John Steakley

John Steakley
Born July 26, 1951(1951-07-26)
Cleburne, Texas
Died November 27, 2010(2010-11-27) (aged 59)
McKinney, Texas
Occupation Writer
Nationality USA
Genres Science fiction, Horror

John William Steakley, Jr. (born July 26, 1951, in Cleburne, Texas, died November 27, 2010, in McKinney, Texas)[1] was an American author, best known for his science fiction writing.[2] He published two major novels, Armor (1984)[3] and Vampire$ (1990); the latter was the basis for John Carpenter's Vampires movie.[4] He published four short science fiction and fantasy stories.[5]

Contents

Background

Steakley lived most of his life in Texas, aside from brief spells in South America and Hollywood in his youth. Steakley's father owned a Chevrolet dealership in Dallas from 1962 until he sold it in 1999.[6][7] Steakley attended St. Mark's School and graduated from Colorado Academy, a boarding school in Denver. He then went on to study at Westminster College in Missouri, and at Southern Methodist University, where he received his BA in English.[8]

In 1988, Steakley married photographer Lori Jones; they held their wedding reception in the showroom of a local Subaru dealership.[9] He was an avid golfer and in the mid-1990s carried a single-digit handicap.[10]

Writing and acting

His sister told the press that Steakley went to Hollywood at the invitation of screenwriter L.M. "Kit" Carson. He sold a film treatment, and played a bit part ("Local 1") in at least one film, Don't Open the Door!, but "he stayed out there a few years and just hated it."[2] Steakley (whose childhood fantasy was reportedly to be a science fiction writer) returned to Texas, and wrote.[2] He had his first professional short story publication, "The Bluenose Limit", in the March 1981 issue of Amazing Stories; and another, "Flyer", in the September 1982 issue.[11] According to his website, he worked on the incomplete Armor II for years.

Steakley was the writer for, and played a nameless bit part in, a 1997 film, Scary Texas Movie. In 1998, John Carpenter directed a screen adaptation of Vampire$ (retitled Vampires), which starred James Woods as the leader of a Catholic Church-sanctioned team of vampire hunters. Steakley played one more nameless bit part in the 2000 film Playing Dead, directed by Brad Keller (Scary Texas Movie was Keller's first film as a director).

Selected works

References

  1. ^ "Obituary: John William Steakley Jr.". The Dallas Morning News. November 28, 2010. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/obituary.aspx?n=john-william-steakley&pid=146842975. Retrieved November 28, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c Simnacher, Joe (November 20, 2010). "John William Steakley Jr., 'Vampire$' author, dies at 59". The Dallas Morning News. http://www.dallasnews.com/obituary-headlines/20101130-john-william-steakley-jr.-vampire_author-dies-at-59.ece. 
  3. ^ "Science fiction fans, professionals gather". The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA). February 8, 1986. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AD&p_theme=ad&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB473BD39AC7C0C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 27, 2010. "John Steakley's book, "Armor," is about the first interplanetary war." 
  4. ^ Johnson, Malcolm (October 30, 1998). "'Carpenter's Vampires': Great Fangs, But No Teeth". Hartford Courant: p. F5. http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/courant/access/35566254.html?dids=35566254:35566254&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT. Retrieved November 27, 2010. "Carpenter and his screenwriter, Don Jacoby, set out a bloodless story line drawn from the John Steakley novel "Vampire$" about the pursuit of a master vampire" 
  5. ^ "John Steakley". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?John_Steakley. Retrieved November 27, 2010. 
  6. ^ Sinnamacher, Joe (October 10, 2002). "John William Steakley, Owner of landmark car dealership". The Dallas Morning News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F6AB7706A4269DD&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 27, 2010. 
  7. ^ Box, Terry (April 27, 1999). "Steakley Chevrolet purchased; AutoNation pays estimated $5 million". The Dallas Morning News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3DB8336D2D432&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 27, 2010. 
  8. ^ Simnacher, Joe. "John William Steakley Jr., 'Vampire$' author, dies at 59." Dallas Morning News November 30, 2010
  9. ^ Schwartz, Marilyn (April 5, 1988). "April Fool's, a Showroom, and Thou". The Dallas Morning News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CFE7280238DA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 27, 2010. 
  10. ^ Wade, Harless (February 20, 1994). "Whatever its vintage, each of these holes offers trouble by the shot". The Dallas Morning News. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3D44716F057FE&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. Retrieved November 27, 2010. ""Any time you tee it up here," said McKinney science fiction novelist John Steakley, a single-digit handicapper, "it's like playing Russian roulette" 
  11. ^ ISFDb listing for Steakley

External links