Brian Garfield Death Wish Author Dies at 79

Brian Garfield, the author of “Death Wish” which was turned into a movie franchise starring Charles Bronson, died at his California home at the age of 79.

His agent, Judy Coppage, verified the death and stated he died from Parkinson’s Disease.

Garfield wrote more than a dozen books in different genres ranging from war stories to thrillers. He sold more than 20 million books worldwide prior to his death.

Many of Garfield’s books were made into movies or made for tv movies. “Hopscotch,’ which was released in 1989, stared Walter Matthew.

A theme that ran through many of his works was that of the little guy standing up against the establishment.

Garfield was best known for “Death Wish.” This was a story about a New Yorker. After his family was attacked he took the law into his own hands.

Garfield stated, in an interview, that he wrote the story after somebody broke his car window and stole his wife’s purse. He intimated that after the robbery took place, he had a continuous fantasy that if he saw the individual that burglarize his vehicle he would have destroyed him.

In 1972, “Death Wish” was published.  Garfield stated he wrote it as a searing commentary regarding the mentality of a vigilante. The character goes insane and  seeks vengeance.

Garfield told the Associated Press that the character in his book was crazy, and he should have been depicted as such.  He was upset that the movie, which starred Bronson, had the character appear as a “cowboy hero.”  The studio changed the character because they thought it would be more commercial and easier to sell.  The character was nothing like Garfield envisioned him to be.

The studio also wanted to cash in on the vigilante craze made popular by Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” movies.

Garfield’s 1975 “Death Sentence” was the sequel to “Death Wish.” It was made into a movie featuring Kevin Bacon and received horrible reviews. “Death Wish,” starring Bruce Willis, was released in 2018. It too received abysmal reviews from the critics.

Garfield is survived by his wife Bina.

Written by Barbara Sobel

Sources:

The Hollywood Reporter: Brian Garfield, Author of ‘Death Wish,’ Dies at 79
Washington Post: Brian Garfield, ‘Death Wish’ author, dies at 79
Arizona Daily Star: “Death Wish” author, UA grad Brian Garfield dies

Featured and Top Image Courtesy Of Nick Stanbridge – Creative Commons License