Thomas Harris | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Thomas Harris III (1940-09-22)September 22, 1940 (age 85) Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
| Period | 1975–present |
| Genre | Crime, horror, suspense |
| Notable works | Black Sunday Red Dragon The Silence of the Lambs Hannibal Hannibal Rising Cari Mora |
| Spouse | |
| Partner | Pace Barnes |
| Children | 1 |
William Thomas Harris III (born September 22, 1940)[1] is an American writer. He is the author of a series of suspense novels aboutHannibal Lecter. The majority of his works have been adapted into films and television, includingThe Silence of the Lambs, which became only the third film inAcademy Awards history to sweep the Oscars in all of the five major categories.[2]
His novels have sold more than 50 million copies, withThe Silence of the Lambs alone selling 10 million copies as of 2019.
Harris was born inJackson, Tennessee,[3] but moved as a child with his family toRich, Mississippi. He was introverted and bookish in grade school and then blossomed in high school.[4] He attendedBaylor University inWaco, Texas, where he majored inEnglish and graduated in 1964. While in college, he worked as a reporter for the local newspaper, theWaco Tribune-Herald, covering the police beat. In 1968, he moved to New York City to work for theAssociated Press until 1974 when he began work on his debut novel,Black Sunday.[2]
Harris avoids publicity and conducted few interviews between 1976 and 2019.[5][6][7] At Baylor University, he met fellow student Harriet Anne Haley and they married in June 1961. They had one daughter, Elizabeth Anne, before they divorced in August 1968.[8] Harris remained close to his mother Polly and called her every night no matter where he was. He often discussed particular scenes from his novels with her.[9] Polly died on December 31, 2011.[10]
As of 1991, Harris lived inSouth Florida and had a summer home inSag Harbor, New York.[7] His long-term domestic partner as of 1999 was Pace Barnes, a woman who, according toUSA Today, "used to work in publishing and is as outgoing as he is quiet".[11] Harris' friend and literary agentMorton Janklow said of him: "He's one of the good guys. He is big, bearded and wonderfully jovial. If you met him, you would think he was a choirmaster. He loves cooking—he's done theLe Cordon Bleu exams—and it's great fun to sit with him in the kitchen while he prepares a meal and see that he's as happy as a clam. He has these old-fashioned manners, a courtliness you associate with the South."[9]
In his first major interview in 43 years, withThe New York Times in 2019 to promoteCari Mora, he revealed himself to be a nature lover, and a long-time visitor and volunteer of the Pelican Harbor Seabird Station, an animal rescue center in Miami, Florida, for 20 years. The staff were not aware of Harris's fame as an author until a few years before the 2019 interview.[12] He described fame as "more of a nuisance than anything else".[12]
The Silence of the Lambs came out to a very positive critical reception.The Guardian described it thus: "The Silence of the Lambs stands alone in being, I personally believe, the only FBI-centred novel worth reading." Its long-awaited follow-up,Hannibal, received high praise fromStephen King, butJohn Lanchester claimed that it had a "sense of discontinuity".[13]
NovelistJohn Dunning said of Harris, "All he is is a talent of the first rank."[14] In 2019, Harris elaborated on his process, described as "almost passive", by saying thus: "[S]ometimes you really have to shove and grunt and sweat. Some days you go to your office and you're the only one who shows up, none of the characters show up, and you sit there by yourself, feeling like an idiot. And some days everybody shows up ready to work. You have to show up at your office every day. If an idea comes by, you want to be there to get it in."[12]
In 2007 he was presented with aBram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.[15]
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