Richard Stark

Richard Stark

Richard Stark was born on July 12th, 1933. Richard passed away December 31st, 2008 at 75 years old. Richard Stark was born in Brooklyn, NY, USA.

Richard Stark was the author of the Parker series which consists of 24 novels. The Parker series started in 1962 with the novel Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter. The most recently released novel in the Parker series was Dirty Money which was released in 2008. There are no upcoming novels for the Parker series.

Richard Stark also wrote the Alan Grofield series which has 4 books including The Damsel and The Dame.

Richard Stark: Awards & Accolades

Stark's book, The Outfit was nominated for the Anthony Award, Best Graphic Novel, in 2011.

Richard Stark: Lists & Other Mentions

• Payback / Point Blank / The Hunter: The Sunday Times: The 100 Best Crime Novels and Thrillers since 1945 Selection in 2019.

Richard Stark: TV/Movies Based on Books

There have been numerous movie adaptations of books in the Parker series by Richard Stark over the years.

The first adaptation was in 1966. "The Jugger", the sixth novel in the series, was adapted into the movie "Made in the USA". It starred Anna Karina and was directed by Jean-Luc Godard and was in French.

There was actually an interesting situation with that adaptation, as the producer of the movie, Georges de Beauregard, didn't make all the payments in regards to the rights of the novel.

Westlake ended up taking de Beauregard to court, and one of the victories out of the course case was distribution rights in North America. It was released in the USA decades later, in 2009.

The next novel in the Parker series which was adapted into a movie was the first book in the series, "The Hunter". Also known as "Payback" and "Point Blank", the movie was released as "Point Blank". Lee Marvin played the title character, although he was called Walker, not Parker. It's a very popular movie, with over 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes, and even made the list of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Years later, this book would be adapted again with the movie Payback starring Mel Gibson. The character in that movie was called Porter, not Parker. Brian Helgeland, the director of that movie, released a special director's cut years later which differed quite a lot from the movie which was released in 1999.

In 1967, the 5th book in the series was adapted into a movie. This was another French film, and "The Score" was adapted as "Pillaged". There was also a version of it with English dubbing released under another name, "Midnight Raid".

1968 saw "The Seventh" released as "The Split". The "Parker" character was known as McClain in this book and he was played by Jim Brown. Notable actors in this movie included Gene Hackman and Donald Sutherland.

The third book in the series, "The Outfit", was adapted in 1973 by a movie of teh same name. This one starred Robert Duvall using the name "Earl Macklin".

1983 would see another adaptation, with the 13th book in the series, "Slayground" being adapted. The movie shared the same name and featured Peter Coyote.

In 2013, the movie "Parker" was released. Starring Jason Statham as Parker, it was based on Flashfire, the 19th book in the series.

Related Authors

Readers who follow Richard Stark also follow these authors:

1. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
2. David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.
3. Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher Series.
4. James Patterson, author of the Alex Cross Series.
5. Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.

Richard Stark: F.A.Q