Max Evans (August 29, 1924 – August 26, 2020) was an American writer best known for

Western fiction Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...

. He was the author of more than 27 fiction and nonfiction books over a 60-year writing career. His first novel, ''The Rounders'', was published in 1960 and was made into a film in 1965. In 1998, his novel ''The Hi-Lo Country'' was also made into a film. His most recent book, ''The King of Taos'', was published in 2020. Evans received several awards from the

Western Writers of America Western Writers of America (WWA), founded 1953, promotes literature, both fictional and nonfictional, pertaining to the American West. Although its founders wrote traditional Western fiction, the more than 600 current members also include historian ...

and was inducted into the WWA Hall of Fame in 2015. Evans was born into a

ranching A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

family in

Ropesville, Texas Ropesville is a city in Hockley County, Texas, United States. Its population was 434 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, down from 517 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census. Geography Ropesville is located on the high plains o ...

, and grew up in West Texas and northeastern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. He enlisted in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and participated in the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in 1944. After the war, he returned to New Mexico to find that the traditional

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

way of life with which he was familiar was dying out. He tried various occupations including painting before turning to literature. He moved to

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

in 1967 and lived there for the rest of his life. Evans was known for his storytelling abilities and colorful personality and had several notable friends including director

Sam Peckinpah David Samuel Peckinpah (; February 21, 1925 – December 28, 1984) was an American film director and screenwriter. His 1969 Western epic ''The Wild Bunch'' received an Academy Award nomination and was ranked No. 80 on the American Film Institute ...

, who gave him a small role in the 1970 film ''

The Ballad of Cable Hogue ''The Ballad of Cable Hogue'' is a 1970 American Technicolor Western comedy film directed by Sam Peckinpah and starring Jason Robards, Stella Stevens and David Warner. Set in the Arizona desert during a period when the frontier was closing, the ...

''. Evans' life was detailed in the 2004 biography ''Ol' Max Evans: The First Thousand Years'' by Slim Randles and a 2017 documentary by the same name.

References

1924 births 2020 deaths Writers from Albuquerque, New Mexico Writers from New Mexico Writers from Texas 20th-century American writers 21st-century American writers American Western (genre) novelists {{US-writer-stub