The Bell

Recent deaths in the mystery, suspense, and thriller communities

Leo McKern
Leon Uris
Died: June 21, 2003
Age: 78

By Rob Holden

Leon Uris was one of those writers that is very hard to classify. Although probably best known for the historical novels Exodus (1958) and Trinity (1976), Uris nonetheless fits firmly into the genres ReadersRoom.com is devoted to. QB VII (1970) is one of the most riveting courtroom dramas you are ever likely to read. Topaz (1967) is an amazingly intricate spy thriller and, according to some accounts, its publication caused severe conflicts within the French government. Uris' work -- whether focused on the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in World War Two, the settlement of the nation of Israel, the horrors faced by United States Marines in battle or the troubles in Northern Ireland -- all have one thing in common. No matter what the subject matter, Leon Uris was an author with an amazing ability to allow his readers not only to see through the eyes of his characters, but also to feel what his characters felt. His ability to view massive multi-national or multi-cultural questions and put them into the perspective of the mostly ordinary people who populated his novels gave his work a page-turning quality. When reading a Leon Uris novel you understood the importance of the things going on around them, but it was always the people he let you get to know that you cared about.

Uris was born in Baltimore in 1924 and quit high school to join the Marine Corps in 1941, after flunking English several times. He never graduated. His first novel, Battle Cry (1953) was loosely based on his own experiences in the Marine Corps during World War Two. A man of many talents, Uris wrote the screenplay for Gunfight at the OK Corral which was released in 1957 starring Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. In 1956, Uris traveled to Palestine and covered the Arab-Israeli hostilities as a war correspondent. Two years later Exodus, Uris' masterpiece, was published. Always known for the exacting detail of his research, Uris reportedly traveled over fifty thousand miles and interviewed over 1,200 people in preparation for writing the novel. The movie version of Exodus (1960) starring Paul Newman and Eva Marie Saint, was nominated for three Oscars. Uris' subsequent novels were all bestsellers. His final novel -- entitled O'Hara's Choice and, like his first novel, about the United States Marine Corps -- is set for publication in October, 2003.

Whatever subject he chose to tackle, Leon Uris wrote with passion, and with an attention to detail and accuracy which put him in a league with James A. Michener, Herman Wouk and Gore Vidal when it came to historical fiction. When Mr. Uris moved into the mystery and/or thriller genres, it was -- for this reader at least -- a pure pleasure.

It is therefore, with deep regret, that we toll the Bell for Leon Uris.

He will be missed. Copyright 2003 by ReadersRoom, LLC. All rights reserved.