Warren Murphy

Warren Burton Murphy (September 13, 1933 – September 4, 2015) was an American author, most famous as the co-creator of "The Destroyer" series, the basis for the film "".
Early life.
Murphy was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on September 13, 1933. He worked in journalism and politics until launching the Destroyer series with Richard Sapir in 1971. A screenwriter ("Lethal Weapon 2", "The Eiger Sanction") as well as a novelist, his work won a dozen national awards, including multiple Edgars and Shamuses. He lectured at many colleges and universities.
Writing.
Murphy was one of the authors of the screenplay for "The Eiger Sanction" in 1975, and also co-wrote (with series creator Shane Black) the original story for "Lethal Weapon 2". He is the author of the "Trace" and "Digger" series. With Molly Cochran, he completed two books of a planned trilogy revolving around the character "The Grandmaster": "The Grandmaster" (1984) and "High Priest" (1989). Murphy also shared writing credits with Cochran on "The Forever King" and several novels under the name Dev Stryker. Some of his solo novels include "Jericho Day", "The Red Moon", "The Ceiling of Hell", "The Sure Thing" and "Honor Among Thieves". Over his career, Murphy has sold over 60 million books.
In 2002, Murphy started his own publishing house, Ballybunion, as a vehicle to start "The Destroyer" spin-off books. Ballybunion reprinted "The Assassin's Handbook", as well as the original works "Assassin's Handbook 2", "The Movie That Never Was" (a screenplay he and Richard Sapir wrote for a Destroyer movie that was never optioned), "The Way of the Assassin" (the wisdom of Chiun), and "New Blood", a collection of short stories written by fans of the series.
He served on the board of the Mystery Writers of America, and was also a member of the Private Eye Writers of America, the International Association of Crime Writers, the American Crime Writers League and the Screenwriters Guild. In April 2007, Warren returned to co-authoring "The Destroyer", which is now published by Tor Books. His final novel, "Bloodline", was released by Tor in 2015.
Awards and acclaim.
Murphy received a number of awards and nominations for his work. "Ceiling of Hell" won the 1985 Shamus Award in the "Best Original Private Eye Paperback" category. His 1999 short story, "Another Day, Another Dollar", won the "Best Short Story" Shamus award. His novel "Grandmaster" won the 1985 Edgar Award for "Best Paperback Original Mystery Novel".
His novel "Trace: Too Old a Cat" was nominated for "Best Paperback Original" at the 1987 Anthony Awards and the Shamus Awards of the same year. Also "Smoked Out" was nominated in this category in 1983, "Trace" in 1984 (along with a 1983 Edgar Award nomination), "Trace and 47 Miles of Rope" in 1985, "Trace: Pigs Get Fat" in 1986 (along with a 1986 Edgar Award nomination); and "Trace: Too Old a Cat" in 1987.
Personal life.
A Korean War veteran, Murphy's hobbies included golf, mathematics, opera, and investing. He had five children from previous marriages—Deirdre, Megan, Brian, Ardath and Devin—and two more with former wife Nancy Cartwright, to whom he was married from 1988 until 2002.
Death.
Murphy died on September 4, 2015 in Virginia Beach, Virginia at the age of 81, of heart failure resulting from lung disease, just nine days shy of his 82nd birthday.