Authors and Creators
Robert B. Parker
(1932--2010)
Well, the guy has
balls, anyway. It's one thing to be compared to Hammett, Chandler
and Macdonald. It's another to step into Chandler's shoes, and
finish the last Philip Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs, which
Parker did in 1989.
Mind you, Parker has never played it safe. He wrote his dissertation
for a Ph.D. in 1971 on Hammett, Chandler and Macdonald, and his
private eye hero, Spenser, was more than merely an atempt to carry on those beloved private eye traditions; it was also a brave, unapologetic no-holds barred attempt to drag those traditions, kicking and screaming, into the modern age. Traditionalists and fedora fetishists were quick to denounce him, and he was certainly the victim of more than a few fellow writers' gripes (or even grapes), but Parker's Spenser, like it or not, has left the biggest mark on the genre in decades. Certainly none of his contemporaries, even those who are arguably better writers, have had as much influence on the genre in terms of popularity and impact.
As Robert Crais, the creator of California private eye Elvis Cole, put it upon learning of Parker's death, "There has always been a Big Three in American detective fiction--Chandler, Hammett, and Macdonald. Now there is a ìBig Four, and deservedly so. Robert B. Parker influenced a generation of writers. His contributions will continue to influence the coming generations. A tragic and terrible loss."
* * * * *
Robert Brown Parker was born in Springfield, Mass. on September
17, 1932, the only child of Carroll and Mary Pauline Parker. He
and Joan Hall met as children, and again as freshmen at Colby
College in Maine. Parker earned a B.A. in English in 1954, served
as infantryman in Korea, and married Joan upon completing his
service on August 26, 1956. In 1957 he earned an M.A. in English
from B.U.
He worked a variety of jobs for the next five years: management trainee, technical writer, copy writer, ad exec. In 1962, with Joan's encouragement, he enrolled in B.U.'s Ph.D program hoping a professorship would give him more time to write. Between 1964-68 he taught at Mass State College--Lowell, Suffolk U., and Mass State College--Bridgewater. In 1968 he joined Northeastern U. as an Assistant Prof. of English. He completed his Ph.D in 1971, and continued teaching at Northeastern until 1978.
He's remained an avid weightlifter and runner despite being
slowed by recent surgery. Though Spenser is a boxer and gourmet
cook, Parker doesn't box, and is more modest about his cooking.
Joan has a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education and Development
from Tufts. Their sons David and Dan were born in 1959 and '63
respectively. David is a choreographer, Dan an actor.
Parker did use his experiences as raw material, but I wouldn't call his books autobiographical. Wish fulfillment, maybe, is how he put it.
* * * * *
Parker's first four novels, which introduced Spenser, were an explosive opening salvo in the P.I. that has still to be matched. Here was a P.I. who wasn't a California-bound loser and loner, who actually enjoyed his life, and was capable, it seemed, of having an actual relationship with a woman who wasn't a ditzy housewife or some psycho-killer nympho. He could be as cold and ruthless as Hammer, but as chivalric as Marlowe, and as plain
spoken as The Continental Op. He jogs, keeps himself in
shape, cooks gourmet meals, and pals around with a legbreaker
for the mob, Hawk, who isn't bothered by Spenser's idealogical
struggles, and will gladly kill (and does) without hesitation
or compunction. Spenser's beholden to no one, fiercely independent,
almost obsessed with autonomy, and yet extremely loyal to his
friends.
If Parker had stopped there, he would still be worthy of mention. But he didn't stop there. He's continued to write Spenser novels, a novel or three a year, and each has made its way up the charts. It's spawned a moderately successful (but disappointing) TV series, Spenser For Hire, starring Robert Urich, and a string of TV movies starring Urich (again) and later Joe Mantegna.
The Raymond Chandler estate asked him to complete Chandler's last, unfinished Marlowe novel, Poodle Springs. Parker took up
the challenge, and in 1989 delivered it, following it up the next
year with Perchance To Dream, his attempt to write a sequel
to Chandler's first Marlowe novel, The Big Sleep. If Parker's
success had already alienated him in the affections of many of
his peers, they must have seen this as the height of arrogance.
Added to this was the fact that Parker's strong opening salvo
was long over, and many of the subsequent books suffered by comparison.
And yet here was Parker, plowing on, brazenly tampering with the
Master's canon, storming the citadel while riding the master's
horse!
