Salvatore Lombini was born in 1926. During World War II he served in the Navy, and while in uniform, tried his had at writing. When it looked like publishers were rejecting his work outright because of his ethnicity, he legally changed his named to Evan Hunter. And from that point onward, went on to become one of the greatest American writers of all time.

In the 1950s he wrote several movie scripts based on his own novels. One was the ground breaking BLACKBOARD JUNGLE starring Glenn Ford,
Sidney Poitier and Vic Morrow. It was based loosely on Hunter’s experiences, after the war, as a young English teacher in New York City.
His second most widely known film-project was
having done the screenplay of Daphne du Maurier’s novel THE BIRDS for Alfred Hitchcock.
But films were not where he would make his lasting mark.

In 1956, under the pseudonym of Ed McBain,
he wrote a crime novel called COP HATER. It would be the first of a series that would star not one particular character, but an entire detective squad working out of a thinly disguised New York City he called Isola. For the next 49 years of his life, he would continue to write novels involving the 87th Precinct’s detective squad and in the process revolutionized
police procedural mysteries forever. So successful for these books that they inspired a 1961 televsions series starring Robert Lansing
and Gena Rowland. This in turned produced a tie-in comic book series from Dell Comics. There was even, for a short-lived time, an Ed McBain Mystery Magazine.

Dozens of 87th Precinct books were adapted to both feature films and made-for-TV movies. The most popular being the 1972 Universal release, FUZZ, starring Burt Reynolds and Yul Brenner. The cast also included Racquel Welch, Jack Weston and Tom Skerritt. The last being a 1997 TV movie, HEATWAVE starring Dale Midkiff as the ever persisitent good-guy detective, Steve Carella. Several 87th books were even adatped to Japanese movies. Now that has to be surreal.

I discovered the 87th Precinct books somewhere in my teens. My best guess is I was a junior in high school at the time. I loved them from the start, totally amazed at how well written they were and how McBain handled characterizations. His people seem to leap off the pages into my imagination and I believed they were all real. I became a devoted fan and whenever a new 87th Precinct thriller hit the newstands, I was quick to pick it up. Over the years my devotion to them, and to Hunter, simply grew with my maturity. The more I became a writer myself, the more I understood the fantastic talent this man possessed and I purposely tried to emulate him every chance I could. He was the writer I wanted to be like.

So why am I writing all this? Because two days ago, 6th July, at the age of 78, Evan Hunter died of throat cancer in his home of Hartford, CT. The news came as a complete surprise to me and over the past two days I’ve shared my sense of loss with many of my writing colleagues, who share the same grief.
All of us have lost a true Master in the game, and a unique literary voice. Personally, the man was my hero, and will ever reamin so. His books are his legacy, those written under his own name of Evan Hunter, and those under his various pen-names. He had several: Curt Cannon, Hunt Collins, Ezra Hannon, Richard Marsten, and John Abbott. But the one that will always come to mind, when his fans remember him is of course, Ed McBain. So, if you’ve never read any of his work, do yourself a big-big favor and go find one at your local bookstore. Your are in for one major treat.

Rest in peace, Ed McBain. You earned it big time, and from this fan, thanks.

Ron, over and out.