Author, Screenwriter. He is probably best remembered for his novels "Hombre" (1961), "Mr. Majestyk" (1974), "Get Shorty" (1990), "Rum Punch' (1992, film version "Jackie Brown"), and "Out of Sight" (1996), as well as his short stories "Three-Ten to Yuma" (1953) and "The Captives" (1955, film version "The Tall T"), which were adapted into films. While his early works were Westerns, he later branched out to write crime fiction and suspense thrillers, and many of them were also adapted into films. His works were generally known for their gritty realism and strong dialogue. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, his father worked for General Motors and the family moved frequently for several years because of his job, before finally settling in Detroit, Michigan in 1934. Nicknamed "Dutch" after Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers knuckleball pitcher Dutch Leonard, he graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School in 1943 where he played quarterback on the football team, and joined the US Navy where he served with the Seabees for three years in the South Pacific. After his discharge from the Navy, he enrolled at the University of Detroit in 1946 where he pursued writing more seriously, entering his work in short story contests and sending it off to magazines. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in English and philosophy. The previous year, he obtained a job as a copy writer with Campbell-Ewald Advertising Agency, a position he kept for several years, while writing on the side. In 1951 he achieved his first success when Argosy magazine published his short story "Trail of the Apaches." During the 1950s and early 1960s, he continued writing Westerns, publishing more than 30 short stories. He wrote his first novel, "The Bounty Hunters," in 1953 and followed it with five other Western novels, "The Law at Randado" (1954), "Escape from Five Shadows" (1956), "Last Stand at Saber River" (1959), "Hombre" (1961), and "Valdez is Coming" (1970). By the 1970s, Hollywood's interest in Western movies had waned and he began to focus his writing on crime and suspense novels, like "Swag" (1976), "The Hunted" (1977, as "Hat Trick"), "Killshot" (1989), "Get Shorty" (1990), "Pronto" (1993), "The Hot Kid" (2005), and "Road Dogs" (2009). He wrote the screenplays for "The Moonshine War" (1970), "Joe Kidd" (1972), "Mr. Majestyk" (1974), "High Noon, Part II" (1980, for television), "Stick" (1985, with Joseph Stinson), "52 Pick-Up" (1986, with John Stepping), "The Rosary Murders" (1987, with William X. Kienzle and Fred Walton), "Desperado" (1987, television series), and "Cat Chaser" (1989). During his career, he wrote almost 50 novels, with 25 of them being adapted into either film or television movies, or television series. Among his honors and awards include the 1992 Grand Master Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, the 2008 F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Award for outstanding achievement in American literature, the 2010 Peabody Award for FX's "Justified," and the 2012 National Book Award, Medal for Distinguished Contribution. He died at his home of complications from a stroke at the age of 87.