Brian Garfield, noted author.
He was probably best known for Death Wish and the movies based on it, but he was prolific in both the mystery/suspense and western genres. (He was also a past president of both the Western Writers of America and the Mystery Writers of America.)
Mr. Garfield was rarely involved in the film adaptations of his books, deliberately extricating himself from a process he found distasteful even though it meant giving up control. (His 1975 novel “Hopscotch,” which won an Edgar Award, was an exception: He adapted it into a comedy starring Walter Matthau in 1980.)
“I’m not really patient enough to put up with that, and I learned that the credit ‘associate producer’ means you’re the only person who’s willing to associate with the producer,” he said in an interview with the website PopMatters in 2008.
I’ve heard that “Hopscotch” is a swell movie: I haven’t seen it yet, but it is on our list.