In fact, it's Parker (and Spenser's) unapologetic confidence
that seems to be the most recurring complaint. He seems to just
rub many folks the wrong way. He refuses to romanticize writers
(he's been known to ponder why plumbers never come down with plumber's
block), and he seems impervious to criticism. He doesn't suffer
fools gladly, yet he's more than generous in praising other writers'
work, both young and old (his brief, but heart-felt tribute to
Ross Macdonald is one of the
best, and most fair, pieces about Macdonald I've ever read).
But Parker long ago seemed to give up writing for anybody but himself and his fans. No, the Spenser books aren't all classics, but even the weakest books (and a few are mighty weak) in the series are eminently readable. Parker is, if nothing else, a great storyteller, and his light, breezy style is deceptive -- there are real hard questions often being asked in his work. Sure, sometimes his ambitions seem a bit lofty, or even pretentious, but he's never been one to rest on his laurels. He continues to pump out the Spensers, and has also written some damn good non-series tales, including 1983's Wilderness, a Deliverance-type tale, All
Our Yesterdays, a multi-generational saga of an Irish family,
its secrets and sins, and the violence it seems doomed to, and
even a western, 2001's Gunman's Rhapsody that imagined Wyatt Earp's later years.
And he kept on chugging away. At an age when most writers slowed down or stopped writing altogether, Parker kept going, pushing himself. Sure, he wrote a Spenser or two every year, but he never coasted -- in fact, the later Spensers don't have to apologize to anyone. They were solid and well-written and continued to push the envelope, continued to explore Parker's life-long literary themes of love, loyalty, friendship and honour with wit and heart.
And he kept on writing. In his later years he started two new crime series, one featuring Jesse
Stone, a flawed, alcoholic California homicide detective who tries to start a new life for himself as the chief of police of a small town in Massachusetts (and became the basis for a popular series of TV movies starring Tom Selleck) and another series revolving around Sunny Randall, a female eye from Boston, which originated as a possible project for actress Helen Hunt.
He wrote an acclaimed standalone, Double Play (2004), that revolved around an ex-solder playing bodyguard to Jackie Robinson and published several YA novels, including Chasing the Bear (2009) which imagined Spenser's teenage years. And just in case anyone thought he was slacking off, he started a very popular Western series featuring town-taming guns-for-hire Hitch and Cole.
Late 2009 saw the publication of The Professional, the 39th Spenser novel. And then, in early 2010, Parker passed away and that great heart finally stopped beating.
He liked beer and he liked baseball, but when it was time to work, Parker sat down and got the job done. And in the act of doing that, he died -- as widely reported -- at his desk.
In the end, Parker was, like Spenser himself, a professional.
We'll miss him.
UNDER OATH
- "Disliking (someone's) writing is one thing -- ignoring
history is another. I am not a huge Robert B. Parker fan, but
he is important, and a lot of us in the 1980s and 90s were able
to sell private eye novels because Bob Parker led the way."
(Max Allan Collins, The
January Magazine Interview)
.
- "Last week I had the opportunity to spend a good deal of time listening to some of the best contemporary crime writers discuss their work at a conference in the Bahamas. Parker's Spenser novels were mentioned repeatedly as a major influence on many of these writers (it was also frequently stated, to be fair, that the early books were far superior to the more recent ones.) My opinion is that the countless imitations of the Spenser books -- and there are many -- have tarnished our perception of the originals. We're tired of Spenser's sons so we're tired of Spenser. Put it in another context: a young person looking at Bullitt or
The French Connection today might yawn at "just another
car chase," but those car chases were groundbreaking and
mind-blowing at the time of their release."
(George Pelecanos, author
of A Firing Offense,
Right As
Rain, etc., from a post to Rara-Avis,
from 12/14/2000)
- "To me, (Early Autumn) shows the modern mystery at its finest -- a true novel."
(Robert Crais, Winter 2005, B&N.com interview)
- "I read Parker's Spenser series in college. When it comes to detective novels, 90 percent of us admit he's an influence, and the rest of us lie about it."
(Harlan Coben, August 2007, The Atlantic)
NOVELS
SHORT STORIES
TELEVISION
- THE PROMISED LAND
(1985, ABC)
2-hour pilot for series
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as
SPENSER
and Avery Brooks as HAWK
...
