Donald E. Westlake

A one-man crime wave of some 48 years came to an end Dec. 31 with the passing of Donald E. Westlake, 75, who (under his own name and as Richard Stark) wrote some of the best-loved and most influential crime novels of the 20th century.

As Westlake, he chronicled the misadventures of hapless criminal John Dortmunder (played by Robert Redford in the film version of The Hot Rock); as Stark, he penned the Parker novels, about a ruthless professional thief, whose screen incarnations include Lee Marvin in Point Blank and Mel Gibson in Payback.

A screenwriter as well as a novelist, Westlake received an Academy Award nomination in 1991 for his screenplay for The Grifters and won the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award three times from the Mystery Writers of America.

Westlake inspired younger writers ranging from Stephen King (who named the homicidal alter ego in The Dark Half George Stark in Richard Stark’s honor) to yours truly, appearing as a character in my recent novel Fifty-to-One.

As no one before him, Westlake played both the light and dark sides of the street–alternating witty, ingenious capers with tales of breathtaking cold-bloodedness–and taught two generations of writers how to stylishly pull off one perfect crime after another. Like Parker, Westlake was the consummate pro.

Ardai, an Edgar and Shamus Award–winning author, is editor and founder of the pulp-fiction publisher Hard Case Crime