Spillane, Mickey (1918-2006), was an American author of detective fiction known for its emphasis on violence and sex. Spillane’s most famous character is the hard-boiled private detective Mike Hammer.
Frank Morrison Spillane was born on March 9, 1918, in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. He began his writing career contributing stories to inexpensive magazines and comic books. He created a sensation with his first novel, I, the Jury (1947), which introduced Mike Hammer. The book caused controversy over its blend of explicit sex and brutal violence. Hammer appeared in 12 more Spillane novels: Vengeance Is Mine! (1950), My Gun Is Quick (1950), One Lonely Night (1951), The Big Kill (1951), Kiss Me, Deadly (1952), The Girl Hunters (1962), The Snake (1964), The Twisted Thing (1966), The Body Lovers (1967), Survival…Zero! (1970), The Killing Man (1989), and Black Alley (1996).
Spillane retired from writing novels from 1952 to 1961 but returned to detective fiction with The Deep (1961). In Day of the Guns (1964), he created the character of international special agent Tiger Mann, who became the central character for another series. Spillane also wrote the screenplay for the 1963 film adaptation of The Girl Hunters (1962) and played the role of Hammer in the movie. He had previously acted in the motion picture Ring of Fear (1954). Spillane’s other novels include Bloody Sunrise (1965), The Death Dealers (1965), The Erection Set (1972), The Last Cop Out (1973), and Something Down There (2003).
Spillane wrote two children’s books, The Day the Sea Rolled Back (1979) and The Ship That Never Was (1982). A collection of his short stories was published as Tomorrow I Die (1984). Spillane died on July 17, 2006.
