Frank O’Rourke, 72; Prolific Writer of Westerns, Mysteries

Frank O’Rourke, who wrote more than 60 novels after embarking on a writing career with “E Company” in 1945, has died of complications of asthma, it was learned this week.

O’Rourke, who specialized in Westerns and mysteries, was 72 when he died April 27 in Tucson.

“The Writers Directory” lists more than 60 novels and short-story collections under his name. He often completed three books in a single year. His books appeared so often that his publishers asked him to use pseudonyms, which he did. Some of them were Kevin Connor, Frank O’Malley and Patrick O’Malley.

Some of his works were made into films, including “The Bravados,” a 1958 Gregory Peck vehicle, “A Mule for the Marquesa” (called “The Professionals” when it was released with Burt Lancaster in 1966) and “The Great Bank Robbery.”

Some of his major novels were “The Bright Morning,” telling of youths growing up in the Midwest in the 1930s; “The Far Mountains,” a historical novel of the Southwest in the 19th Century, and his first, “E Company,” about his military service.

His works were sprinkled with colorful names, some of them old cowboys he had encountered in his travels. One was Doughbelly Price, featured in two of his books, “The Diamond Hitch” and “The Last Ride.” Others came from historical sources, such as Talache Coyote in “The Bride Stealer.” O’Rourke found Coyote in the Spanish Archives of New Mexico, which the writer said contained records from 1621.

Asked by compilers of the anthology series “Contemporary Authors” what advice he would offer aspiring writers, O’Rourke responded: “I learned a long time ago that people don’t want advice.”