Jonathan Latimer

Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended the Mesa Ranch School in Arizona from 1922-1925 and later studied at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1929. Latimer became a journalist at the Chicago Herald Examiner and later for the Chicago Tribune, writing about crime and meeting Al Capone and Bugs Moran, among others. In the mi... more

Jonathan Wyatt Latimer (October 23, 1906 – June 23, 1983) was an American crime writer. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he attended the Mesa Ranch School in Arizona from 1922-1925 and later studied at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1929. Latimer became a journalist at the Chicago Herald Examiner and later for the Chicago Tribune, writing about crime and meeting Al Capone and Bugs Moran, among others. In the mid-1930s, he turned to writing fiction, starting with a series of novels featuring private eye William Crane, in which he introduced his typical blend of hardboiled crime fiction and elements of screwball comedy. During the Second World War Latimer served in the United States Navy. After the war, he moved to California and continued his work as a Hollywood screenwriter. He died of lung cancer in La Jolla, California. less