John William Steakley, Jr. (July 26, 1951 – November 27, 2010)[1] was an American science fiction author.[2] He published two major novels, Armor (1984)[3] and Vampire$ (1990); the latter was the basis for John Carpenter's Vampires movie.[4] He published four short science fiction and fantasy stories.[5]
In 1988, