Portrait of Elmore Leonard

Birthday profile

Elmore Leonard

Elmore Leonard, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter (died 2013)

Born
October 11, 1925
Died
August 20, 2013
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1925

About Elmore Leonard

Elmore John Leonard Jr. (October 11, 1925 – August 20, 2013) was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter. He was, according to British journalist Anthony Lane, "hailed as one of the best crime writers in the land". His earliest novels, published in the 1950s, were Westerns, but he went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, many of which have been adapted into motion pictures. Among his best-known works are Hombre, Swag, City Primeval, LaBrava, Glitz, Freaky Deaky, Get Shorty, Rum Punch, Out of Sight and Tishomingo Blues. Leonard's short story "Three-Ten to Yuma" was adapted as the film 3:10 to Yuma (1957), which was remade in 2007. Rum Punch was adapted as the Quentin Tarantino film Jackie Brown (1997). Steven Soderbergh adapted Out of Sight in 1998 into a film of the same name. Get Shorty was adapted into an eponymous film in 1995 and in 2017 it was adapted into a television series of the same name. His writings were also the basis for The Tall T, as well as the FX television series Justified and Justified: City Primeval. Among other honors, he won the 2009 Pen Lifetime Award and the 2012 Medal For Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. Leonard had his first success in 1951 when Argosy magazine published his short story "Trail of the Apaches". In 1969, his first crime story, The Big Bounce, was published by Gold Medal Books.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Elmore Leonard timeline

  1. Leonard had his first success in 1951 when Argosy magazine published his short story "Trail of the Apaches".
  2. In 1969, his first crime story, The Big Bounce, was published by Gold Medal Books.
  3. Among other honors, he won the 2009 Pen Lifetime Award and the 2012 Medal For Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

The world when Elmore Leonard was born

Elmore Leonard was born in 1925. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1925

  • #1 song"Sweet Georgia Brown"
  • Top movieThe Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin)
  • Best-selling bookThe Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRed Grange signs with the Chicago Bears
  • Top headlineThe Scopes Trial captivates America
  • Technology milestoneTelevision demonstrated by John Logie Baird
  • Defining fadCharleston dance craze
  • Notable inventionMasking tape
  • World population1.98 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderCalvin Coolidge
  • Sports championPittsburgh Pirates (World Series)
  • U.S. population115.8M

1925 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Elmore Leonard's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19252026
Gas$0.22$3.45/gal
Average home$5,900$435,000
Average income$3,600$67,500
Movie ticket$0.25$11.95
Postage stamp$0.02$0.73
Population115.8M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.