RODERICK THORP

An American novelist who wrote his best work when he delved into gritty crime novels, Roderick Thorp is best remembered now as the man who created Joe Leland, a NYPD detective. The character appeared in two books and both were made into successful movies, albeit in widely dissimilar style. The first movie, The Detective, starred Frank Sinatra as a police detective investigating the brutal murder of a gay man. The second came from his book Nothing Lasts Forever wherein Leland flies to LA to visit his daughter and ends up fighting terrorists who have taken over a skyscraper. That book became the basis for Bruce Willis' Die Hard.