SPILLANE, MICKEY

born March 9, 1918, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S. pseudonym of Frank Morrison Spillane American writer of detective fiction whose popular work is characterized by violence and sexual licentiousness. Spillane began his career by writing for pulp magazines and comic books in order to pay for his schooling. His first novelI, The Jury (1947)introduced detective Mike Hammer, who appeared in other works, such as My Gun Is Quick (1950) and The Big Kill (1951). In the early 1950s Spillane retired from writing. Ten years later he resumed his career with The Deep (1961). Spillane wrote the script and played the role of Hammer for the 1963 film version of The Girl Hunters (1962). Day of the Guns (1964) initiated another series, with the international agent Tiger Mann. Among Spillane's later books were The Last Cop Out (1973) and The Day the Sea Rolled Back (1981). Spillane, who claimed to write solely for monetary gain, flouted literary taste with recurring elements of sadism that disturbed some readers, but the captivating vigour of his narrative and of his central characters brought him popular success.