Monday, June 21, 2010

Grown ups

"Whadda you gonna be when you grow up?"
"Older," I said, but she was already asleep again.

--James Crumley, The Last Good Kiss (1978), p. 201.

Didn't realize he was dead.

Pelecanos puts Crumley (and a couple of other familiar names) on his Five Best list.

Those of us who enjoy indulging these fantasies would love to see Walter Hill dust off the famously great script he wrote for TLGK. His casting was Nick Nolte and...I forget who. Mine, now, would be Josh Brolin and Jeff Bridges. Dream on.

3 comments:

Tulkinghorn said...

Died at 68 -- let that be a lesson to you about the dangers of romantic self-indulgence.

Quote:

He returned to Missoula to simply write, and there he stayed, with occasional trips to Hollywood in the 1980s to work on screenplays, which paid the child support and alimony to four of his five wives.

His marriages to Sandra "Charlie" Crumley, Maggie Crumley, Judith Ann Ramey and Bronwyn Pughe ended in divorce.

Survivors include his wife of 16 years, Martha Elizabeth of Missoula; three children from his second marriage, Mary Crumley of Port Townsend, Wash., Lizzy Crumley of Portland, Ore., and David Crumley of Yucca Valley, Calif.; two children from his fourth marriage, Conor Crumley of Portland and Chris Crumley of Tacoma, Wash.; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

David Chute said...

If he drank as much as his characters, it's a wonder he lived that long.

Tulkinghorn said...

Pelecanos's list is kind of boring: like saying that "Citizen Kane" and "The Godfather Part II" are your favorite movies.

I'd love to see a list of his favorite soul records.

Interesting, though, is his love of "Clockers", which I missed completely when it came out, but which looms large for a lot of people.

"Lush Life" is beautiful, but not quite as consequential as one would expect.....