McBain creator dies at age 78

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Evan Hunter, a prolific writer whose gritty Ed McBain 87th Precinct detective series pioneered the police procedural genre and laid the groundwork for a generation of TV cop dramas, has died at the age of 78.

Hunter died Wednesday in Weston of cancer of the larynx, said his agent, Jane Gelfman.

Writing as Ed McBain, his 87th Precinct series grew to more than 50 titles as it tracked a detective squad in a mythical city bearing a strong resemblance to New York.

The series basically invented the police procedural genre, which demonstrates the activities of an entire police squad as they investigate crimes. It is a sub-genre of mystery and crime fiction, which focus on individual detectives who concentrate on one crime.

The form has since become popular in both novels and on television, including "Hill Street Blues" and "NYPD Blue."

"Hill Street Blues," the first TV police procedural with a large ensemble cast, bore a strong resemblance to the 87th Precinct novels in form, tone and spirit. The producers of the series, however, never acknowledged that, leaving McBain feeling angry and bitter.

"I think he was the best police procedural writer around," said friend and novelist Elmore Leonard. "I think an awful lot of people must have learned from him, and if they didn't, they were nuts, because he was good. He was very good."

Born Oct. 15, 1926, in New York as Salvatore Lombino, Hunter began writing while serving in the Navy during World War II. He changed his name in 1952, believing his Italian heritage would hamper his career.

Italians, he once told a reporter, were not taken seriously by the publishing world -- a belief he professed even in the 1990s.

Hunter was a serious researcher, filling his workspace with books on whatever subject the story of the moment touched on. If a current project involved, for example, the New York City transportation system, the area around his desk would be piled high with books and reference materials on the subject.

Otto Penzler, who owns a mystery bookshop in New York City and published Hunter's novels, said Hunter learned about police work by talking with patrolmen on the east side of Manhattan.

"It's more realistic because it deals with real police work, rather than some gifted amateur," Penzler said. "He was one of the half-dozen giant figures in the mystery genre and single-handedly made the police procedural an important sub-genre."

Hunter often produced two and even three novels in a year, continuing to write right up until his death.

Friends said Hunter had fun with his books, where they enjoyed finding their names in unusual places.

A statue of a Civil War general in one of the McBain books bore the name of Richard Condon, a former New York police commissioner whom Hunter befriended at a dinner party 40 years ago.

"He had a wicked sense of humor, and he certainly could make stories exciting," said Condon, who sometimes helped Hunter with questions about police procedure. "He just enjoyed his books."

Hunter drew on his own experience as a teacher to pen 1954's "The Blackboard Jungle," a story of big-city school violence that became the 1955 film starring Glenn Ford and Sidney Poitier.

His other novels as Hunter included "Mothers and Daughters" in 1961 and "Last Summer" in 1968.

He also helped Alfred Hitchcock adapt the screenplay for the 1963 film "The Birds," and also worked on screenplays from his own novels, including the 1972 Burt Reynolds movie "Fuzz" and 1960's "Strangers When We Meet," with Kirk Douglas and Kim Novak.

He is survived by his wife, Dragica, and three sons.

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Associated Press Writer Bruce DeSilva contributed to this report.