Roderick Thorp
Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedurals and crime novels. His novel The Detective was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968.
Also recorded as Roderick Mayne Thorp, Jr.
Roderick Thorp
- Name
- Roderick Thorp
- Birth Name
- Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr.
- Born
- September 1, 1936
- Birthplace
- Bronx, New York City, United States
- Died
- 28 April 1999
- Place of death
- Oxnard, California, United States
- Occupation
- Novelist, writer
- Nationality
- United States
- Fields
- detective fiction
- Known for
- The Detective
- Languages
- English
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Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr. (September 1, 1936 – April 28, 1999) was an American novelist specializing mainly in police procedurals and crime novels. His novel The Detective was adapted into a film of the same name in 1968.
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wikidata · Q1399272 · wikipedia · Roderick Thorp
In this article
Biography
Biography
Thorp is also known for its sequel, the bestselling novel Nothing Lasts Forever, which later served as the basis for the film Die Hard. Thus Thorp became a creator of the entire media franchise of the same name. Two other Thorp novels, Rainbow Drive and Devlin, were also adapted into TV movies.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Roderick Thorp • Birth Name — Roderick Mayne Thorp Jr. • Born — September 1, 1936 • Birthplace — Bronx, New York City, United States • Died — 28 April 1999 • Place of death — Oxnard, California, United States • Occupation — Novelist, writer • Genre — Crime • Notable Works — * The Detective • Nothing Lasts Forever
Early life
Early life
Thorp was born in the Bronx, New York City. As a young college graduate, Thorp worked at a detective agency owned by his father. He would later teach literature and lecture on creative writing at schools and universities in New Jersey and California, and also wrote articles for newspapers and magazines.
Death
Death
On April 28, 1999, Thorp died of a heart attack in Oxnard, California at the age of 62.
Filmography
Filmography
• The Detective (1968) (novel) • Die Hard (1988) (novel) • Rainbow Drive (1990) (book) • Devlin (1992) (book) • Deep Down (1994) (cast)
Identity
Identity
Roderick Thorp is recorded as writer, university teacher, novelist, actor and screenwriter.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1999
Roderick Thorp died at Oxnard.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
The Bronx.
Birth place
Oxnard.
Death place
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q1399272: Roderick ThorpWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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