- SPENSER FOR HIRE
(1985-88, ABC)
Television series
Three seasons, 64 60-minute episodes
Based on characters created
by Robert B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as SPENSER
and Avery Brooks as HAWK
...
- B.L. STRYKER:
BLUES FOR BUDER
(May 15, 1989, ABC)
Made-for-TV movie
B.L. Stryker created by Christopher
Crowe
Written by Joan H. Parker
& Robert B. Parker
Directed by Burt Reynolds
Starring Burt Reynolds as
B.L. Stryker
Guest stars: Elizabeth Ashley,
Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Chiklis
.
- B.L. STRYKER:
HIGH RISE
(March 10, 1990, ABC)
Made-for-TV movie
B.L. Stryker created by Christopher
Crowe
Written by Joan H. Parker
& Robert B. Parker
Directed by Nick McLean
Starring Burt Reynolds as
B.L. Stryker
Guest stars: Julianne Moore,
Ricardo Montalban
..
SPENSER: CEREMONY...Buy this video....Buy this on DVD
(1993, Lifetime)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as
SPENSER
with Avery Brooks as HAWK
and Barbara Williams as Susan Silverman
....
- SPENSER: PALE KING
AND PRINCES...Buy this video....Buy this on DVD
(1993, Lifetime)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as
SPENSER
with Avery Brooks as HAWK
and Barbara Williams as Susan Silverman
...
- SPENSER: THE JUDAS
GOAT....Buy this on DVD
(1994, Lifetime)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as
SPENSER
with Avery Brooks as HAWK
and Barbara Williams as Susan Silverman
..
- SPENSER: A SAVAGE
PLACE....Buy this on DVD
(1995, Lifetime)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Starring Robert Urich as
SPENSER
with Avery Brooks as HAWK
Wendy Crewson as Susan Silverman
.
- SMALL VICES ..Buy
this video
(June 1999, A&E)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Directed by Robert Markowitz
Starring Joe Mantegna as
SPENSER
with Shiek Mahmud-Bey as HAWK.
.
- THIN AIR
(September 2000, A&E)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Directed by Robert Mandel
Starring Joe Mantegna as
SPENSER
and Marcia Gay Harden as Susan
Also starring Jon Seda, Yancy
Butler, Eugene Lipinski
.
- WALKING SHADOW
(2001, A&E)
2 hour made-for-television movie
Based on the novel by Robert
B. Parker
Teleplay by Robert B. Parker
and Joan Parker
Directed by Po-Chih Leong
Starring Joe Mantegna as
SPENSER
Marcia Gay Harden as Susan
and Ernie Hudson as Hawk
Also starring Eric Roberts,
Tamlyn Tomita, Mackenzie Gray, Christopher Lawford, Ronin Wong,
Chang Tseng, Henry Mah, Rick Tae, Scott Wickware, Alex Zahara
.
- MONTE WALSH
(2003, Turner Network Television)
Based on the novel by Jack
Schaefer
Teleplay by Michael Brandman,
Robert B. Parker, David Z. Goodman and Lukas Heller
Directed by Simon Wincer
Produced by Steven J. Brandman
Associate producer: John
Albanis
Co-executive producer: Michael
Brandman
Executive producer: Tom Selleck
Starring Tom Selleck, Isabella
Rossellini, Joanna Miles, Keith Carradine, James Gammon, Barry
Corbin, George Eads, William Devane, William Sanderson, Marshall
R. Teague, Lori Hallier, Mary Wilder
TV remake of old western.
.
-
- STONE COLD ..Buy this DVD
(2005, CBS)
Premiere: Sunday, February 20, 2005
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Michael Brandman and John Fasano
Directed by Robert Harmon
Produced by Tom Selleck
Associate producer: John Albanis
Executive producer: Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Mimi Rogers, Jane Adams, Viola Davis, Alexis Dziena, Michael Fox, Brian Heighton, Stephen McHattie, Vito Rezza, Shawn Roberts, Reg Rogers, Cindy Sampson, Polly Shannon, Kohl Sudduth
A TV movie, based on the best-selling Jesse Stone series of novels by Parker, about the hard-drinking, hard-living small town police chief of Paradise, a small island town off the Massachusetts coast who, after a series of murders panic the town's residents, must pull his life together in order to track down the killer. Stars Tom Selleck (who was probably thinking franchise) and Mimi Rogers. The cast was better than the plot, but it was pretty good, all-round -- good enough, in fact, to continue as a series of TV movies.
