Shrake, Edwin

Edwin Shrake, born Sept. 6, 1931 in Fort Worth, Texas, has written Blood reckoning (1961), But not for love (1964), Strange peaches (1972), Peter Arbiter (1973), and co-authored Limo (1976) with Dan Jenkins. He also wrote the screenplays for J.W. Coop (1972, with Gary Cartwright), Kid Blue (1973), Nightwing (1978) and Tom Horn (1980) as well as numerous short stories.

Edwin "Bud" Shrake was born on September 6, 1931, in Fort Worth, Texas. He got his start as a writer at Paschal High School, where he met and befriended future UPI reporter Dick Growald and sportswriter/novelist Dan Jenkins. Shrake then worked as a sportswriter and police beat reporter for three newspapers in Fort Worth and Dallas. Shrake met lifelong friend and sometime collaborator Gary Cartwright while working the police beat in Fort Worth. In 1964 he began writing for Sports Illustrated, a job he kept until 1978. In his lifetime Shrake published ten novels (one co-written with Dan Jenkins), most of which are set in Texas, and co-wrote five nonfiction books, including Willie Nelson's autobiography and Harvey Penick's Little Red Book. All of his nonfiction books became best-sellers. He wrote or co-wrote at least 42 screenplays, seven of which made it to the screen, and at least four play scripts, three of which have been staged, including Benchmark, in London (co-written by Michael Rudman). Shrake kept many literary friendships, especially fellow Texans, such as Billy Lee Brammer and Larry L. King. He was also a close companion to Gov. Ann Richards, from 1989 until her death in 2006. Since 1968, Shrake lived in Austin, Texas, and he died there on May 8, 2009.

Novelist, journalist, sportswriter, biographer and screenwriter; born Ft. Worth, Texas, 1931.