William Riley Burnett (November 25, 1899 April 25, 1982) was an American

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He is best known for the crime novel ''Little Caesar'', the

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of which is considered the first of the classic American gangster movies.

Early life

Burnett was born in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northe ...

. He left his civil service job there to move to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

when he was 28, by which time he had written over 100 short stories and five novels, all unpublished.

Writing career

In Chicago, Burnett found a job as a night clerk in the seedy Northmere Hotel. He found himself associating with prize fighters, hoodlums, hustlers and hobos. They inspired '' Little Caesar'' (novel 1929, film 1931). Little Caesar's overnight success landed him a job as a

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

screenwriter. ''Little Caesar'' became a classic movie, produced by

First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...

(

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

) and starring little known

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

. The

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

theme was one he returned to in 1932 with '' Scarface''. Burnett had won the 1930

O. Henry Award The O. Henry Award is an annual American award given to short stories of exceptional merit. The award is named after the American short-story writer O. Henry. The ''PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories'' is an annual collection of the year's twenty best ...

for his short story "Dressing-Up" published in

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

in November 1929. Burnett kept busy, producing a novel or more a year and turning most into screenplays (some as many as three times). Thematically Burnett was similar to

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

and

James M. Cain James Mallahan Cain (July 1, 1892 – October 27, 1977) was an American novelist, journalist and screenwriter. He is widely regarded as a progenitor of the hardboiled school of American crime fiction. His novels '' The Postman Always Rings Twic ...

but his contrasting of the corruption and corrosion of the city with the better life his characters yearned for, represented by the paradise of the pastoral, was fresh and original. He portrayed characters who, for one reason or another, fell into a life of crime. Once sucked into this life they were unable to climb out. They typically get one last shot at salvation but the oppressive system closes in and denies redemption. Burnett's characters exist in a world of twilight morality — virtue can come from gangsters and criminals, malice from guardians and protectors. Above all his characters are human and this could be their undoing. In '' High Sierra'' (1941),

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

plays Roy Earle, a hard-bitten criminal who rejects his life of crime to help a sexually appealing crippled girl. In ''

The Asphalt Jungle ''The Asphalt Jungle'' is a 1950 American film noir heist film directed by John Huston. Based on the 1949 novel of the same name by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city. The film stars Sterling Hayden and L ...

'' (1949), the most perfectly masterminded plot falls apart as each character reveals a weakness. In ''

The Beast of the City ''The Beast of the City'' is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film featuring cops as vigilantes and known for its singularly vicious ending. Written by W.R. Burnett, Ben Hecht (uncredited), and John Lee Mahin, and directed by Charles Brabin, t ...

'' (1932) starring

Walter Huston Walter Thomas Huston ( ;According to the Province of Ontario. ''Ontario, C ...

, the police take the law into their own hands when the criminals walk free due to legal incompetence, foreshadowing ''

Dirty Harry ''Dirty Harry'' is a 1971 American neo-noir action thriller film produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the ''Dirty Harry'' series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department (SFP ...

'' by almost 40 years.

Film work

Burnett worked with many of the greats in acting and directing, including

Raoul Walsh Raoul Walsh (born Albert Edward Walsh; March 11, 1887December 31, 1980) was an American film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh. He wa ...

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter, actor and visual artist. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered ...

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

, Nicholas Ray,

Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk (born Hans Detlef Sierck; 26 April 1897 – 14 January 1987) was a German film director best known for his work in Hollywood melodramas of the 1950s. Sirk started his career in Germany as a stage and screen director, but he left for ...

, and

Michael Cimino Michael Antonio Cimino ( ; February 3, 1939 – July 2, 2016) was an American filmmaker. One of the " New Hollywood" directors, Cimino achieved fame with ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Bes ...

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

(''

The Dark Command ''Dark Command'' is a 1940 Western film starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne and Walter Pidgeon loosely based on Quantrill's Raiders during the American Civil War. Directed by Raoul Walsh from the novel by W. R. Burnett, ''Dark Command'' is the o ...

''),

, Ida Lupino,

Paul Muni Paul Muni (born Frederich Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund; September 22, 1895– August 25, 1967) was an American stage and film actor who grew up in Chicago. Muni was a five-time Academy Award nominee, with one win. He started his acting career in ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

and

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the " Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "'' Do ...

. He received an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination for his script for ''

Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of T ...

