Clarkson, Wensley 1956–

views updated

CLARKSON, Wensley 1956–

PERSONAL: Born September 19, 1956, in London, England; son of Tony (a journalist) and Pamela (Minck) Clarkson; married Clare Maconick, October 1, 1977; children: Toby, Polly, Rosie, Fergus. Education: Attended secondary school in Weybridge, Surrey, England. Hobbies and other interests: Swimming, rugby.

ADDRESSES: Home—London, England. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Overlook Press, 149 Wooster St., New York, NY 10012.

CAREER: Wimbledon News, London, England, reporter, 1977–79; Sunday Mirror, London, reporter, 1979–81; Mail on Sunday, London, reporter, 1981–82; Sunday Mirror, reporter, 1982–87; freelance writer, 1987–. Also producer of commercials.

MEMBER: Groucho Club (London, England), Flamingo Club (Los Angeles, CA).

WRITINGS:

BIOGRAPHIES

Mel: The Inside Story, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1993.

Tom Cruise Unauthorized, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1994, Hastings House (Norwalk, CT), 1998.

Quentin Tarantino: Shooting from the Hip, Overlook Press (New York, NY), 1995.

John Travolta: Back in Character, Overlook Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Sting, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1996, revised edition published as Sting: The Secret Life of Gordon Sumner, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 1999.

Harvey Keitel: Prince of Darkness, Piatkus Books (London, England), 1997.

Mel Gibson: Living Dangerously, Thunder's Mouth Press (New York, NY), 1999.

TRUE CRIME ACCOUNTS

Hell Hath No Fury, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1990.

Like a Woman Scorned, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1991.

Love You to Death, Darling, Blake Publishing (London, England), 1991.

Doctors of Death, Barricade Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Whatever Mother Says: An Incredible True Story of Death and Destruction inside One Ordinary Family, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1994.

Deadly Seduction, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1995.

Slave Girls, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Death at Every Stop, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

Caged Heat, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1997.

In the Name of Satan, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1998.

The Railroad Killer, St. Martin's Pres (New York, NY), 1999.

The Mother's Day Murder, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2000.

The Good Doctor, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 2002.

Hit 'em Hard: Jack Spot, King of the Underworld, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.

SCRIPTS

The Thin Blue Line (documentary television special), London Weekend Television, 1989.

Dog Eat Dog (screenplay), Twentieth-Century Fox, 1991.

(With Ginny Cerello) Tainted Blood (television movie), 1993.

Wrote episodes for the British television series The Bill.

OTHER

Dog Eat Dog: Confessions of a Tabloid Journalist (autobiography), Fourth Estate (London, England), 1990.

Year in La La Land (autobiography), Blake Publishing (London, England), 1992.

True Patriot (military/espionage), Piatkus Books (London, England), 1996.

Kenny Noye, Blake Publishing (London, England), 2002.

Author of the novels Hitman and The Boss. Contributor of articles to periodicals, including Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Los Angeles Times, News of the World, New York Daily News, Sunday Express, and Sunday.

ADAPTATIONS: Two of Clarkson's books have been made into movies.

SIDELIGHTS: A former reporter for a variety of British tabloids, Wensley Clarkson exposes the secrets of this world in his 1990 volume Dog Eat Dog: Confessions of a Tabloid Journalist. Describing the lengths to which a tabloid reporter must go when chasing a story, Clarkson gives real-life examples from his own experiences. Among these stories are a quick trip to the Bahamas to interview actor Oliver Reed about his new girlfriend and a flight to Algiers in search of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's missing son. In Dog Eat Dog, according to Listener contributor John Kemp, "Clarkson rips the lid off the twilight world of the tabloids, exposing the sick secrets of their twisted trade. And it makes FASCINATING reading!"

Clarkson also offers interesting reading in his biography of a contemporary, American filmmaker—Quentin Tarantino: Shooting from the Hip. Filled with detail, Clarkson's biography covers both Tarantino's personal life and childhood, as well as various aspects of his body of work. "Some of the detail is revealing," observed Todd Gitlin in the New York Times Book Review, adding that "collectors of camp moments will not be disappointed."

Clarkson once told CA: "Ultimately, I want my nonfiction efforts to be good stories with emotional highs and lows so that in many ways they are more like novels than real life.

"I would describe myself as a 'professional writer' who chooses subjects that I believe will be of interest to the public. My writing process is simple: 'Two thousand words a day. Not a word less. Not a word more.'"