Page 31 - ARUBA TODAY

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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 28 February 2020
Clive Cussler, million-selling adventure writer, dies at 88

By HILLEL ITALIE his first inquiry to Peter Lam-
AP National Writer pack of the William Morris
NEW YORK (AP) — Clive Agency. Lampack agreed
Cussler, the million-selling to take on Cussler and re-
adventure writer and real- mained with him long after
life thrill-seeker who wove the author confessed his
personal details and spec- charade.
tacular fantasies into his "I told him the story of Char-
page-turning novels about lie Winthrop with great trep-
underwater explorer Dirk idation," Cussler explained
Pitt, has died, his publisher to the Arizona Republic. "I
said Wednesday. sat there waiting for the re-
Cussler died Monday at sult, and he sat there blank
his home in Scottsdale, for a minute, and then he
Arizona, said Alexis Welby, laughed himself under the
spokeswoman for publisher table. And he said, 'Oh
Penguin Random House. my God. I always thought
He was 88. The cause was Charlie Winthrop was some
not disclosed. guy I met while I was drunk
Cussler dispatched Pitt at a cocktail party.'"
and pal Al Giordino on ex- "Mediterranean Caper"
otic missions highlighted This 2007 image released by G.P. Putnam's Sons shows author Clive Cussler riding in a classic car. came out in 1973, followed
by shipwrecks, treachery, Associated Press by "Iceberg" two years lat-
espionage and beautiful ter and Marine Agency, Spence wrote on his blog in ment shop, where his wife er and "Raise the Titanic!"
women, in popular works must find a sunken vessel 2011. Spence, a prominent suggested he work to help in 1976. He would turn out
including "Cyclops,'' "Night and retrieve some artifact," underwater archaeologist gather material for his nov- more than 20 Dirk Pitt novels
Probe!" and his commercial Mark Schone, summarizing feuded with Cussler over els. and expand into children's
breakthrough, "Raise the Ti- Cussler's novels, wrote in which of them recovered a "When creating advertis- books and such adventure
tanic!" The New York Times in 2004. Confederate submarine. ing, I had always looked series as "The Oregon Files"
Cussler was an Illinois native "Evil forces, be they Com- Born an only child in 1931 in at the competition and and "The Numa Files."
who was raised in South- mies or Blofeldian mad- Aurora, Illinois, and raised wondered what I could Cussler had claimed his
ern California and lived in men, try to stop him. Along in Alhambra, California, conceive that was totally worldwide sales topped
Arizona for most of his fi- the way Pitt saves himself, Cussler's name and writ- different," Cussler said in an 100 million copies, but in a
nal years, but he sent Pitt the world and the damsel ing persona have the air interview included in "Dirk legal battle with Crusader
around the globe in plots of the moment." of a pseudonym, but he Pitt Revealed," a nonfic- Entertainment, which al-
that ranged from the bold Cussler has a new novel, was born with his moniker, tion book released in 1998. leged he had misrepre-
to the incredible. "The Trea- "Journey of the Pharaohs," named for the British actor "(James) Bond was be- sented his popularity, it was
sure" features an aspiring set to be released March Clive Brook. He studied for coming incredibly popular determined the number
Aztec despot who murders 10, with several more two years at Pasadena City through the movies, and I was closer to 40 million. In
an American envoy, the awaiting posthumous pub- College before enlisting in knew I couldn't match Ian 2007, a Los Angeles jury
hijacking of a plane carry- lication. the Air Force and serving as Fleming's style and prose. awarded Crusader $5 mil-
ing the United Nations sec- In real life, Cussler founded a mechanic and flight en- So I was determined not lion but also ordered that
retary-general and soldiers his own National Under- gineer during the Korean to write about a detective, Cussler receive $8.5 million
from ancient Rome looting water and Marine Agency War. secret agent or undercover because the film company
the Library of Alexandria. and participated in dozens In 1955, he married Barbara investigator or deal in mur- only adapted one ("Saha-
In "Iceberg," the presidents of searches for old ships, Knight, with whom he had der mysteries. My hero's ad- ra") of the two books it had
of French Guiana and the including one that turned three children. Through ventures would be based agreed to produce.
Dominican Republic are up a steamship belong- much of the 1960s, he on and under water." The film version of "Saha-
the ones in danger, dur- ing to Cornelius Vanderbilt. worked in advertising, as Cussler finished manu- ra" came out in 2005 and
ing a visit to Disneyland. In He also had a long history a copywriter and creative scripts for "Mediterranean starred Matthew McCo-
"Sahara," a race across the of questionable claims — director. Among the better Caper" and "Iceberg," but naughey and Penelope
desert somehow leads to some admitted, some de- known slogans he helped had no literary agent: so Cruz. An adaptation of
new information about the nied. coin — "It's stronger than he created one. He pur- "Raise the Titanic!" — its title
assassination of Abraham "He can definitely spin the dirt," for an Ajax laundry de- chased a thousand sheets the same except for drop-
Lincoln. tall tales and is a master tergent campaign. of blank letter paper, got a ping the exclamation point,
"Again and again, Dirk of fiction. But that doesn't In his free time, he was writ- friend in advertising to de- came out in 1980 and fea-
Pitt, working for the fic- mean I buy into his alleged ing fiction and moonlight- sign a logo for "The Charles tured Jason Robards and
tional National Underwa- discovery claims," Dr. E. Lee ing at a skin-diving equip- Winthrop Agency" and sent Alec Guinness. q

Boy band BTS performs at NYC’s Grand Central Terminal

NEW YORK (AP) — The South Ko- the episode, which aired on Mon- Vanderbilt Hall and the North West said Meredith Conti, Metro-North’s
rean boy band BTS performed at day. Metro-North Railroad officials Balcony rooms while the crew set manager of special events. They
Grand Central Terminal in New told The New York Times the five- up their cameras and people left had about two hours to shoot the
York City for a special episode minute performance took two the busy transit hub, said Meredith video before the terminal’s clean-
of Jimmy Fallon’s “The Tonight months to organize. Conti, Metro-North’s manager of ing staff arrived to wash the floors.
Show.” The crew of about 180 people ar- special events. Gavin Purcell, the show’s interim
The band performed their new rived at Grand Central at about BTS didn’t set foot on the terminal showrunner, wrote on Twitter that
single “On” with an ensemble of 10 p.m. on Feb. 8. The dancers floor until it closed at 2 a.m., so the episode was “our love letter to
dancers and a marching band for and marching band rehearsed in they could avoid being spotted, this city.”q