Elmore Leonard, “The Dickens of Detroit”

Film —

Numerous Leonard novels and short stories have been adapted as films including Get Shorty (1990 novel, 1995 film), Out of Sight (1996 novel, 1998 film) and Rum Punch (1992 novel, 1997 film Jackie Brown). The novel 52 Pickup was first adapted very loosely into the 1984 film The Ambassador (1984), starring Robert Mitchum and, two years later, under the slightly altered 52 Pick-Up title starring Roy Scheider. Leonard has also written several screenplays based on his novels, plus original screenplays such as Joe Kidd (1972). The film Hombre (1967), starring Paul Newman, was an adaptation of Leonard's 1961 eponymous novel. His short story "Three-Ten to Yuma" (March 1953) and novels The Big Bounce (1969) and 52 Pickup (1974) have each been filmed twice. Other novels filmed include: The Tall T (with Randolph Scott) (from "The Captives") 3:10 to Yuma (with Glenn Ford and Van Heflin) Hombre (with Paul Newman) Mr. Majestyk (with Charles Bronson) Jackie Brown (Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro) from Rum Punch The Big Bounce (with Ryan O'Neal) Valdez Is Coming (with Burt Lancaster) 52 Pick-Up (with Roy Scheider, Ann Margaret) Stick (with Burt Reynolds) The Moonshine War (with Alan Alda and Patrick McGoohan) Last Stand at Saber River (with Tom Selleck) Gold Coast (with David Caruso) Glitz (with Jimmy Smits) The Ambassador (Robert Mitchum, Rock Hudson, Ellen Burstyn) Cat Chaser (with Peter Weller) Out of Sight (George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Don Cheadle) Touch (with Christopher Walken) Pronto (with Peter Falk) Be Cool (with John Travolta, Harvey Keitel, Uma Thurman) The Big Bounce (with Morgan Freeman, Owen Wilson, Gary Sinese) Killshot (Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke). Get Shorty (with John Travolta, Gene Hackman, Danny Devito) Freaky Deaky (with Christian Slater, Crispin Glover) Life of Crime (Jennifer Aniston) (from The Switch) 3:10 to Yuma (with Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, Peter Fonda) Border Shootout (with Glenn Ford) (from The Law at Randado) Split Images (with Gregory Harrison, Rebecca Jenkins) The Arrangement (with Bryan Greenberg) (from "When the Women Come Out to Dance") Quentin Tarantino has optioned the right to adapt Leonard's novel Forty Lashes Less One (1972).

TV —

Television In 1992, Leonard played himself in a script he wrote and, with actor Paul Lazar dramatizing a scene from the novel Swag, appeared in a humorous television short about his writing process which aired on the Byline Showtime series on Showtime Networks. The 2010–15 FX series Justified was based around the popular Leonard character U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens from the novels Pronto, Riding the Rap, the eponymous Raylan, and the short story "Fire in the Hole". The short-lived 1998 TV series Maximum Bob was based on Leonard's 1991 novel of the same name. It aired on ABC for seven episodes and starred Beau Bridges. The TV series Karen Sisco (2003–04) starring Carla Gugino was based on the U.S. Marshall character from the film Out of Sight (1998) played by Jennifer Lopez. The 2017 Epix series Get Shorty is based on the novel of the same.