About Mickey Spillane
Frank Morrison Spillane (; March 9, 1918 – July 17, 2006), better known as Mickey Spillane, was an American crime novelist, called the "king of pulp fiction". He was best known for stories featuring his signature detective character, Mike Hammer. Spillane's total sales rank him among the most successful fiction authors of the modern era, with industry estimates exceeding 200 million copies of his 26 books sold. Spillane was also an occasional actor, once even playing Hammer himself in the 1963 film The Girl Hunters. Lu Kimmel created the cover paintings for My Gun Is Quick, Vengeance Is Mine, One Lonely Night, and The Long Wait. In the 1960s, Spillane became a friend of the novelist Ayn Rand. Despite their apparent differences, Rand admired Spillane's literary style, and Spillane became, as he described it, a "fan" of Rand's work.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.