'' (1942) and a Writers Guild nomination for his script for '' The Great Escape''. In addition to his film work he also wrote scripts for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

Later years

In later years, with his vision declining, he stopped writing and turned to promoting his earlier work. In his career he achieved huge popularity in Europe, where his anti-hero ideology was enthusiastically embraced. On his death in 1982, in Santa Monica, California, Burnett was interred in the

Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery Forest Lawn Memorial-Parks & Mortuaries is an American corporation that owns and operates a chain of cemeteries and mortuaries in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties in Southern California. History The company was founded by a group of ...

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from 191,719 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth-larges ...

Critical reception

Heywood Broun Heywood Campbell Broun Jr. (; December 7, 1888 – December 18, 1939) was an American journalist. He worked as a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and editor in New York City. He founded the American Newspaper Guild, later known as The Newspap ...

described Burnett's novel ''Goodbye to the Past'' as "written with all the excitement of ''Little Caesar'', and ten times the skill".Advertisement for "Goodbye to the Past", ''The American Mercury'', November 1934, (p. 225).

Works

Novels

* ''Little Caesar'' (Lincoln MacVeagh/The Dial Press - 1929) * ''Iron Man'' (Lincoln MacVeagh/The Dial Press - 1930) * ''Saint Johnson'' (Lincoln MacVeagh/The Dial Press - 1930) * ''The Silver Eagle'' (Lincoln MacVeagh/The Dial Press - 1931) * ''The Beast of the City'' (Grosset & Dunlap - 1932) [not properly a Burnett novel; credit on the book reads "novelized by Jack Lait, from the screen story by W.R. Burnett"; the book was published concurrently with the release of the M-G-M film, circa March 1932] * ''The Giant Swing'' (Harper - 1932) * ''Dark Hazard'' (Harper - 1933) * ''Goodbye to the Past: Scenes from the Life of William Meadows'' (Harper - 1934) * ''The Goodhues of Sinking Creek'' (Harper - 1934) * ''Dr. Socrates'' (O'Bryan House Publishing LLC - 2007) riginally serialized in Colliers Weekly Magazine in 1935* ''King Cole'' (Harper - 1936) * ''The Dark Command: A Kansas Iliad'' (Knopf - 1938) * ''High Sierra'' (Knopf - 1941) * ''The Quick Brown Fox'' (Knopf - 1943) * ''Nobody Lives Forever'' (Knopf - 1943) * ''Tomorrow's Another Day'' (Knopf - 1946) * ''Romelle'' (Knopf - 1947) * ''The Asphalt Jungle'' (Knopf - 1949) * ''Stretch Dawson'' (Gold Medal - 1950). The film '' Yellow Sky'' (1948) was based on an early version of the novel. * ''Little Men, Big World'' (Knopf - 1952) * ''Adobe Walls: A Novel of the Last Apache Rising'' (Knopf - 1953) * ''Vanity Row'' (Knopf - 1952) * ''Big Stan'' (Gold Medal - 1953) - written under pseudonym "John Monahan" * ''Captain Lightfoot'' (Knopf - 1954) * ''It's Always Four O'Clock'' (Random House - 1956) - written under pseudonym "James Updyke" * ''Pale Moon'' (Knopf - 1956) * ''Underdog'' (Knopf - 1957) * ''Bitter Ground'' (Knopf - 1958) * ''Mi Amigo: A Novel of the Southwest'' (Knopf - 1959) * ''Conant'' (Popular Library - 1961) * ''Round the Clock at Volari's'' (Gold Medal - 1961) * ''The Goldseekers'' (Doubleday - 1962) * ''The Widow Barony'' (Macdonald - 1962) * ''The Abilene Samson'' (Pocket Books - 1963) * ''Sergeants 3'' (Pocket Books - 1963) * ''The Roar of the Crowd: Conversations with an Es-Big-Leaguer'' (C.N. Potter - 1964) * ''The Winning of Mickey Free'' (Bantam Pathfinder - 1965) * ''The Cool Man'' (Gold Medal - 1968) * ''Good-bye, Chicago: 1928: End of an Era'' (St. Martin's - 1981)

Short stories

* ''Round Trip'' (1929) * ''Dressing-Up'' (1930) * ''Travelling Light'' (1935) * ''Vanishing Act'' (1955)

Filmography

*'' Little Caesar'' (1930) - script *''

The Finger Points ''The Finger Points'' is a 1931 American Pre-Code drama film directed by John Francis Dillon and written by John Monk Saunders, W.R. Burnett and Robert Lord. The film stars Richard Barthelmess, Fay Wray, Regis Toomey, Robert Elliott, Clark Ga ...

