R.I.P. – Krimlegenden Elmore Leonard er død

I dag kom den nitriste beskjeden om at Elmore Leonard er død. Mannen bak historiene til Justified, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown og Out Of Sight døde tre uker han fikk slag.

Elmore Leonard ble 87 år, og kommer for alltid til å bli husket som en av de hardeste, kuleste og morsomste forfatterne som noensinne satte krimpennen mot papir. Kan vi kalle ham en gangsterutgave av Ernest Hemingway? I fjor anbefalte en av våre kompiser tre Elmore Leonard-romaner, sjekk saken her. Du kan også lese vår hyllest til Justified, TV-serien som er basert på to Leonard-noveller.

Da nyheten om Leonards død nådde offentligheten, dukket det raskt opp flere flotte hyllester til den feirede forfatteren. Blant annet denne Facebook-oppdateringen fra Michael Connelly, mannen bak Harry Bosch-serien:

When I was a young reporter in the early 1980s I once tried to use my press pass to get on the set of a movie they were shooting called Stick. It was based on the novel by Elmore Leonard. My ploy didn’t work and I was turned away from the movie set. I didn’t know exactly what the ploy was. All I knew was that I loved Elmore Leonard’s novels and I was hoping to one day be a novelist myself. I had the idea that Elmore would be on the set and I could meet him and tell him thanks for the inspiration.

I finally met Elmore Leonard about ten years later on a stage when he handed me an Edgar Award for my first novel. After the program I told him that his books helped lead me to that stage. He told me that one novel was just a start.

The point is Elmore “Dutch” Leonard led many writers to their destinations. He was an inspiration. I count “La Brava” as one of my all time favorite novels. There were many others just as good. Elmore was one of the best and he will truly be missed as a friend and writer.

I remember seeing him at an event in New York City in 2010 and thinking at 85 he looked pretty frail. I thought that it might be the last time I’d ever see him. When it was time to say goodbye I told him again how much he had meant to me and I thanked him. I awkwardly tried to hug him. He awkwardly shrugged me off and said, “Don’t worry, I’m not done yet.”

He was right. He put out two more novels after that and was involved and relevant – and an inspiration – to this morning when he passed away. Rest in peace, Elmore Leonard.
-Michael Connelly