Roderick Thorp

Biography

Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in crime novels. As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father. He would later teach literature and lecture on creative writing at schools and universities in New Jersey and California, and also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. Two of his best known novels were adapted into popular films: his 1966 novel The Detective was made into a 1968 film of the same name, starring Frank Sinatra as Detective Joe Leland, and his 1979 sequel to The Detective, Nothing Lasts Forever, was filmed in 1988 as Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis. Though Die Hard was relatively faithful to Nothing Lasts Forever, it was not made as a sequel to the film version of The Detective. Two other Thorp novels, Rainbow Drive and Devlin, were adapted into TV movies. Thorp died of a heart attack in Oxnard, California Novels by Roderick Thorp Into the Forest (1961) The Detective (1966) Dionysus (1969) The Music of Their Laughter: An American Album (1970) Wives: An Investigation (1971) Slaves (1973) The Circle of Love (1974) Westfield (1977) Nothing Lasts Forever (1979) (reissued as Die Hard) Jenny and Barnum: A Novel of Love (1981) Rainbow Drive (1986) Devlin (1988) River: A Novel of the Green River Killings (1995) Overview Date of Birth 1 September 1936, The Bronx, New York, USA Date of Death 28 April 1999, Oxnard, California, USA Mini Biography Novelist, short-story writer, teacher -- and private detective. He wrote two novels that would be turned into theatrical films, "The Detective" (1966), which became The Detective (1968); and "Nothing Lasts Forever" (1979), which became Die Hard (1988). His 1986 novel "Rainbow Drive" was later produced as a made-for-TV movie. He taught literature and lectured on creative writing at schools and colleges in New Jersey and California, and wrote pieces for newspapers and magazines. Earlier, as a young college graduate, he had worked at a detective agency owned by his father. Alternate Names Roderick Spencer / Roderick Thorpe -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Filmography Jump to filmography as: Writer, Actor, Miscellaneous Crew Writer: 2000s 1990s 1980s 1960s Live Free or Die Hard (2007) (certain original characters) ... aka Die Hard 4.0 (Australia) (South Africa: English title) (UK) (USA: working title) ... aka Die Hard 4: Live Free or Die Hard (South Africa: English title: TV title) Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995) (certain original characters) ... aka Die Hard 3 Devlin (1992) (TV) (book) Rainbow Drive (1990) (TV) (book) Die Hard (1988) (novel "Nothing Lasts Forever") The Detective (1968) (novel) Actor: Deep Down (1994) (as Roderick Spencer) .... Cook ... aka Conversations in Public Places (USA) Miscellaneous Crew: Die Hard 2 (1990) (certain original characters) (as Roderick Thorpe) ... aka Die Hard 2: Die Harder (Philippines: English title) (UK: promotional title) (USA: video box title)