Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedural/

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

s. His novel '' The Detective'' was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968. Thorp is also better known for its sequel, the bestselling novel, '' Nothing Lasts Forever'', which later served as the basis for the film ''

Die Hard ''Die Hard'' is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart (writer), Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, based on the 1979 novel ''Nothing Lasts Forever (Thorp novel), Nothing Lasts Forever'' by Roderick ...

'', thus Thorp became a creator of the entire media franchise of the same name. Two other Thorp novels, '' Rainbow Drive'' and ''Devlin'', were also adapted into TV movies.

Life

Thorp was born in

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, New York City. As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father. He would later teach literature and lecture on creative writing at schools and universities in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and California, and also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines.

Death

On April 28, 1999, Thorp died of a heart attack in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

at the age of 62.Nick Rav
Roderick Thorp, 62, a Detective Turned Popular Crime Novelist

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

, 4. May 1999.Jack Adrian
Obituaries: Roderick Thorp
'.

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

, May 22, 1999Jon Thurber
Roderick Thorp; Writer of ‘Die Hard,’ ‘The Detective’

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

, 2. May 1999, S. B–5.

Novels

*''Into the Forest'' (1961) *'' The Detective'' (1966) *''Dionysus'' (1969) *''The Music of Their Laughter: An American Album'' (1970) *''Wives: An Investigation'' (1971) *''Slaves'' (1973) *''The Circle of Love'' (1974) *''Westfield'' (1977) *'' Nothing Lasts Forever'' (1979) (reissued as ''Die Hard'') *''Jenny and Barnum: A Novel of Love'' (1981) *'' Rainbow Drive'' (1986) *''Devlin'' (1988) *''River: A Novel of the Green River Killings'' (1995)

Filmography

*'' The Detective'' (1968) (novel) *''

'' (1988) (novel) *'' Rainbow Drive'' (1990) (book) *''Devlin'' (1992) (book) *'' Deep Down'' (1994) (cast)

References

External links

*
Roderick Thorp at Goodreads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thorp, Roderick 1936 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists American crime fiction writers American male novelists Writers from the Bronx Novelists from New York City