WRITER

Elmore Leonard

1925 - 2013

Photo of Elmore Leonard

Icon of person Elmore Leonard

Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter. His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Elmore Leonard has received more than 2,616,752 page views. His biography is available in 41 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 39 in 2019). Elmore Leonard is the 2,581st most popular writer (up from 2,598th in 2019), the 3,276th most popular biography from United States (up from 3,397th in 2019) and the 283rd most popular American Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.6M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 54.23

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 41

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 2.67

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.97

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Pronto
Fiction, Organized crime, Adventure stories
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit'"; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels & The Westerns"; Selected FilmographyThe feds think bookie Harry Arno will squeal on his wiseguy boss if they put word on the street that he's skimming profits -- but Arno's off to Italy. After losing the bookie once, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens wants him back... if he can find the fugitive before he's whacked.
1993
The Switch
Fiction in English, Fiction
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit'"; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels & The Westerns"; Selected FilmographyOrdell Robbie and Louis Gara hit it off in prison, where they were both doing time for grand theft auto. Now that they're out, they're joining forces for one big score. The plan is to kidnap the wife of a wealthy Detroit developer and hold her for ransom. But they didn't figure the lowlife husband wouldn't want his lady back. So it's time for Plan B and the opportunity to make a real killing -- with the unlikely help of a beautiful, ticked-off housewife who's hungry for a large helping of sweet revenge.
1978
Glitz
Fiction, Mystery, Police
1985
Killshot
Fiction, Witnesses, Protection
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit'"; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels & The Westerns"; Selected FilmographyIt’s not Carmen Colson and her ironworker husband Wayne’s fault that they were in the real estate office when a pair of thugs walked in with extortion on their minds. But as far as aging Ojibway Indian hit man Armand Degas is concerned, the Colsons are going to have to pay dearly for seeing too much ... and for the damage Wayne inflicted on Armand and his sicko partner Richie Nix with a tire iron. The cops here in middle-of-nowhere Michigan can’t help Carmen and Wayne out, and the best the Feds can offer is the Witness Protection Program. So ultimately it’s going to have to come down to one wife, one husband, two killers ... and one lethal shot.
1989
City Primeval
Mystery, Fiction
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit'"; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels & The Westerns"; Selected FilmographyClement Mansell knows how easy it is to get away with murder. The seriously crazed killer is already back on the Detroit streets -- thanks to some nifty courtroom moves by his crafty looker of a lawyer -- and he's feeling invincible enough to execute a crooked Motown judge on a whim. Homicide Detective Raymond Cruz thinks the "Oklahoma Wildman" crossed the line long before this latest outrage, and he's determined to see that the hayseed psycho does not slip through the legal system's loopholes a second time. But that means a good cop is going to have to play somewhat fast and loose with the rules -- in order to maneuver Mansell into a wild Midwest showdown that he won't be walking away from.
1980
Bandits
Fiction, City and town life in fiction, City and town life
E-book extras: "Martin Amis Interviews 'The Dickens of Detroit' "; Elmore Leonard's "If It Sounds Like Writing, Rewrite It"; "All By Elmore: The Crime Novels & The Westerns"; Selected Filmography Working at his brother-in-law’s New Orleans funeral home isn’t reformed jewel thief Jack Delaney’s idea of excitement—until he’s dispatched to a leper’s hospital to pick up a corpse that turns out to be very much alive … and under the care of a beautiful, radical ex-nun in designer jeans. The “deceased” is the one-time squeeze of a Nicaraguan colonel who’s ordered her dead for trying to “infect” him, and Sister Lucy’s looking to spirit the young woman away from his guns and goons. Plus Lucy’s getting ideas about spiriting away some of the colonel’s millions as well—and someone with Jack Delaney’s talents could come in very handy indeed.
1987

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Elmore Leonard ranks 2,581 out of 7,302. Before him are Dionysius Periegetes, Friedrich Spee, Cleitarchus, Ignacy Krasicki, Parvin E'tesami, and Johann Froben. After him are Edgar Lee Masters, Arthur Young, Constantin von Wurzbach, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Karl Gutzkow, and Isaac Deutscher.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1925, Elmore Leonard ranks 167. Before him are Emilio Eduardo Massera, Johnny Carson, Kalle Svensson, Bauer, Nancy Roman, and Alexei Tupolev. After him are Doris Hart, June Whitfield, John DeLorean, Yuval Ne'eman, Krishna Sobti, and Wojciech Has. Among people deceased in 2013, Elmore Leonard ranks 158. Before him are Manolo Escobar, Bruno Metsu, Anatoly Onoprienko, Pyotr Bolotnikov, Eiji Toyoda, and Clive Burr. After him are Ronnie Biggs, Hilary Koprowski, Colin Davis, Georges Descrières, Jean Vincent, and Eero Mäntyranta.

Others Born in 1925

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Others Deceased in 2013

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Elmore Leonard ranks 3,276 out of 20,380. Before him are Dan Blocker (1928), Mehmet Oz (1960), Max Baer (1909), Victor Young (1900), John C. Reilly (1965), and Diane Baker (1938). After him are Ted Nelson (1937), Thomas A. Hendricks (1819), Cherry Jones (1956), Josh Holloway (1969), Cynthia Rothrock (1957), and Edgar Lee Masters (1868).

Others born in United States

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Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Elmore Leonard ranks 283. Before him are Katherine Jackson (1930), Alexandra Ripley (1934), Lois McMaster Bujold (1949), Andrea Dworkin (1946), John Barth (1930), and L. Sprague de Camp (1907). After him are Edgar Lee Masters (1868), Jim Thompson (1906), Terry Goodkind (1948), Neil Simon (1927), Orson Scott Card (1951), and Eric Carle (1929).

American born Writers

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