Master of L.A. crime fiction fades to black

The man behind some of L.A's richest crime fiction has died. Donald E. Westlake's writing produced two classic films about the Los Angeles underworld, "The Grifters" and "Point Blank." But he wrote so much more (under so many different names). From The Times' obit:

In recent years, Westlake wrote under only his own name and the pseudonym Richard Stark. More than 15 of his books were made into films, and he wrote a number of screenplays — most prominent among them “The Grifters,” the adaptation of the Jim Thompson pulp novel, which was nominated for an Academy Award in 1991. As Stark, Westlake wrote a dark, spare series about a one-named criminal called Parker. “The Hunter,” the novel that introduced Parker to the mystery audience, was described by critic Anthony Boucher as “a harsh and frightening story of criminal vengeance ... written with economy, understatement and a deadly amoral objectivity.” The book was later adapted by director John Boorman into the 1967 film “Point Blank,” starring Lee Marvin. And in 1999, the book was the basis for the Mel Gibson film “Payback.” But writing under his own name, Westlake produced a series of books, comic in tone, about the criminal turns of John Dortmunder, whose efforts at organized crime are anything but organized. In reviewing Westlake’s “Don’t Ask” in the Los Angeles Times some years ago, critic Kenneth Turan called Dortmunder Westlake’s “most durable character.”

More about Westlake's career here. Here is a tribute at The Times' Daily Mirror blog. The Times of London called him "the last master of old-style American noir." And some cool shots from "Point Blank" and a very different L.A. OK, here's the "Point Blank" trailer.

--Shelby Grad

Photo: Universal