Mystery writer Mickey Spillane dies

CNN ^ | 7/17/06 | CNN.com

[conservative in nyc]

CHARLESTON, South Carolina (AP) -- Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers with the shoot-'em-up sex and violence of gumshoe Mike Hammer, died Monday. He was 88.

Spillane's death was confirmed by Brad Stephens of Goldfinch Funeral Home in his hometown of Murrells Inlet. Details about his death were not immediately available

. After starting out in comic books Spillane wrote his first Mike Hammer novel, "I, the Jury," in 1946. Twelve more followed, with sales topping 100 million. Notable titles included "The Killing Man," "The Girl Hunters" and "One Lonely Night."

Excerpt

[SC Swamp Fox]

South Carolina Ping

Add me to the list. | Remove me from the list.

[umbagi]

At about ten, I moved on from The Hardy Boys to Mike Hammer. I wasn't supposed to be reading that stuff, ya understand, but I hid them under the mattress. I got away with it, until I went off to military school as a sophomore.

I thought I got away with it, at least...

On Mother's Day weekend this year, Mother asked me if I remember all those Mickey Spillane books (yes, she remembered the author -- she's still much smarter than I'll ever be) I used to hide under the mattress! It turns out that she'd found one (probably the first one), and had read it while I was at school; although she considered it trash, she decided that it wasn't going to ruin my life.

It's got me trying to remember, now, what else I hid under there...

[Tribune7]

Sorry to hear that

[Tribune7]

Sorry to hear that

[Nicholas Conradin]

He was a quintessential Cold War writer, an unconditional believer in good and evil. He was also a rare political conservative in the book world. Communists were villains in his work and liberals took some hits as well.

Precisely the reason why he was greatly admired by Ayn Rand.

Rand also liked his straightforward style and plotting.

[stand watie]

!!!!!!!!!

good writer, that fellow! he will be missed.

free dixie,sw

[fieldmarshaldj]

Rest in peace.

[185JHP]

I recommend "Something's Down There", his recent book.

[Bender2]

Did you say Mick was gone?

Yeah... that's what I hear.

Damned....

[mbraynard]

DOn't know him or his writing. Sounds like a capitl guy.

But I am from down there and remember when his wife was doing some political stuff in the area with little success and much fanfare. Don't remember the issue(s). Maybe she was going to run for congress.

[NoCurrentFreeperByThatName]

bump

[wolficatZ]

Contrary to what critics say, I think he did a pretty darn good job of acting the part of Mike Hammer in "The Girl Hunters" (1963). I really wish he would have more acting roles.

 

Have any of you here ever seen it?

 

Rest in peace , Mickey!

 

 

 

PS- Remember his Miller Lite commercials? LOL!

 

 

 

[Valin]

He wrote trash...but it was well written trash and lots of fun to read. There worse things to aspire to.

[Valin]

At about ten, I moved on from The Hardy Boys to Mike Hammer. I wasn't supposed to be reading that stuff, ya understand, but I hid them under the mattress.

You too?

[RightWingAtheist]

Physicist-can you bring up the bibliopath list?

I can't believe someone beat Borges to this :)

[andy58-in-nh]

It ain't Shakespeare, but then it was never meant to be. "Trash" is perhaps a bit harsh. I think Spillane was a little better than that:

"He stood with his back angled to the wall. To an indifferent observer he was simply in idle conversation, but it wasn't like that at all. This was an instinctive gesture of survival, being in constant readiness for an attack. His head didn't turn and his eyes didn't seem to move, but I knew he saw us. I could feel the hackles on the back of my neck stiffening and I knew he felt the same way.
Dog was meeting dog. Nobody knew it but the dogs and they weren't telling.
He was bigger than I thought. The suggestion of power I had seen in his photographs was for real. When he moved it was with the ponderous grace of some jungle animal, dangerously deceptive, because he could move a lot faster if he had to.
When we were ten feet away he pretended to see us for the first time and a wave of charm washed the cautious expression from his face and he stepped out to greet Dulcie with outstretched hand.
But it wasn't her he was seeing. It was me he was watching. I was one of his own kind. I couldn't be faked out and wasn't leashed by the proprieties of society. I could lash out and kill as fast as he could and of all the people in the room, I was the potential threat. I knew what he felt because I felt the same way myself."

RIP Mike.

[af_vet_rr]

He was a very entertaing and interesting host to a 12 year old. He gave My brother, father, and me several of his books, which were put up for a couple of years and then read and reread several times.

I was just slightly older when I started reading some of his books, and I was hooked. May have to dig some up as it's been years.

[MinuteGal]

I saw "Kiss Me Deadly" the other night, also. Do you happen to know who the guy was that played Mike Hammer in this film? I don't think he was a big star.......the face looked familiar, though.

Leni

[AppyPappy]

She was pretty. Pretty enough to make a Bishop kick out a stained glass window to get a better look at her. But she was mean. Mean as a mongoose after a hard night of drinking in a Hell's Kitchen saloon. And she was tough. Tough as goat guts. Tough as a Jersey cow's right hoof. Tough as Butch on the Little Rascals except for that time that Alfalfa pulled down his britches in that boxing ring. And she was bad. Bad as an overwrought analogy.

[BluH2o]

Mickey Spillane, the macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers dead at 88.

Saw Mickey Spillane at Expo '67 the Montreal World's Fair. He would have been around age 50 at the time. He was escorting a blond bombshell type, perhaps one of the three wifes he had over his lifetime.