Frank O'Rourke (October 16, 1916 – April 27, 1989) was an American writer known for

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' *Mystery, a seahorse that SpongeBob SquarePants adopts in the episode " My Pre ...

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s and

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

fiction. O'Rourke wrote more than 60 novels and numerous magazine articles. Born in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, he attended

Kemper Military School Kemper Military School & College was a private military school located in Boonville, Missouri. Founded in 1844, Kemper filed for bankruptcy and closed in 2002. The school's motto was "Nunquam Non Paratus" (Never Not Prepared). The 46-acre camp ...

. A very talented amateur

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player, he considered trying out for a professional team, but was called up for service in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. By the end of the war he had decided to become a writer; his first novel was ''E Company'' (1945), based in part on his wartime experiences. O'Rourke dedicated the book to

Max Brand Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944) was an American writer known primarily for his Western (genre), Western stories using the pseudonym Max Brand. As Max Brand, he also created the popular fictional character of young ...

, whom he knew before the war. In the book O'Rourke named a fictional

war correspondent A war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories first-hand from a war, war zone. War correspondence stands as one of journalism's most important and impactful forms. War correspondents operate in the most conflict-ridden parts of the wor ...

Max Hastings after him. Several of O'Rourke's novels were filmed; ''

The Bravados ''The Bravados'' is a 1958 American Cinemascope Western film (color by DeLuxe) directed by Henry King, starring Gregory Peck and Joan Collins. The CinemaScope film was based on a novel of the same name, written by Frank O'Rourke. Plot Jim ...

'' (1958) was the first, and his novel '' A Mule for the Marquesa'' was made into a popular movie named '' The Professionals'' (1966). ''

The Great Bank Robbery ''The Great Bank Robbery'' is a 1969 Western comedy film from Warner Bros. directed by Hy Averback and written by William Peter Blatty, based on the novel by Frank O'Rourke. The movie had a soundtrack with songs by Jimmy Van Heusen. Plot Gold ...

'' was filmed in 1969. He married artist Edith Carlson. Later in life, O'Rourke turned to writing children's literature. A long-time sufferer of

bronchial asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheez ...

, and made even more ill by the large doses of steroids he was required to take for control of the ailment, he committed suicide on April 27, 1989. His wife died on May 21, 2007.Obituary: Edith Carlson O"Rourke , Deseret News
July 22, 2007

Notes

Sources

''author and book info.com''

Edith Carlson O'Rourke

References

* O'ROURKE, Frank. ''Contemporary Authors''. 118:361-364. 1986.

External links

* Inventory of th
Frank O'Rourke Papers (Accn 1201)
at the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah
Frank O'Rourke Photograph Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orourke, Frank American crime fiction writers Western (genre) writers 1916 births 1989 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists 20th-century American male writers 1989 suicides Kemper Military School alumni Suicides in the United States