Chris Fuhrman (1960–1991) was an American novelist, author of ''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys''. Fuhrman was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1960. He received his Masters from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Novel

''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys,'' set in

in the early 1970s, centers on Francis Doyle, Tim Sullivan, and their three closest friends,

altar boy An altar server is a laity, lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up t ...

s at

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

and eighth grade classmates at the

parish school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The ...

. Fuhrman died of cancer in 1991 while working on the final revision of ''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'', his only novel. Portions of the novel were first published by '' Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art'' in 1991. The

University of Georgia Press The University of Georgia Press or UGA Press is the university press of the University of Georgia, a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia. It is the oldest and la ...

published the work in 1994, to very positive reviews.

Film adaptation

A film adaptation, ''

The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys ''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'' is a 2002 American comedy-drama film directed by Peter Care and written by Jeff Stockwell and Michael Petroni based on Chris Fuhrman's 1994 semi-autobiographical coming-of-age novel of the same name. The fi ...

'', was released in 2002. It was directed by

Peter Care Peter Alan Care (born 28 April 1953) is an English director of music videos, commercials and film. He has directed music videos for Cabaret Voltaire, R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen, Roy Orbison, Depeche Mode and New Order, amongst others. Biogr ...

, dedicated to Fuhrman, and starred

Emile Hirsch Emile Davenport Hirsch (born March 13, 1985) is an American actor. He played Chris McCandless in '' Into the Wild'' (2007). Other notable film roles include '' The Girl Next Door'' (2004), ''Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' Alpha Dog'' (2006), ''Sp ...

Kieran Culkin Kieran Kyle Culkin (born September 30, 1982) is an American actor. The brother of actors Macaulay and Rory, he began his career as a child actor in the films ''Home Alone'' (1990), ''Father of the Bride'' (1991)'', The Mighty'' (1998), and ''Th ...

Jena Malone Jena Laine Malone (; born November 21, 1984) is an American actress, musician, and photographer. Known for her roles in both independent films and mainstream blockbuster features, she has received numerous accolades, including nominations for a ...

Jodie Foster Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster (born November 19, 1962) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and the ho ...

, and

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

Bibliography

* ''The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys'' – University of Georgia Press, 1994,

External Links/Sources

University of Georgia Press
1960 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Deaths from cancer 20th-century American male writers {{US-novelist-1960s-stub