Frank O'Rourke

Frank O'Rourke (October 16, 1916 – April 27, 1989) was an American writer known for western and mystery novels and sports fiction. O'Rourke wrote more than 60 novels and numerous magazine articles.

For other people named Frank O'Rourke, see Frank O'Rourke (disambiguation).
The Best Go First (1950) by Frank O'Rourke under the pseudonym Frank O'Malley

Born in Denver, Colorado, he attended Kemper Military School. A very talented amateur baseball player, he considered trying out for a professional team, but was called up for service in World War II. 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, whom he knew before the war. In the book O'Rourke named a fictional war correspondent Max Hastings after him.[1]

Several of O'Rourke's novels were filmed; The Bravados (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 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, 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.[2]

Notes
  1. p. 221 Tuska, Jon The Max Brand Companion 1996 Greenwood Publishing
  2. Obituary: Edith Carlson O"Rourke | Deseret News, July 22, 2007

Sources
gollark: Yes, any intruders would just be orbital-lased.
gollark: I didn't actually have the sound up enough to notice anything, myself.
gollark: Do hearts have opinions, though? I don't think they have enough neural stuff in them for complex cognition.
gollark: Isn't directional audio cool?
gollark: You may be inside my home, but I'm inside *your* walls.

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