Jim Thompson was born on September 27, 1906 in Anadarko, Oklahoma, USA. He was a writer and actor, known for Paths of Glory (1957), The Killing (1956) and The Getaway (1972). He died on April 7, 1977 in Hollywood, California, USA.
He is considered among the most influential crime writers in American literature, with some critics claiming his superiority to the more popular Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler.
After suffering a series of strokes, he starved himself to death.
Sold drugs and bootleg liquor as a teenager while working at the Hotel Texas.
Many of his early short stories were based on real murders but rewritten from a first-person perspective.
Was blacklisted during the "Red Scare" era of Sen. Joseph McCarthy.