Edward Bunker | |
|---|---|
 Edward Bunker mugshot taken at San Quentin State Prison in 1952 | |
| Born | Edward Heward Bunker December 31, 1933 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Died | July 19, 2005 (aged 71) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever, Hollywood, California |
| Occupation |
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| Language | English |
| Genre | Transgressive fiction |
Edward Heward Bunker[1] (December 31, 1933 – July 19, 2005) was an American author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, convicted felon and an actor. He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films. He wrote the scripts for—and acted in—Straight Time (1978) (adapted from his debut novel No Beast So Fierce), Runaway Train (1985) and Animal Factory (2000) (adapted from his sophomore novel of the same name). He also played a minor role in Reservoir Dogs (1992).
He began running away from home when he was five years old, and developed a pattern of criminal behavior, earning his first conviction when he was fourteen, leading to a cycle of incarceration, parole, re-offending and further jail time.[2] He was convicted of bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery.[2] Bunker was released from prison for the last time in 1975, after which he focused on his career as a writer and actor. The character Nate, a career criminal who fences stolen goods in the 1995 heist movie Heat, played by Jon Voight, was based on Bunker, who was consultant to director Michael Mann.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3 ed.). McFarland & Company. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7864-7992-4.
- ^ a b "Edward Bunker". The Independent. July 7, 2013.