels and short stories, beginning with The Bounty Hunters (1953). The films 3:10 to Yuma (1957, 2007) and The Tall T (1957) were based on his novelettes, and Leonard’s western novel Hombre (1961) was also adapted for film in 1967. He made a transition to the crime novel with the publication in 1969 of The Big Bounce (film 1969, 2004).

Having found his niche, Leonard produced a series of novels set primarily in Detroit and Florida. These usually featured working-class protagonists; dumb, larcenous ne’er-do-wells; piggish, sweaty villains; violent, out-of-control, sex-crazed brutes; and women in distress. Leonard’s villains are particularly colourful, while his protagonists, whether policemen, civilians, or honest criminals, provide his stories’ moral focus. Among his outstanding crime novels of the 1970s are Fifty-two Pickup (1974; adapted as the films The Ambassador [1984] and 52 Pick-Up [1986]), Swag (1976; also published as Ryan’s Rules), Unknown Man No. 89 (1977), and The Switch (1978; adapted as the film Life of Crime [2013]). Leonard’s subsequent novels include the Edgar Allan Poe Award-winning LaBrava (1983), Stick (1983; film 1985), Glitz (1985; television movie 1988), Bandits (1987), Freaky Deaky (1988; film 2012), Rum Punch (1992; adapted as the film Jackie Brown [1997]), and Road Dogs (2009).

Other works that were made into movies included Killshot (1989; film 2008), Get Shorty (1990; film 1995), and Out of Sight (1996; film 1998). In addition, the short story “Fire in the Hole” served as the basis for the television series Justified (2010–15), which centres on a laconic U.S. marshal named Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant); the miniseries Justified: City Primeval aired in 2023. Givens was featured in several other books, and in 2012 Leonard published Raylan. Leonard was the recipient of numerous honours, including the PEN Lifetime Achievement Award (2009).