Don Carpenter
Encyclopedia
Don Carpenter was an American writer, best known as the author of Hard Rain Falling. He wrote numerous novel
s, novella
s, short stories
and screenplay
s over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley, California
and the Pacific Northwest
to the corridors of power and ego in Hollywood. A close observer of human frailty, his writing depicted marginal characters like pool shark
s, prisoners and drug dealers, as well as movie mogul
s and struggling actors. Although lauded by critics and fellow writers alike, Carpenter's novels and stories never reached a mass audience and he supported himself with extensive work for Hollywood. Facing a mounting series of debilitating illnesses, Don Carpenter committed suicide in 1995.
Carpenter was born in Berkeley, California
, and lived in Lafayette
during the early years of his childhood. When Carpenter was 16, he and his family moved to Portland, Oregon
where he attended Woodrow Wilson High School. In 1951, Carpenter enlisted in the Air Force
and was stationed in Kyoto
, Japan
. During his time in the service, Carpenter was a writer for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes
, where he met a struggling cartoonist named Shel Silverstein
who would gain fame as a beloved author of children's books.
When Carpenter was discharged from service in 1955 he returned to Portland where he eloped with Martha Ryherd. They had two daughters – Bonnie and Leha, and settled in San Francisco in the late 1950s. In 1957, Carpenter enrolled in San Francisco State College and received an M.A.
when he graduated in 1961. Four years later (1965), the Carpenters settled in Mill Valley, California
. Carpenter taught English for two years before publishing his first novel Hard Rain Falling (1966).
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s Carpenter lived in and out of Hollywood
writing screenplays for movies. Carpenter wrote a screenplay for the film Pay Day
which was filmed in 1972 and starred Rip Torn
as a country singer. He also wrote a teleplay for an episode of the 1960s television series The High Chaparral
called "Once on a Day in Spring". He also wrote three Hollywood novel
s between 1975 and 1981.
One of the most troubling chapters to occur in Carpenter's life was in 1984, when his best friend Richard Brautigan
committed suicide. In the late 1980s, Carpenter suffered from several medical maladies including tuberculosis
, diabetes, and glaucoma
. As the years went on, Carpenter's illnesses got progressively worse. After many years of suffering, Carpenter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the summer of 1995 at his home in Mill Valley, California
. He was 64. At the time of his death, Carpenter was working on a novel called Fridays at Enrico's, which was never published, and was possibly never completed.
Don Carpenter's first novel, Hard Rain Falling, was recently reissued by New York Review Books as part of its Classics series, with an introduction by George Pelecanos
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s, novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s, short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
and screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s over the course of a 22-year career that took him from a childhood in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
and the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
to the corridors of power and ego in Hollywood. A close observer of human frailty, his writing depicted marginal characters like pool shark
Pool shark
Pool shark or pool sharks may refer to:...
s, prisoners and drug dealers, as well as movie mogul
Business magnate
A business magnate, sometimes referred to as a capitalist, czar, mogul, tycoon, baron, oligarch, or industrialist, is an informal term used to refer to an entrepreneur who has reached prominence and derived a notable amount of wealth from a particular industry .-Etymology:The word magnate itself...
s and struggling actors. Although lauded by critics and fellow writers alike, Carpenter's novels and stories never reached a mass audience and he supported himself with extensive work for Hollywood. Facing a mounting series of debilitating illnesses, Don Carpenter committed suicide in 1995.
Carpenter was born in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, and lived in Lafayette
Lafayette, California
Lafayette is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 23,893. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military hero of the American Revolutionary War...
during the early years of his childhood. When Carpenter was 16, he and his family moved to Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
where he attended Woodrow Wilson High School. In 1951, Carpenter enlisted in the Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and was stationed in Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. During his time in the service, Carpenter was a writer for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes
Stars and Stripes (newspaper)
Stars and Stripes is a news source that operates from inside the United States Department of Defense but is editorially separate from it. The First Amendment protection which Stars and Stripes enjoys is safeguarded by Congress to whom an independent ombudsman, who serves the readers' interests,...
