Shamus Award
1 appearances
-
Edition 2 (1983) Winner
Mickey Spillane
ミッキー・スピレイン
Mikkii Supirein
Pen Names:
Frank Morrison Spillane（Birth name / formal bibliographic name）
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1918-03-09 （Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.）
- Died
- 2006-07-17 （Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, U.S.） age 88
- Nationality
- United States
- Languages
- English
- Religion
- Jehovah's Witnesses
- Residence History
- Brooklyn (birth/raised) → Elizabeth, New Jersey (adolescence) → Newburgh, New York (early married life) → Murrells Inlet, South Carolina (later life)
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Comic/Script writer, Actor
- Active Years
- 1947-2006
- Influenced By
- Hardboiled writers such as Raymond Chandler (contextual influence)
- Influenced
- Frank Miller (comic writer), John Zorn (musician), Markus Lüpertz (painter)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erasmus Hall High School | — | — | — | 〜1936 | United States |
| Fort Hays State College (brief attendance) | — | — | — | 短期間在籍 | United States |
Erasmus Hall High School
Period:
〜1936
Year of Graduation:
1936
Country:
United States
Graduated 1936. Began writing while in high school.
Fort Hays State College (brief attendance)
Period:
短期間在籍
Country:
United States
Brief attendance; did not complete a degree.
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Inkpot Award | — | — | Comic-Con International: San Diego | 受賞 |
| 1983 | Lifetime Achievement (Shamus Award) | — | 生涯功労 | Private Eye Writers of America | 受賞 |
| 1995 | Edgar Allan Poe Grand Master Award | — | 栄誉賞 | Mystery Writers of America | 受賞 |
Inkpot Award
1994
Organization:
Comic-Con International: San Diego
Result:
受賞
Lifetime Achievement (Shamus Award)
1983
Category:
生涯功労
Organization:
Private Eye Writers of America
Result:
受賞
Edgar Allan Poe Grand Master Award
1995
Category:
栄誉賞
Organization:
Mystery Writers of America
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Edgar Allan Poe Awards
1 appearances
-
Edition 0 (1995) Winner
Works
Major Works
I, the Jury
1947 Hardboiled / Detective fictionIntroduces private eye Mike Hammer; a hardboiled revenge-driven detective novel.
RevengeViolenceVigilante justice
Adaptations
- [Film] I, the Jury (film)
Kiss Me, Deadly
1952 Hardboiled / Crime fictionOne of his best-known works; dark plot with elements of conspiracy and graphic violence.
ConspiracyViolenceCold War anxieties
Adaptations
- [Film] Kiss Me Deadly (1955 film) / Robert Aldrich (1955)
The Girl Hunters
1962 Detective fiction / HardboiledA Mike Hammer novel; Spillane himself portrayed Hammer in the film adaptation.
RevengeLoneliness of the private eyeViolence
Adaptations
- [Film] The Girl Hunters (1963 film) (1963)
Bibliography
- I, the Jury
- My Gun Is Quick
- Vengeance Is Mine
- One Lonely Night
- The Big Kill
- Kiss Me, Deadly
- The Girl Hunters
- The Snake
- The Twisted Thing
- The Body Lovers
- The Long Wait
- The Delta Factor
- The Killing Man
- Black Alley
- Dead Street (completed by Max Allan Collins)
Adaptations
- Kiss Me Deadly (1955 film)
- The Girl Hunters (1963 film; author portrayed Hammer)
- TV adaptations such as 'Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer' series
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- Concise, rough hardboiled proseDialogue-driven, fast-paced narration
- Recurring Motifs
- RevengeVigilante justiceFemme fataleViolence and sexualized imageryCold War paranoia
Health
-
Pancreatic cancer晩年（死去前）Died of pancreatic cancer in 2006. Health decline affected late-life activity.
Legacy
Spillane achieved enormous commercial success in popular hardboiled fiction and influenced modern crime writing through Mike Hammer. Critics were divided, but sales exceed 100 million copies and he left a notable mark on popular culture.
Academic Societies
- Private Eye Writers of America (award-related)
In Popular Culture
- Film and TV adaptations of the Mike Hammer series (film-noir influence)
- Public visibility through commercials (e.g., Miller Lite) and TV appearances
Quotes
-
You can sell a lot more peanuts than caviar.
Source: Interview/remarks (date unknown) -
The literary world is made of second rate writers writing about other second rate writers.
Source: Statement (interview/remarks)
Trivia
- Estimated lifetime sales between 100 million and 200 million copies.
- One of the rare authors to portray his own fictional detective (appeared as Mike Hammer in The Girl Hunters, 1963).
- Worked varied jobs in youth, including circus trampoline performer and lifeguard.
- Became an active Jehovah's Witness later in life.
- A section of U.S. 17 Business in Murrells Inlet was named 'Mickey Spillane Waterfront 17 Highway'.