PASSINGS / Elmer Kelton
Western novelist Elmer Kelton, whose book “The Good Old Boys” was made into a TV movie starring Tommy Lee Jones, has died of natural causes in San Angelo, Texas. He was 83.
Kelton wrote 62 fiction and nonfiction books. “The Good Old Boys” was made into a 1995 movie for the TNT cable network. Kelton also was known for “The Man Who Rode Midnight” and “The Time It Never Rained.”
His first novel, “Hot Iron,” was published in 1956, and he recently finished his last book, “Texas Standoff,” due out next year. Another novel, “Other Men’s Horses,” will be released this fall.
Born in Crane, Texas, Kelton grew up on the McElroy Ranch in west Texas. He served in the U.S. Army from 1944 to 1946 and saw combat in Europe during World War II.
He earned a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and spent 15 years as the farm and ranch writer-editor for the San Angelo Standard-Times. He also worked as an editor for Sheep and Goat Raiser magazine and Livestock Weekly, from which he retired in 1990.
--
Sign up for our Book Club newsletter
Get the latest news, events and more from the Los Angeles Times Book Club, and help us get L.A. reading and talking.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