, where he met a struggling cartoonist named Shel Silverstein
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
who would gain fame as a beloved author of children's books.
When Carpenter was discharged from service in 1955 he returned to Portland where he eloped with Martha Ryherd. They had two daughters – Bonnie and Leha, and settled in San Francisco in the late 1950s. In 1957, Carpenter enrolled in San Francisco State College and received an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
when he graduated in 1961. Four years later (1965), the Carpenters settled in Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
. Carpenter taught English for two years before publishing his first novel Hard Rain Falling (1966).
From the late 1960s to the early 1980s Carpenter lived in and out of Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
writing screenplays for movies. Carpenter wrote a screenplay for the film Pay Day
Pay Day (1972 film)
Payday is a film released in 1972 written by Don Carpenter and directed by Daryl Duke. It stars Rip Torn as a country music singer. Other members of the cast include Ahna Capri, Elayne Heilveil and Michael C. Gwynne. It was filmed in and around Selma, Alabama....
which was filmed in 1972 and starred Rip Torn
Rip Torn
Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...
as a country singer. He also wrote a teleplay for an episode of the 1960s television series The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral
The High Chaparral is a Western-themed television series starring Leif Erickson and Cameron Mitchell which aired on NBC from 1967 to 1971. The show was created by David Dortort, who had previously created the hit Bonanza for the network...
called "Once on a Day in Spring". He also wrote three Hollywood novel
Hollywood novel
A Hollywood novel is a novel that takes the Southern California motion picture industry as its setting and often its subject. Examples of Hollywood novels include The Day of the Locust by Nathanael West, What Makes Sammy Run by Budd Schulberg, The Last Tycoon by F...
s between 1975 and 1981.
One of the most troubling chapters to occur in Carpenter's life was in 1984, when his best friend Richard Brautigan
Richard Brautigan
Richard Gary Brautigan was an American novelist, poet, and short story writer. His work often employs black comedy, parody, and satire. He is best known for his 1967 novel Trout Fishing in America.- Early life :...
committed suicide. In the late 1980s, Carpenter suffered from several medical maladies including tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
, diabetes, and glaucoma
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is an eye disorder in which the optic nerve suffers damage, permanently damaging vision in the affected eye and progressing to complete blindness if untreated. It is often, but not always, associated with increased pressure of the fluid in the eye...
. As the years went on, Carpenter's illnesses got progressively worse. After many years of suffering, Carpenter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the summer of 1995 at his home in Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
. He was 64. At the time of his death, Carpenter was working on a novel called Fridays at Enrico's, which was never published, and was possibly never completed.
Don Carpenter's first novel, Hard Rain Falling, was recently reissued by New York Review Books as part of its Classics series, with an introduction by George Pelecanos
George Pelecanos
George P. Pelecanos is a Greek-American author. Many of his works are in the genre of detective fiction and set primarily in his hometown of Washington, D.C. He is also a film and television producer and a television writer...
.
Works
- Hard Rain Falling (1966, novel)
- Blade of Light (1967, novel)
- The Murder of the Frogs and Other Stories (1969, short stories)
- Getting Off (1971, novel)
- PaydayPay Day (1972 film)Payday is a film released in 1972 written by Don Carpenter and directed by Daryl Duke. It stars Rip Torn as a country music singer. Other members of the cast include Ahna Capri, Elayne Heilveil and Michael C. Gwynne. It was filmed in and around Selma, Alabama....
(1972, screenplay)
- The True Life Story of Jody McKeegan (1975, novel)
- Charles Bukowski's Post Office (1977, screenplay)
- A Couple of Comedians (1979, novel)
- Snyder, Whalen and Welch, Together (1981, magazine article)
- Turnaround (1981, novel)
- The Class of '49 (1985, novel and three stories)
- The Dispossessed (1986, novel)
- From A Distant Place (1988, novel)
- Fridays at Enrico's (1993–1994, unpublished novel)
External links
- The Don Carpenter Page
- Guide to the Don Carpenter Papers at The Bancroft Library