John O'Brien (writer)
John O'Brien (born May 21, 1960 in Oxford , Ohio , † April 10, 1994 in Beverly Hills , California ) was an American author . His first novel, Leaving Las Vegas , was published in 1990 and served as a template for Mike Figgis ' film of the same name , which premiered in Germany in 1996.
Life
O'Brien was born to Bill and Judy O'Brien, his sister is the writer Erin O'Brien . He grew up in Brecksville and Lakewood in the US state of Ohio . At the age of nine he had a small role in the 1970 Christmas film Scrooge based on Charles Dickens , in which he played an unnamed child. In 1978 he graduated from Lakewood High School.
In 1979 he married Lisa Kirkwood and the two moved to Los Angeles in 1982 . His first, partly autobiographical novel, Leaving Las Vegas , was written during a time in the life of the alcoholic writer when he was repeatedly treated in addiction clinics. As a result, he and his wife divorced in 1992.
O'Brien shot himself dead in his Beverly Hills apartment at the age of 33 , two weeks after learning that his debut novel was about to be made into a film and shortly before filming of Leaving Las Vegas began .
Three other O'Brien novels were published posthumously: Stripper Lessons (1997), The Assault on Tony’s (1996) and Better , the latter being finished by his sister Erin.
Works
- Leaving Las Vegas . Watermark Press, Wichita, Kansas, 1990, ISBN 978-0-922820-12-2 (German translation: Leaving Las Vegas . Droemer Knaur, Munich 1996, ISBN 978-3-426-60534-9 )
- Toys in the Attic , episode 37 of the American cartoon series Rugrats . Nickelodeon, 1992 (screenplay; published under the pseudonym Carroll Mine )
- Stripper Lessons . Grove Press / Atlantic Inc., New York 1997, ISBN 978-0-8021-3507-0 (posthumous)
- The Assault on Tony’s . Grove Press / Atlantic Inc., New York 1997, ISBN 978-0-8021-3542-1 (posthumous)
- Better . Akashic Books, Brooklyn, New York, 2009, ISBN 978-1933354828 (posthumous)
Web links
- Literature by and about John O'Brien in the WorldCat bibliographic database
- John O'Brien in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Whitney: Revisiting "Leaving Las Vegas" and the Final Days of John O'Brien . On October 23, 2015 on thefix.com
- ^ Garin Pirnia: Leaving Las Vegas and the Writer Who Didn't Live to See It . On October 28, 2015 on esquire.com
- ↑ Chris Nashawaty: John O'Brien's bittersweet departure . On November 10, 1995 on ew.com
- ↑ a b Erin O'Brien interview November 28, 2005 . At silbermedia.com, accessed on September 13, 2016
- ↑ Michael Heaton: Erin O'Brien keeps the flame for her brother, author John O'Brien, while staring her own literary fire . On September 25, 2009 on cleveland.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | O'Brien, John |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1960 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Oxford , Ohio , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 10, 1994 |
| Place of death | Beverly Hills , California , United States |