Richard Condon
Richard Condon was an influential American author and publicist, born on March 18, 1915, in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Merchant Navy, he transitioned into the film industry, where he became a prominent publicist for major studios such as Walt Disney Productions and Twentieth Century Fox. Condon's career evolved as he shifted focus from entertainment public relations to writing, ultimately publishing his first novel, *The Oldest Confession*, in 1958, at the age of 43.
He is best known for several acclaimed novels that often blend themes of politics, crime, and dark humor. His most notable work, *The Manchurian Candidate*, published in 1959, gained significant attention due to its chilling narrative, which coincidentally echoed real-life political events. Other significant works include *Winter Kills* and *Prizzi's Honor*, the latter of which was adapted into an Oscar-nominated film. Condon’s writing style combined satire with keen observations of society, allowing him to resonate with audiences throughout his career. He passed away on April 9, 1996, leaving behind a legacy that reflects the complexities and contradictions of 20th-century America.
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Richard Condon
Author
- Born: March 18, 1915
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: April 9, 1996
- Place of death: Dallas, Texas
Biography
Richard Thomas Condon was born March 18, 1915, in New York City. The son of Richard and Martha (Pickering) Condon, he received a public school education and, after graduating from high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Merchant Navy. After his discharge, he briefly worked in advertising before landing a job in 1936 as a publicist and press agent for the film industry. He thrived in his new position. For the next two decades he worked for Walt Disney Productions, Twentieth Century Fox, RKO-Radio (where he rose to become a vice president), and other major studios. For a time he ran his own public relations firm, Richard Condon, Inc.
Condon married Evelyn Hunt in 1938, and the union produced two daughters. In the early 1950’s, the Condon family lived in New York, where Condon served as a theatrical producer. During his sojourn in the city, Condon wrote the play Men of Distinction, which was successfully produced in 1953.
He remained in the film industry until the late 1950’s, when he resigned to devote himself full-time to writing. Condon’s first novel, The Oldest Confession, appeared in 1958, when he was over forty. (The book served as the basis for the 1962 movie, The Happy Thieves, starring Rex Harrison and Rita Hayworth.).
In the late 1950’s, Condon moved to Paris, France; this was the first of a succession of moves that would take his family to Spain, Ireland, and Switzerland before they returned to the United States. Wherever he lived, Richard Condon, a compulsive seven-hours-per-day, seven-days-per-week writer, continued to produce a string of popular and critically acclaimed works for the rest of his life. He mostly wrote novels—many of which were bestsellers, destined to be adapted for film—and screenplays, with an occasional piece of nonfiction for variety. His fiction is noted for its focus on subjects like politics, crime and entertainment, its comedic aspects, and its underlying satirical tone.
Though he had many writing successes in his life, Condon is best known for three novels. Arguably his most important work is his prophetic thriller, The Manchurian Candidate, published in 1959, which became a movie of the same name the year before U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (an event that caused the film to remain unseen for a long period of time prior to its remake in 2004). Winter Kills, published in 1974 and filmed in 1979, put a tongue-in-cheek spin on the political machinations of a Kennedy-like family. Prizzi’s Honor, a 1982 work—for which Condon wrote the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the 1985 film—continued the theme of crime blended with humor, and it spotlighted the antics of rival male and female assassins who happen to fall in love; the concept was popular enough to spawn several sequels of what became a saga.
Richard Condon died in Dallas, Texas, on April 9, 1996. He left a body of work that captured the essence of his time —from post-McCarthy paranoia through the excesses of the 1960’s to the contradictions of the modern era—with an appealing style and subtle wit.