Thomas Harris
| Thomas Harris | |
|---|---|
 Harris as displayed in Hannibal (1999) |
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| Born | April 11, 1940 (1940-04-11) (age 68) Jackson, Tennessee, USA |
| Occupation | novelist, screenwriter |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | White |
| Education | English Language |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
| Writing period | 1975-2006 |
| Genres | Crime, Horror, Suspense |
| Notable work(s) | The Silence of the Lambs Red Dragon |
| Official website | |
Thomas Harris (born April 11, 1940) is an American author of crime novels, most notably The Silence of the Lambs, which was made into a film of the same title starring Jodie Foster as trainee FBI agent Clarice Starling and Anthony Hopkins in an Oscar-winning portrayal of serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. As of 2008, Harris has published four novels featuring Lecter. All of his books have been adapted for the screen, with five films featuring his Lecter character. (Red Dragon has been adapted twice.)
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Early life
Harris was born in Jackson, Tennessee, but moved as a child with his family to Rich, Mississippi; he had a difficult childhood, and was regarded as a loner by many of his peers. He attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he majored in English and graduated in 1964. While in college, he worked as reporter for the local newspaper, the Waco Tribune-Herald, covering the police beat. In 1968, he moved to New York City to work for the Associated Press.
Books
Black Sunday
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Main article: Black Sunday (novel)
The deaths of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics inspired Harris to write the 1975 bestselling novel Black Sunday, about the plans of a terrorist group to seize control of a blimp, place a shrapnel bomb on board, and explode it during the Super Bowl. This book was made into a movie starring Robert Shaw and Bruce Dern.
Red Dragon
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Main article: Red Dragon
Harris's 1981 novel, Red Dragon, introduced his most enduring creation, Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant and cultured forensic psychiatrist turned cannibalistic psychopath, sometimes known by the nickname Hannibal the Cannibal. He is actually a minor character in this book, which details FBI agent Will Graham's pursuit of a serial killer of families nicknamed the Tooth Fairy. The agent was responsible for putting Dr. Lecter behind bars, but the experience left him physically wounded and so psychologically scarred that he is placed on leave by the FBI.
Red Dragon has been filmed twice, first by Michael Mann under the title Manhunter (1986), with actor Brian Cox appearing as Lecter and William Petersen as Graham, and later as Red Dragon (2002), with Hopkins reprising his Lecter role and co-starring Edward Norton as Graham.
The Silence of the Lambs
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Main article: The Silence of the Lambs (novel)
The Graham character wasn't present in this novel, although he was mentioned by Lecter, who asked 'how his face looked' (knowing full well that the Tooth Fairy had hideously disfigured him). This time a new lead, trainee FBI agent Clarice Starling, steps into the frame, and seeks his assistance in the hunt for another murderous psychopath, Buffalo Bill, who has been killing women across the American Midwest, before flaying and dumping their bodies in nearby ravines.
Earning $272.7 million worldwide, it has been filmed as The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and earned five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Jonathan Demme), Best Actress (Jodie Foster), Best Actor (Anthony Hopkins), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ted Tally).
Hannibal
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Main article: Hannibal (novel)
Seven years after escaping confinement in Baltimore, Lecter begins wandering the cobbled streets of Florence, Italy, disguised as a professor and enjoying his new found freedom. However, back home his only surviving victim, Mason Verger, a now hideously disfigured, wheelchair bound child molester reliant on breathing apparatus, has been planning a terrible revenge, aided by Lecter's former nurse, Barney Matthews, a man the doctor once greatly respected.
Meanwhile, Clarice has been charged with finding him, and her job isn't made any easier by recent bad press over a drugs bust gone horribly wrong. In the novel's most controversial sequence (omitted from the film adaptation), she realises just how much misery her career in the FBI has caused her, and finally accepts Lecter as her lover and father figure, as he is the only man in her life who understands the pain of being trapped in a world that can't accept you.
Julianne Moore replaced Jodie Foster as Agent Starling in Ridley Scott's film Hannibal (2001), although Anthony Hopkins and Frankie Faison did reprise their roles as Lecter and Barney, respectively, making them the only people involved in the first movie to return for the sequel.
Hannibal Rising
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Main article: Hannibal Rising
In 2004, Bantam Books signed Harris to an eight-figure, two-book contract. The first of these, Hannibal Rising, chronicles the early life of the young Hannibal from age 8 to 18. It sheds light on the circumstances of the death of his family during World War II, with a focus on Dr. Lecter's memories of his younger sister, Mischa, and an explanation on how Hannibal was first exposed to cannibalism. The book was released on 5 December 2006. No details have been released on Harris' sixth novel.
A film version of Hannibal Rising featured no major Hollywood stars in any of its leads and was not as successful as the previous movies in this series.
Personal life
Harris is a notorious recluse and rarely, if ever, conducts interviews. He divorced his first and only wife in the late sixties, and has a daughter from this marriage. Fellow novelist Stephen King has remarked that he once saw Harris 'writhing on the floor in agonies of frustration', because, for him, 'the very act of writing is a kind of torment'.[1] Harris remains close to his mother, Polly, and reportedly calls her every night, no matter where he is, and often discusses particular scenes from his work with her. He currently lives in South Florida with his long-term partner Pace Barnes, a publishing editor.
Bibliography
- Black Sunday (1975)
- Red Dragon (1981)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1988)
- Hannibal (1999)
- Hannibal Rising (2006)
References
External links
- Thomas Harris at the Internet Movie Database
- The Hannibal Lecter Studiolo
- Announcement of Hannibal Rising release date
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Harris, Thomas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American author of crime novelist, screenwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 11, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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