Warren Murphy
| Warren Murphy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Warren Burton Murphy September 13, 1933 Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died |
September 4, 2015 (aged 81) Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Notable works | The Destroyer |
| Spouse | Nancy Cartwright (m. 1988; div. 2002) |
| Children | 7 |
| Website | |
|
warrenmurphy | |
Warren Burton Murphy (September 13, 1933 – September 4, 2015) was an American author, most famous as the co-creator of The Destroyer series, the basis for the film Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins.
Biography
Murphy was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1933. He worked in journalism and politics until launching the Destroyer series with Richard Sapir in 1971. A screenwriter (Lethal Weapon II, The Eiger Sanction) as well as a novelist, his work has won a dozen national awards, including multiple Edgars and Shamuses. He lectured at many colleges and universities.
A Korean War veteran, some of Murphy’s hobbies include golf, mathematics, opera, and investing. He has served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and has been a member of the Screenwriters Guild, the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, and the American Crime Writers League. He had five children: Deirdre, Megan, Brian, Ardath and Devin from previous marriages, and had two more children from former wife Nancy Cartwright, whom he married in 1988 until they divorced in 2002. He died on September 4, 2015 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[1]
Writing
Murphy was one of the authors of the screenplay for The Eiger Sanction in 1975, and he also co-wrote (with series creator Shane Black) the original story for Lethal Weapon 2. He is the author of the Trace and Digger series. With Molly Cochran, he has completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character "The Grandmaster": The Grandmaster (1984) and High Priest (1989). Murphy also shares writing credits with Cochran on The Forever King and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. Some of his solo novels include Jericho Day, The Red Moon, The Ceiling of Hell, The Sure Thing and Honor Among Thieves. Over his career, Murphy has sold over 60 million books.
A few years ago, he started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, to have a vehicle to start The Destroyer spin-off books. Ballybunion has reprinted The Assassin's Handbook, as well as the original works Assassin's Handbook 2, The Movie That Never Was (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), The Way of the Assassin (the wisdom of Chiun), and New Blood, a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.
He served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and also has been a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild. In April 2007, Warren returned to co-authoring The Destroyer, which is now published by Tor Books. His final novel, the Mafia epic Bloodline, was released from Tor in 2015.
Awards and acclaim
The novels The New Destroyer: Guardian Angel and The New Destroyer: Choke Hold were both identified as Bruce Grossman of Bookgasm's "10 best crime novels of 2007".[2]
Murphy has received a number of awards and nominations for his work. Ceiling of Hell won the 1985 Shamus Award in the "Best Original Private Eye Paperback" category.[3] His 1999 short story, "Another Day, Another Dollar", won the "Best Short Story" Shamus award.[3] His novel Grandmaster won the 1985 Edgar Award for "Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel".[4]
His novel Trace: Too Old a Cat was nominated for "Best Paperback Original" at the 1987 Anthony Awards and the Shamus Awards of the same year.[3][5] Also Smoked Out was nominated in this category in 1983, Trace in 1984 (along with a 1983 Edgar Award nomination),[4] Trace and 47 Miles of Rope in 1985, Trace: Pigs Get Fat in 1986 (along with a 1986 Edgar Award nomination); and Trace: Too Old a Cat in 1987.[3]
References
- ↑ Obituary, legacy.com; accessed September 6, 2015.
- ↑ Bruce Grossman (December 26, 2007). "BULLETS, BROADS, BLACKMAIL & BOMBS >> Crime Time in '07". Bookgasm.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- 1 2 3 4 "The Private Eye Writers of America and The Shamus Awards". Thrillingdetective.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- 1 2 "Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel Edgar Award Winners and Nominees - Complete Lists". Mysterynet.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
- ↑ "Bouchercon World Mystery Convention: Anthony Awards Nominees". Bouchercon.info. October 2, 2003. Retrieved March 6, 2012.