John Steakley
| John Steakley | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 26, 1951 Cleburne, Texas |
| Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. McKinney, Texas |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | USA |
| Genre | Science fiction, Horror |
John William Steakley, Jr. (July 26, 1951 – November 27, 2010)[1] was an American author, best known for his science fiction writing.[2] He published two major novels, Armor (1984)[3] and Vampire$ (1990); the latter was the basis for John Carpenter's Vampires movie.[4] He published four short science fiction and fantasy stories.[5]
Background
Born in Cleburne, Texas, Steakley lived most of his life in Texas, aside from brief spells in South America and Hollywood in his youth. Steakley's father owned a Chevrolet dealership in Dallas from 1962 until he sold it in 1999.[6][7] Steakley attended St. Mark's School and graduated from Colorado Academy, a boarding school in Denver. He then went on to study at Westminster College in Missouri, and at Southern Methodist University, where he received his BA in English.[8]
In 1988, Steakley married photographer Lori Jones; they held their wedding reception in the showroom of a local Subaru dealership.[9] He was an avid golfer and in the mid-1990s carried a single-digit handicap.[10] He died after a five-year battle with liver disease.
Writing and acting
His sister told the press that Steakley went to Hollywood at the invitation of screenwriter L.M. "Kit" Carson. He sold a film treatment, and played a bit part ("Local 1") in at least one film, Don't Open the Door!, but "he stayed out there a few years and just hated it."[2] Steakley (whose childhood fantasy was reportedly to be a science fiction writer) returned to Texas, and wrote.[2] He had his first professional short story publication, "The Bluenose Limit", in the March 1981 issue of Amazing Stories; and another, "Flyer", in the September 1982 issue.[11] He published two major novels, Armor (1984)[3] and Vampire$ (1990). According to his website, he worked on the incomplete Armor II for years.
Steakley was the writer for, and played a nameless bit part in, a 1997 film, Scary Texas Movie. In 1998, John Carpenter directed a screen adaptation of Vampire$ (retitled Vampires), which starred James Woods as the leader of a Catholic Church-sanctioned team of vampire hunters. Steakley played one more nameless bit part in the 2000 film Playing Dead, directed by Brad Keller (Scary Texas Movie was Keller's first film as a director).
Quotes
- "Mythology is about Good VS Evil, is it not? We can pretend runes and astrology and reading tea leaves...But to whom do we pray when we are terrified? Carl Sagan's essays?" - John Steakley, online
- "He's the best of us. The best of our best, the best that each of us will ever build or ever love. So pray for this Guardian of our growth and choose him well, for if he be not truly blest, then our designs are surely frivolous and our future but a tragic waste of hope. Bless our best and adore for he doth bear our measure to the Cosmos." - John Steakley, Armor, p. 62
- "Bullies don't want to fight you. They don't want to fight at all. They simply want to beat you up." - Armor, re-used in Vampire$.
- "He manages to survive, not through the an inherent craving for life, but through a stubborn refusal of death." - Armor
- "You are
- What you do
- When it counts"
- -The Masao (from the novel, Armor)
Selected works
- Armor (December 1984, DAW Books, ISBN 978-0-88677-368-7)
- Vampire$ (November 1990, Roc Books, ISBN 978-0-451-45033-3)
References
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- ↑ Simnacher, Joe. "John William Steakley Jr., 'Vampire$' author, dies at 59." Dallas Morning News November 30, 2010
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ ISFDb listing for Steakley
External links
- John Steakley at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- John Steakley, entry at the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, 3rd edition (draft)
- John Steakley at the Internet Movie Database
- Fantastic Fiction author page
