---
name: "Donald E. Westlake"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/donald-e-westlake"
fi1m_id: "donald-e-westlake"
imdb_id: "nm0922799"
tmdb_id: 21672
wikidata_id: "Q538508"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "12 July 1933"
died: "31 December 2008"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 4
average_fi1m_score: 80
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 4
updated: "2026-09-26T16:20:51.228305+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Donald E. Westlake

## Identity

Donald E. Westlake

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/donald-e-westlake
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** donald-e-westlake
- **IMDb ID:** nm0922799
- **TMDB ID:** 21672
- **Wikidata ID:** Q538508
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q538508, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922799/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21672

Writer. Born 12 July 1933 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. Died 31 December 2008.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 12 July 1933, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
- **Died:** 31 December 2008
- **Active:** 1967–2025
- **Also known as:** Donald Edwin Westlake, Richard Stark, Donald Westlake, Дональд Едвін Вестлейк, دونالد ويستلاك
- **Academy Awards:** 1 Oscar nomination
- **Average Fi1m score:** 80, as writer, over 4 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1960s 84 (1), 1990s 78 (2), 2020s 78 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 82 to 78 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 2 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Crime 4, Drama 3, Thriller 2, Comedy 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 6 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $57m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_E._Westlake, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q538508, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0922799/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/21672

## Biography

Donald E. Westlake was an American writer of crime fiction. He published more than a hundred novels and non-fiction books, specialising in comic capers with occasional work in other genres.

Westlake wrote the screenplay for the 1990 film *The Grifters*, adapted from a novel by Jim Thompson. His novel *The Ax* (1997) provided the source material for the 2025 film *No Other Choice*. Other works have been adapted into films including *Point Blank* (1967) and *Payback* (1999).

He received three Edgar Awards and was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1993.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, hachettebookgroup.com.*

## On Fi1m (4)

- *No Other Choice* (2025), Fi1m 78, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/no-other-choice.md)
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), Fi1m 72, Teleplay — [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *The Grifters* (1990), Fi1m 84, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)
- *Point Blank* (1967), Fi1m 84, Novel — [page](https://film.one/film/point-blank.md)

## Complete filmography (38)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Play Dirty* (2025), Characters
- *No Other Choice* (2025), Novel — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/no-other-choice.md)
- *The Actor* (2025), Novel
- *Parker* (2013), Novel
- *The Stepfather* (2009), Story, Original Film Writer
- *Ripley Under Ground* (2007), Screenplay
- *The Ax* (2005), Novel
- *Ordo* (2004), Novel
- *What's the Worst That Could Happen?* (2001), Novel
- *A Slight Case of Murder* (1999), Novel
- *Payback* (1999), Novel
- *The Gods Must Be Daring* (1997), Novel
- *Two Much* (1995), Novel
- *Fallen Angels* (1993), series, Teleplay — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md)
- *Stepfather 3* (1992), Characters
- *The Grifters* (1990), Screenplay — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/the-grifters.md)
- *Why Me?* (1990), Novel
- *Stepfather 2* (1989), Characters
- *Fatal Confession: A Father Dowling Mystery* (1987), Writer
- *The Stepfather* (1987), Story, Screenplay
- *The Twin* (1984), Novel
- *Slayground* (1984), Novel
- *Jimmy the Kid* (1982), Novel
- *Hot Stuff* (1979), Writer
- *Supertrain* (1979), series, Writer, Creator
- *Express to Terror* (1979), Creator, Story
- *Come ti rapisco il pupo* (1976), Novel
- *The Bank Shot* (1974), Novel
- *The Outfit* (1973), Novel
- *Cops and Robbers* (1973), Writer
- *The Hot Rock* (1972), Novel
- *The Split* (1968), Novel
- *Pillaged* (1967), Novel
- *Point Blank* (1967), Novel — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/point-blank.md)
- *The Busy Body* (1967), Novel
- *Made in U.S.A* (1967), Novel
- *Le commissaire mène l’enquête* (1965), Writer
- *The Getaway Face* (1963), Novel

## Gallery

- ![Donald E. Westlake](https://film.one/media/person/7277/gallery-2fe4d215481e.jpg) Donald E. Westlake — Jean-Marie David, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Donald_Westlake.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![titled: Donald Westlake, author at home in New York City](https://film.one/media/person/7277/gallery-04cfcaf0b5af.jpg) titled: Donald Westlake, author at home in New York City — Bernard Gotfryd, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Donald_Westlake_LOC.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1991: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *The Grifters*

### Other awards — 3 won

- Gumshoe Awards 2008: Gumshoe Awards (won)
- Shamus Award 2004: Shamus Award (won)
- Edgar Awards 1993: Edgar Awards (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/donald-e-westlake