Ryan Harrison Leone (August 3, 1985 – July 2, 2022) was an American author and writer. He was best known for his semi-autobiographical addiction novel ''Wasting Talent''.

Biography

Career

Based on his experiences, Leone wrote his first novel while serving a five-year federal prison sentence for his involvement with an international

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

cartel called The Mendoza Clan. The Mendoza Clan was an Oaxacan Indian family that operated a heroin ring out of Mexico and reportedly smuggled millions of dollars worth of drugs into the United States for over two decades. Leone sold the film rights to

William De Los Santos William De Los Santos is a Hawaiian American author, poet, screenwriter, film director and producer. He is best known for having written and produced the 2003 film ''Spun'', which starred Jason Schwartzman (who portrays De Los Santos in the film) ...

, screenwriter and producer of the addiction film ''

Spun ''Spun'' is a 2002 American black comedy crime drama film directed by Jonas Åkerlund from an original screenplay by William De Los Santos and Creighton Vero, based on three days of De Los Santos's life in the Eugene, Oregon, drug subculture. The ...

''. In the January/February 2018 issue of ''Penthouse'' magazine, De Los Santos said, "It captivated me with the poetry in how he told the story." when asked what attracted him to Leone's debut novel.

Bret Easton Ellis Bret Easton Ellis (born March 7, 1964) is an American author, screenwriter, short-story writer, and director. Ellis was first regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack and is a self-proclaimed satirist whose trademark technique, as a w ...

, author of ''

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a novel by Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the first person by Patrick Bateman, a serial killer and Manhattan investment banker. Alison Kelly of ''The Observer'' notes that while "some countr ...

'', reviewed the book favorably on his podcast. ''Idiot Savant: The Savage Life of Ryan Leone'', a documentary about Leone's drug addiction and violent lifestyle went into production in the fall of 2017.

Jim Uhls Jim Uhls is an American screenwriter known for his screenplays for ''Fight Club'' (1999) and ''Jumper'' (2008). Uhls graduated from Drake University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and completed the Master of Fine Arts in Screenwrit ...

screenwriter of

Fight Club ''Fight Club'' is a 1999 American film directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, and Helena Bonham Carter. It is based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk. Norton plays the unnamed narrator, who is d ...

, had expressed his desire to be involved in the production of the film. In 2018, Leone launched a non-profit organization called The Prodigy Foundation, in an effort to end

mass incarceration Incarceration in the United States is a primary form of punishment and rehabilitation for the commission of felony and other offenses. The United States has the largest prison population in the world, and the highest per-capita incarceratio ...

and expand literacy in American prisons. Leone released a comedy album of spoken word stories in 2020 called ''Drug Stories for Truckers: Volume One''. The satirical album chronicles Leone’s emotional breakdown between his second and third prison term. The album featured guest appearances from a number of his well known friends including

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

Tommy Chong Thomas B. Kin Chong (born May 24, 1938) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, musician, activist. He is known for his marijuana-themed Cheech & Chong comedy albums and movies with Cheech Marin, as well as playing the character Leo on Fox's ' ...

Nick Stahl Nicolas Kent Stahl (born December 5, 1979) is an American actor. Starting out as a child actor, he gained recognition for his performance in the 1993 film ''The Man Without a Face'', co-starring Mel Gibson. He later transitioned into his adult ...

"Freeway" Rick Ross Ricky Donnell "Freeway Rick" Ross (born January 26, 1960) is an American author and convicted drug trafficker best known for the drug empire he established in Los Angeles, California, in the early to mid 1980s. He was sentenced to life in pris ...

Simon Rex Simon Rex Cutright (born July 20, 1974), is an American actor, rapper, comedian, and former model. Rising to fame as an MTV VJ, Rex later became an actor known for '' What I Like About You'', starring in three films of the ''Scary Movie'' fr ...

, and

George Jung George Jacob Jung (August 6, 1942 – May 5, 2021), nicknamed Boston George and El Americano, was an American drug trafficker and smuggler. He was a major figure in the United States cocaine trade during the 1970s and early 1980s. Jung and his ...

Death

On July 2, 2022, news broke of the 36-year-old's death. News of his death broke online which followed with a slew of tributes to the late activist. It was confirmed by Ryan Leone’s fiancée Karina Franco. He was admitted to hospital a few days prior and was suffering from a number of health issues stemming from a broken finger and pneumonia. On June 29 Leone had posted on Instagram "I broke my finger. Then, completely unrelated, I went to the hospital twice in a week. First time they told me I had pneumonia. I got a second opinion. No pneumonia. This is respiratory and gastrointestinal issues stemming from being on way too much

Methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

170 mgs!! My stomach becomes so bloated it feels like some rapid ever-expanding Willy Wonka inflated sanction." He went on about a rap project he was hoping to attend and concluded his post with a heartbreaking statement: "I need to stop being so reckless. I’m a dad now. Amen."

Works

* ''Wasting Talent'' (2014) * ''Drug Stories For Truckers: Volume I'' (2020)

References

External links

Ryan Leone article
at

Gonzo Today Gonzo Today is an internet-based publication inspired by the writing and reporting style of gonzo journalism popularized by Hunter Thompson. Interviews Among other pursuits, Gonzo Today interviews a wide range of subjects, as reported by the ...

. 1985 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American novelists American activists American film producers American male novelists American people convicted of drug offenses Place of death missing 21st-century American male writers People from Framingham, Massachusetts Writers from Massachusetts {{US-writer-stub