Rodney William Whitaker
| Trevanian | |
|---|---|
| Born | Rodney William Whitaker June 12, 1931 Granville, New York, United States |
| Died | December 14, 2005 (aged 74) West Country, England |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Genre | Fiction |
Rodney William Whitaker (June 12, 1931 – Dec 14, 2005) was an American film scholar and writer who wrote several successful novels under the pen name Trevanian. Whitaker wrote in a wide variety of genres, achieved best-seller status, and published under several other names as well, including Nicholas Seare, Beñat Le Cagot and Edoard Moran. He published the non-fiction The Language of Film under his own name.
Between 1972 and 1983, five of his novels sold more than a million copies each. He was described as "the only writer of airport paperbacks to be compared to Zola, Ian Fleming, Poe and Chaucer." Whitaker adamantly avoided publicity for most of his life. His real name was a closely held secret until 1998, when a reporter for the Austin American-Statesman published it.
Born in Granville, New York, Whitaker became enthralled with stories as a boy. His family struggled with poverty. He lived for several years in Albany, New York, as a youth (a time portrayed in his last published work).
Whitaker earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Washington. While there he wrote and directed his three-act play Eve of the Bursting, which was his Master's thesis production in the UW Playhouse. The Company Manager and Assistant Director of the production was Jerry Pournelle. Whitaker went on to earn a doctorate in communications and film at Northwestern University.
He taught at Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, where he was chairman of the communications division. He served in the US Navy during the Korean War. Later he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship for study in England.
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