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John O'Brien (May 21, 1960 – April 10, 1994) was an American author, known for his debut novel Leaving Las Vegas.
John O'Brien | |
|---|---|
.jpg) John in 1993 | |
| Born | May 21, 1960 Oxford, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | April 10, 1994 (aged 33) |
| Other names | Carroll Mine |
| Years active | 1990–1994 |
| Notable work | Leaving Las Vegas |
| Spouse |
Lisa Kirkwood
(m. 1979; div. 1992) |
O'Brien was born in Oxford, Ohio, where his parents, Bill and Judy O'Brien, were both students at Miami University.[1] He was the brother of writer Erin O'Brien. John grew up in Brecksville and Lakewood, Ohio, and graduated from Lakewood High School in 1978.[2][3]
Through a friend of his ex-wife, O'Brien got a gig writing Episode 37 of the animated series Rugrats, "Toys in the Attic", which premiered in 1992 under his only known pseudonym, Carroll Mine. According to his sister, Erin, he was disgusted with editorial changes made to his script.[4]
His first novel, Leaving Las Vegas, was published in 1990 by Watermark Press and made into a film of the same name in 1995.
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O'Brien married Lisa Kirkwood in 1979, and the couple moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1982. They divorced in 1992, at his initiative.[5][6] His first novel, Leaving Las Vegas, is dedicated to her.[7]
He was a fan of singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks and admired Star Trek: The Original Series.[8]
O'Brien suffered from alcoholism and had been "in and out of rehab for years" before his death.[8]
O'Brien died from suicide (self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head) at his Beverly Hills apartment on April 10, 1994,[9] two weeks after signing away the rights to adapt his novel, Leaving Las Vegas. His father and book critics said that the novel was his suicide note, while his sister, Erin O'Brien, thought the book was "the beautiful poetic way to check out: Taking that long slug of liquor and gurgling into his death with this beautiful woman."[8]
Two more of O'Brien's novels were published posthumously: Stripper Lessons (Grove Press, 1997) and The Assault on Tony's (Grove Press, 1996), both of which had been left unfinished at the time of his death and were completed by his sister, Erin.[4] A short story The Tik was published in the 2007 Vegas anthology Las Vegas Noir, and a third manuscript, Better, was published by Akashic Press in 2009.[8]
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- O'Brien, John (1990). Leaving Las Vegas. Wichita, Kansas: Watermark Press. ISBN 978-0-922820-12-2. OCLC 22766437. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- O'Brien, John (1996). The Assault on Tony's. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-1592-8. OCLC 34149431. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- O'Brien, John (1997). Stripper Lessons. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 978-0-8021-3507-0. OCLC 35593676. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- O'Brien, John (2008). "The Tik". In Keene, Jarret; Pierce, Todd James (eds.). Las Vegas noir. Brooklyn, New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1933354491. OCLC 182529221. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
- O'Brien, John (2009). Better: a novel. Brooklyn, New York: Akashic Books. ISBN 978-1933354828. OCLC 373484234. Retrieved February 17, 2016.
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