- NIGHT PASSAGE ...Buy this DVD
(2006, CBS)
Premiere: January 15, 2006
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Tom Epperson
Directed by Robert Harmon
Executive producer: Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Stephen Baldwin, Stephanie March, Polly Shannon, Saul Rubinek, Viola Davis, Kohl Sudduth, Vito Rezza, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, Orla Brady, Gary Basaraba, John Diehl, Debra Christofferson, Mae Whitman, Maria Brooks
- DEATH IN PARADISE ...Buy this DVD
(2006, CBS)
Premiere: April 30, 2006
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Michael Brandman, J.T. Allen and Tom Selleck
Directed by Robert Harmon
Executive producer: Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Viola Davis, Kohl Sudduth, Vito Rezza, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, Orla Brady, Gary Basaraba, John Diehl
- SEA CHANGE ...Buy this DVD
(2007, CBS)
Premiere: May 22, 2007
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Ronni Kern
Directed by Robert Harmon
Executive producer: Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Sean Young, Rebecca Pidgeon, Viola Davis, Kohl Sudduth, Vito Rezza, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, Saul Rubinek, William Devane
- THIN ICE ...Buy this DVD
(2009, CBS)
Premiere: March 1, 2009
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Michael Brandman
Directed by Robert Harmon
Executive producer: Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Jeremy Akerman, Fulvio Cecere, Leslie Hope, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Kohl Sudduth, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, Saul Rubinek, William Devane
- NO REMORSE
(2009, CBS)
Unaired so far
Based on the novel by Robert B. Parker
Teleplay by Michael Brandman
Directed by Robert Harmon
Executive producer: Tom Selleck, Michael Brandman
Starring Tom Selleck, as JESSE STONE
Also starring Jeremy Akerman, Kathy Baker, William Sadler, Kohl Sudduth, Stephen McHattie, John Beale, Saul Rubinek, William Devane
ALSO OF INTEREST
The Robert B. Parker Companion (2005)....Buy this book
Edited by Dean James and Elizabeth Foxwell
Everything you always wanted to know about Robert B. Parker's novels -- from Spenser to Jesse Stone to Sunny Randall -- but were afraid to ask. Includes plot summaries, cast of characters, Boston locations, a omprehensive biography of Parker, his stand-alone fiction, memorable quotes, an inclusive bibliographyand a new interview with Parker himself.
RELATED LINKS
- Robert B. Parker
Finally, Parker gets an official web site.
- Spenser and Hawk: A
Study of Good and Evil in the Fiction of Robert B. Parker
An essay by our own Gerald So.
.
- Bullets and Beer:
The Spenser Home Page
Raise a glass to Bob Ames, who's has done us all a favour, and
revived Mike Loux's missing-in-action web site, devoted to all
things Spenserian. "Some of you may remember this site from
its past incarnations on Mirkwood or NEKANet, Bob explains in
the intro. "Mike fully intended to move it to his new server,
and had in fact been in the process of converting it to a more
exciting design when fate got in the way. The man went and got
a life." A labour of love, Bob spent over half a year, re-reading
every book, and spending countless hours tracking down the references
Parker loves to sprinkle through the text. All of Mike's original
pages, plus the results of Bob's research are here. Bob calls
it "six months of total dedication." I just call it
great.
.
- Robert
B. Parker Interview
Full text of Amazon.com's interview with Robert B. Parker, marking
the release of Hush Money and Spenser's 25th Anniversary.
.
- Spensarium
Dodd Vickers' original unofficial Robert B. Parker fan site is now a Yahoo discussion group. Check it out. Check it out now!
- Looking for Robert B. Parker
The Rap Sheet's "Fond Farewell to the Man Who Saved P.I. Fiction." Includes Cameron Hughes' must-read introduction.
- Looking for Robert B. Parker: A Fond Farewell to the Man Who Saved P.I. Fiction.
Cameron Hughes' must-read intorduction to The Rap Sheet tribute.
Respectfully submitted by Kevin
Burton Smith. Thanks to Gerald
So for plenty of the biographical info supplied here -- some of it taken from David Geherin's Sons of Sam Spade
-- and for making sure I keep my nose clean.
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