Author. After failing to graduate from high school because he refused to take his final exams, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1967. He served as a combat correspondent in Vietnam, and used his wartime experiences as the basis for his first novel, "The Short-Timers", published in 1979. It is generally assumed that the novel's central character, the wise-cracking 'Private Joker', is semi-autobiographical. The novel was greeted with positive reviews and the motion picture rights were acquired by director Stanley Kubrick. Hasford collaborated with Kubrick and author Michael Herr on the screenplay to what would become the motion picture "Full Metal Jacket", with actor Matthew Modine portraying the Private Joker role. Hasford's personality led him to clash with Kubrick and Herr, but all three were nominated for an Academy Award in 1987. A voracious reader and bibliophile, he made news when he was arrested in 1988 in San Luis Obispo, California and charged with having stolen some 748 library books. Sentenced to six months in jail, he was released after three months and he promised to pay damages with the royalties from his next book. The novel, a sequel to "The Short-Timers", was called "The Phantom Blooper" and was supposed to be part of a trilogy. The trilogy would remain incomplete when, impoverished and suffering complications of diabetes, he died at the age of 45 on the Greek island of Aegina in 1993.
Author. After failing to graduate from high school because he refused to take his final exams, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1967. He served as a combat correspondent in Vietnam, and used his wartime experiences as the basis for his first novel, "The Short-Timers", published in 1979. It is generally assumed that the novel's central character, the wise-cracking 'Private Joker', is semi-autobiographical. The novel was greeted with positive reviews and the motion picture rights were acquired by director Stanley Kubrick. Hasford collaborated with Kubrick and author Michael Herr on the screenplay to what would become the motion picture "Full Metal Jacket", with actor Matthew Modine portraying the Private Joker role. Hasford's personality led him to clash with Kubrick and Herr, but all three were nominated for an Academy Award in 1987. A voracious reader and bibliophile, he made news when he was arrested in 1988 in San Luis Obispo, California and charged with having stolen some 748 library books. Sentenced to six months in jail, he was released after three months and he promised to pay damages with the royalties from his next book. The novel, a sequel to "The Short-Timers", was called "The Phantom Blooper" and was supposed to be part of a trilogy. The trilogy would remain incomplete when, impoverished and suffering complications of diabetes, he died at the age of 45 on the Greek island of Aegina in 1993.
Bio by: Garver Graver
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