Elmore “Dutch” Leonard, one of Detroit’s best-known novelists, has died at the age of 87. According to elmoreleonard.com, the author passed away at 7.15 a.m. on Tuesday morning at his home, surrounded by his family.
Leonard, of course, wrote Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Mr. Majestyk and Rum Punch, the latter filmed by Quentin Tarantino as Jackie Brown.
In March of 2011, Dutch welcomed Metro Times staff into his home to interview and photograph him for what would be a cover feature called The Dickens of Detroit, seen here. We remember him as a charming man, eager to share stories of his early struggles as well as his later successes. The fact that there wasn’t a computer in his office, and that his leap from a typewriter to an electric typewriter was ‘techy’ enough, will make us smile for years to come.
Leonard was a wonderful writer, often setting his books in Detroit. He will be remembered for always making sure he got his facts right regarding street names, newspapers, etc, and often including Detroit bands, like the Howling Diablos, in his stories.
