R. Karl Largent
R. Karl Largent was an American writer and businessman, born on April 6, 1934, in Angola, Indiana. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a weather observer during the Korean War and later worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau. Largent had a prolific writing career, beginning with horror novels such as *Black Death*, which features a supernatural element involving flesh-eating bacteria. He transitioned into military techno-thrillers, most notably the best-selling Red series starring Commander T. C. Bogner. In addition to his fiction, Largent coauthored a book on effective business writing and penned a weekly newspaper column titled "Curmudgeon's Corner," which earned him recognition, including awards for best columnist. He was married to Wilma Pasko for forty-seven years and had five children. Largent was also actively involved in teaching writing and participating in local community activities, such as horse show judging and car racing. He passed away from cancer on November 16, 2003, leaving behind a legacy as a versatile writer and a respected figure in his community.
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Subject Terms
R. Karl Largent
- Born: April 6, 1934
- Birthplace: Angola, Indiana
- Died: November 16, 2003
- Place of death: Lake Gage, Indiana
Biography
Robin Karl Largent was born on April 6, 1934, in Angola, Indiana. He flew as a weather observer for the U.S. Air Force in the Korean War and also served a tour in the Arctic. He later worked for the U.S. Weather Bureau. While he was overseas, Largent was a prolific letter writer to his then-girlfriend Wilma Pasko. They were later married and stayed together for forty- seven years until his death. They had five children: Kyle, Kevin, Kelly, Kendrick, and Kristy.
Largent spent thirty years in business, the last seventeen as vice president of marketing for the Arvinyl Division of Arvin Industry, a Fortune 500 multinational corporation, in Columbus, Indiana. He gave up the opportunity to become president of the company to become a full-time writer after selling his fifth novel in 1990. He combined his business and writing experience when he coauthored Effective Business Writing: Write Tight and Right with Earl L. Conn.
Largent started out as a horror writer. An example was his novel Black Death, which is set in his home state of Indiana. The horror comes from the existence of flesh-eating bacteria that not only kill their victims within thirty-six hours, but also devour their bodies. A psychic provides a supernatural element, and the search for the identity of the carrier of these bacteria adds a mystery element.
The Prometheus Project, on the other hand, is more of a conventional thriller in which someone discovers steel canisters at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea that were built by Nazi scientists fifty years previously. It features Elliott Wages, a writer/adventurer that Largent used in several novels. Largent later began writing military techno-thrillers, especially the best-selling Red series featuring Commander T. C. Bogner. He also wrote as Robin Karl for books such as Amityville: The Nightmare Continues, based on the popular movie, and as Simon Lawrence.
In addition to writing novels and other books, he wrote a weekly column call the “Curmudgeon’s Corner” for the Herald-Republican newspaper in northeastern Indiana beginning in 1989. Six hundred of the columns were collected in The Curmudgeon Rides Again: A Perfect Bathroom Companion. He twice won the Hoosier State Press Association’s award for best general columnist and received the Dorothy Hamilton Award for lifetime achievement as a columnist.
Largent also taught writing at Tri-State University, served on the board of the Midwest Writer’s Conference at Ball State University, and authored several books on writing. His leisure activities included judging horse shows, training youth horses, and competing in Sports Car Club of America road racing events. He died of cancer on November 16, 2003, six months after its diagnosis, in Lake Gage, Indiana.