William Hjortsberg Explained

William Hjortsberg
Birth Date:23 February 1941
Birth Place:New York City, U.S.
Death Place:Livingston, Montana, U.S.
Occupation:Novelist, screenwriter
Genre:Mystery, screenwriting

William Reinhold "Gatz" Hjortsberg[1] [2] (February 23, 1941 – April 22, 2017) was an American novelist and screenwriter, who wrote the screenplay of the film Legend.[2] [3]

His novel Falling Angel was the basis for the film Angel Heart (1987).[4] The novel was adapted into an opera in 2015, composed by J. Mark Scearce with a libretto by Lucy Thurber.[5] [6]

Personal life and death

Hjortsberg was the only child of a Swedish restaurateur father and a Swiss mother. He attended Dartmouth College, the Yale School of Drama (where he met Thomas McGuane), and was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. He was married three times, and had a son and a daughter.[2] He died of pancreatic cancer on April 22, 2017, at the age of 76.[2] [7] [8]

Angel Heart

His fifth book, "Falling Angel" published in 1978 was later turned into a 1987 movie called "Angel Heart" starring Mickey Rourke as the main character and Robert DeNiro and Lisa Bonet in supporting roles. While the movie was based on the novel, several changes from the original material were made.[9]

In 2020, a sequel to Falling Angel, Angel's Inferno, was posthumously published.

Novels

Screenplays

Nonfiction

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: McGuane . Thomas . Conversations with Thomas McGuane . 2007 . University Press of Mississippi . Jackson . 9781578068876 . xv . 1st.
  2. Web site: Vollers . Maryanne . A Writer to the Very End: Remembering the Great "Gatz" . Literary Hub . 23 May 2022 . 28 April 2017.
  3. Web site: William Hjortsberg. https://web.archive.org/web/20150123025408/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/94503/William-Hjortsberg/biography. dead. 2015-01-23. Movies & TV Dept.. The New York Times. 2015.
  4. Web site: Angel Heart (1987) FILM: MICKEY ROURKE STARS IN 'ANGEL HEART'. The New York Times. Vincent Canby. Canby, Vincent. March 6, 1987.
  5. Web site: Waddington . Chris . 'Angel Heart' film reborn in New York as 'Falling Angel' opera: Will Satan win again? . NOLA.com . 8 May 2015 . 23 May 2022 . en.
  6. Web site: OPERA America Members Portal . apps.operaamerica.org . 23 May 2022.
  7. News: William Hjortsberg obituary . 23 May 2022 . the Guardian . 7 May 2017 . en.
  8. News: William Hjortsberg, writer behind Legend and Angel Heart, dies at 76 . 23 May 2022 . www.yahoo.com.
  9. Web site: coopa.net . Angel Heart . 2024-06-16 . Alan Parker - Director, Writer, Producer - Official Website.
  10. Web site: Writes of Spring: Fresh Crime Yarns to Chase Away the Chill . Kirkus Reviews . 23 May 2022 . en.

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