Famous author Elmore Leonard dies at age 87 after suffering a stroke

Elmore Leonard has died at the age of 87. The author passed away after experiencing complications following a stroke.

“The post I dreaded to write, and you dreaded to read,” read a statement on his official Facebook page.

Elmore Leonard, Miami Book Fair International, 1989 MDC archives via wikimedia commons

“Elmore passed away at 7:15 this morning from complications from his stroke. He was at home surrounded by his loving family.”

Gregg Sutter, researched for Leonard, confirmed earlier this month that the writer had been hospitalized in Detroit.

“He’s showing great spirit. He’s a fighter, and we’re glad to see that,” he told The Detroit News at the time.

“He’s very much into his 46th novel, working very hard.”

Best known for his crime fiction, several of Leonard’s books were adapted into films, including Out Of Sight, Get Shorty, Hombre and Rum Punch, which was filmed as Jackie Brown by director Quentin Tarantino in 1997.

FX’s Justified also is based on Leonard’s short story Fire in the Hole. Its protagonist Raylan Givens (played by Timothy Olyphant) also features in the novels Pronto and Riding the Rap.