32 Facts About Edward Bunker

Edward Heward Bunker was an American author of crime fiction, screenwriter, actor, and a convicted felon.

Edward Bunker wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films.

Edward Bunker played a minor role in Reservoir Dogs.

Edward Bunker was convicted of bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery.

Edward Bunker was released from prison for the last time in 1975, after which he focused on his career as a writer and actor.

The character Nate, a career criminal who fences stolen goods in the 1995 heist movie Heat, played by Jon Voight, was based on Edward Bunker, who was consultant to director Michael Mann.

Edward Bunker was born on December 31,1933 into a troubled family in Los Angeles.

Edward Bunker's mother, Sarah, was a chorus girl from Vancouver, and his father, Edward N Bunker, a stage hand.

Consistently rebellious and defiant, young Edward Bunker was subjected to a harsh regime of discipline.

Edward Bunker attended a military school for a few months, where he began stealing, and eventually ran away again, ending up in a hobo camp.

Edward Bunker spent time in the juvenile detention facility Preston Castle in Ione, California, where he became acquainted with hardened young criminals.

At the age of fourteen, following his first criminal conviction, Edward Bunker was paroled to the care of his aunt.

In Los Angeles County Jail, he claimed that he stabbed convicted murderer Billy Cook, although circumstantial evidence from the National Archives shows that Edward Bunker and Cook did not have overlapping stays there.

Some thought he was unhinged, but in Edward Bunker's book Mr Blue: Memoirs of a Renegade he stated this behavior was a ruse designed to make people leave him alone.

In 1950, while at the McKinley Home for Boys, Edward Bunker met one of the home's prominent benefactors, Louise Fazenda, a star of the silent screen and wife of the producer Hal B Wallis, who gave him support and encouragement.

Edward Bunker subscribed to Writer's Digest and enrolled in a correspondence course in freshman English from the University of California, selling blood to pay for the postage.

However, the following year the 17-year-old Edward Bunker had the dubious honor of being the youngest-ever inmate in San Quentin State Prison.

Edward Bunker held down various jobs for a while, including that of a used car salesman, but eventually returned to crime.

Edward Bunker orchestrated robberies, forged checks, and engaged in other criminal activities.

Edward Bunker ended up back in jail for 90 days on a misdemeanor charge.

Edward Bunker was sent to a low-security state work farm but escaped almost immediately.

Edward Bunker was paroled in 1975, having spent 18 years of his life in various institutions.

Edward Bunker felt that his criminal career had been forced by circumstances; now that those circumstances had changed, he could stop being a criminal.

Edward Bunker published his second novel, Animal Factory to favorable reviews in 1977.

In 1985, he had written the screenplay for Runaway Train, in which he had a small part, as did Danny Trejo thanks to Edward Bunker's help; the two had known each other when they were incarcerated together years before.

Edward Bunker was the inspiration for Nate, Jon Voight's character in Michael Mann's 1995 crime film Heat; Edward Bunker worked as an adviser on the film.

Edward Bunker wrote and directed a Molson Canadian Cold Shot commercial.

Edward Bunker said that much of his writing was based on actual events and people he has known.

In 1977, Edward Bunker married a young real estate agent, Jennifer Steele.

Edward Bunker was close friends with Mexican Mafia leader Joe "Pegleg" Morgan, and San Francisco State University professor John Irwin, as well as actor Danny Trejo, who is the godfather of his son.

Edward Bunker first met all three men while serving time in Folsom State Prison.

The news of Edward Bunker's death was broken by his lifelong friend, screenwriter Robert Dellinger.