Hasburgh, Patrick

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HASBURGH, Patrick

PERSONAL: Male.

ADDRESSES: Home—Aspen, CO. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Thomas Dunne Books, 175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010.

CAREER: Television writer, editor, and producer. Executive producer of television series The Net, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Aspen Pulp (novel), Thomas Dunne Books (New York, NY), 2004.

SCREENPLAYS

(With Jonathan Lemkin) Exile (television movie), 1990.

Our Shining Moment (television movie), 1991.

N.Y.P.D. Mounted (television movie), 1991.

(And director) Aspen Extreme, 1993.

Talladega, 2002.

TELEVISION SERIES; WITH OTHERS

The Greatest American Hero, 1981.

(And story editor) Quest, 1982.

(And producer) The A-Team, 1983–87.

(And creator and executive producer) Hardcastle and McCormick, 1983.

(And creator, with Stephen J. Cannell, and executive producer for seasons 1 and 2) 21 Jump Street, Fox, 1987–91.

(And producer and executive producer) SeaQuest DSV, 1993–96.

(And producer) L.A. Firefighters, Fox, 1996.

SIDELIGHTS: Patrick Hasburgh has had a long career as a writer and producer in Hollywood, mostly working in television. His most popular work may have been on the hit television series 21 Jump Street, which featured Johnny Depp and other young stars as hip police officers who go undercover as students to investigate crimes in high schools. Hasburgh drew on these Hollywood experiences in creating Jake Wheeler, the protagonist of his first novel, Aspen Pulp. Wheeler used to be a rich television writer, but now he is a broke, washed-up, has-been, and a recovering alcoholic. Unable to find work in show business, Wheeler agrees to act as a private detective for an acquaintance whose stepdaughter has gone missing in Aspen. Wheeler spent years writing scripts for cop shows, so he is sure he can handle conducting a real-life missing-person search. The book is written with humor, and "zingers are planted like slalom poles on every page," noted a Publishers Weekly reviewer. Wheeler fumbles constantly, falling for people's lies and almost getting himself killed. His only true helper is a giant dog named Winston, and his work is fueled by the Diet Coke with added sugar that he has adopted as an alcohol replacement. "A self-deprecating hero and wall-to-wall humor: a promising series debut," concluded a Kirkus Reviews critic.