'' (1931) - script *''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The cha ...

'' (1931) - based on novel *''

Law and Order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...

'' (1932) - based on novel ''Saint Johnson'' *''

Beast of the City ''The Beast of the City'' is a 1932 American pre-Code gangster film featuring cops as vigilantes and known for its singularly vicious ending. Written by W.R. Burnett, Ben Hecht (uncredited), and John Lee Mahin, and directed by Charles Brabin, th ...

'' (1932) - script *'' Scarface'' (1932) - script *''

Dark Hazard ''Dark Hazard'' is 1934 pre-Code film American drama film starring Edward G. Robinson and directed by Alfred E. Green. It is based on novelby W. R. Burnett. It was produced by First National Pictures and released through Warner Bros. Robinson ...

'' (1934) - based on novel *''

The Whole Town's Talking ''The Whole Town's Talking'' (released in the UK as ''Passport to Fame'') is a 1935 American comedy film starring Edward G. Robinson as a law-abiding man who bears a striking resemblance to a killer, with Jean Arthur as his love interest. It w ...

'' (1935) - script and based on short story "Jail Break" *''

Dr. Socrates ''Dr. Socrates'' is a 1935 American crime film directed by William Dieterle and starring Paul Muni as a doctor forced to treat a wounded gangster, played by Barton MacLane. Plot The death of his fiancée in a car crash so unnerves top surgeon Dr ...

'' (1935) - based on short story *'' 36 Hours to Kill'' (1936) - based on short story "Across the Aisle" *'' Wine, Women and Horses'' (1937) - based on novel "Dark Hazard" *'' Wild West Days'' (1937) - from novel ''Saint Johnson'' *''

Some Blondes Are Dangerous ''Some Blondes Are Dangerous'' is a 1937 American drama film directed by Milton Carruth and written by Lester Cole. It is based on the 1930 novel ''Iron Man'' by W. R. Burnett. The film stars Noah Beery Jr., William Gargan, Nan Grey, Dorothea K ...

'' (1937) - based on novel ''Iron Man'' *'' King of the Underworld'' (1939) - based on short story "Dr Socrates" *'' The Westerner'' (1940) - uncredited contribution *''

'' (1940) - from his novel *''

'' (1940) - from his novel *'' High Sierra'' (1941) - novel, co-script *''

The Get-Away ''The Get-Away'' is a 1941 film directed by Edward Buzzell. It stars Robert Sterling, Charles Winninger and Donna Reed. It is a remake of ''Public Hero No. 1''. Plot Cast *Robert Sterling as Jeff Crane *Charles Winninger as Doctor Josiah Glass ...

'' (1941) - script *''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities in ...

'' (1941) - from his novel ''The Giant Swing'' *''

This Gun for Hire ''This Gun for Hire'' is a 1942 American film noir crime film directed by Frank Tuttle and starring Veronica Lake, Robert Preston (actor), Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, and Alan Ladd. It is based on the 1936 novel ''A Gun for Sale'' by Graham Gr ...

'' (1942) - script *''

Bullet Scars ''Bullet Scars'' is a 1942 American film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It was directed by D. Ross Lederman with top-billed stars Regis Toomey, Adele Longmire and Howard DaSilva. Plot Gangster Frank Dillon (Howard Da Silva) is on t ...

'' (1942) - uncredited remake of "Dr Socrates" *''

'' (1942) - script *''

Crash Dive A crash dive is a maneuver by a submarine in which the vessel submerges as quickly as possible to avoid attack. Crash diving from the surface to avoid attack has been largely rendered obsolete with the advent of nuclear-powered submarines, as they ...

'' (1943) - story *''

Action in the North Atlantic ''Action in the North Atlantic'', also known as ''Heroes Without Uniforms'', is a 1943 American black-and-white war film from Warner Bros. Pictures, produced by Jerry Wald, directed by Lloyd Bacon, that stars Humphrey Bogart and Raymond Massey as ...

'' (1943) - script *''

Background to Danger ''Background to Danger'' is a 1943 World War II spy film starring George Raft and featuring Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet, and Peter Lorre. Based on the 1937 novel '' Uncommon Danger'' by Eric Ambler and set in politically neutral Turkey, ...

'' (1943) - script *''

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

'' (1945) - story, script *'' Nobody Lives Forever'' (1946) - based on novel, script *'' The Man I Love'' (1946) - uncredited contribution to script *''

Belle Starr's Daughter ''Belle Starr's Daughter'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Lesley Selander and starring George Montgomery, Rod Cameron and Ruth Roman. Plot After the town marshal of Antioch is shot by Bob Yauntis, the newly appointed Tom Jackso ...

'' (1948) - story, script *'' Yellow Sky'' (1948) - based on novel *''

Colorado Territory The Territory of Colorado was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 28, 1861, until August 1, 1876, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Colorado. The territory was organized in the ...

'' (1950) - uncredited remake of ''High Sierra'' *''

'' (1950) - based on novel, uncredited contribution *''

'' (1951) - based on novel *'' The Racket'' (1951) - script *''

Vendetta Vendetta may refer to: * Feud or vendetta, a long-running argument or fight Film * ''Vendetta'' (1919 film), a film featuring Harry Liedtke * ''Vendetta'' (1950 film), an American drama produced by Howard Hughes * ''Vendetta'' (1986 film), an ...

'' (1951) - script *''

'' (1953) - based on novel ''Saint Johnson'' *''

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

'' (1953) - based on novel *'' Dangerous Mission'' (1954) - script *'' Night People'' (1954) - uncredited contribution to script *'' Captain Lightfoot'' (1955) - based on novel, script *'' Illegal'' (1955) - script *''

I Died a Thousand Times ''I Died a Thousand Times'' is a 1955 American CinemaScope Warnercolor film noir directed by Stuart Heisler. The drama features Jack Palance as paroled bank robber Roy Earle, with Shelley Winters, Lee Marvin, Earl Holliman, Perry Lopez, Pedro Gonz ...

'' (1956) - based on novel ''High Sierra'', script *''

Accused of Murder ''Accused of Murder'' is a 1956 American Trucolor film noir crime film directed by Joseph Kane and starring David Brian, Vera Ralston and Sidney Blackmer. Plot Nightclub singer Ilona Vance is accused of murder because she was the last person to ...

'' (1957) - based on novel ''Vanity Row'', script *'' Short Cut to Hell'' (1957) - remake of ''This Gun for Hire'' *'' The Badlanders'' (1958) - based on novel ''The Asphalt Jungle'' *'' The Hangman'' (1959) - uncredited contribution to script *''

September Storm ''September Storm'' is a 1960 American adventure film directed by Byron Haskin and starring Joanne Dru and Mark Stevens. Filmed in 3-D and DeLuxe Color and presented in CinemaScope, it is notable as the only U.S. feature film made in 3-D between ...

'' (1960) - script *''

'', television series, 13 episodes (1961) - scripts *'' The Lawbreakers'' (1961) - script *'' Sergeants Three'' (1962) - story, script *''

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

'' (1963) - from novel ''The Asphalt Jungle'' *'' The Great Escape'' (1963) - script *'' Four for Texas'' (1963) - uncredited contribution to script *''

The Jackals ''The Jackals'' is a 1967 DeLuxe Color Western film from 20th Century Fox filmed at Killarney Film Studios South Africa. A remake of 1948's ''Yellow Sky'', it stars Vincent Price as a South African prospector named Oupa (grandpa) Decker and c ...

'' (1967) - remake of ''Yellow Sky'' *'' Ice Station Zebra'' (1968) - uncredited contribution to script *'' Stiletto'' (1969) - uncredited contribution to script *'' Cool Breeze'' (1972) - from novel ''The Asphalt Jungle''

References

External links

*
W.R. Burnett bibliography

W.R. Burnett (bio)
by

John Strausbaugh John Strausbaugh (born 1951, in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American author, cultural commentator, and host of ''The New York Times'' ''Weekend Explorer'' video podcast series on New York City. Among other topics, he is an authority on the history ...

, at ''The Chiseler''
W.R. Burnett at detnovel.com
*
Portrait of W. R. Burnett, his first wife, Marjorie, and War Cry, the greyhound, Glendale, 1935

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

Photographic Archive (Collection 1429). UCLA Library Special Collections,

Charles E. Young Research Library The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. It initially opened in 1964, and a second phase of construction was completed ...

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

.
“'Pretty Big Once': W. R. Burnett’s Cynical Americana”
by Cullen Gallagher, at the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Burnett, William R. 1899 births 1982 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male screenwriters American crime fiction writers O. Henry Award winners Edgar Award winners Writers from Springfield, Ohio Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) Novelists from Ohio American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Ohio 20th-century American screenwriters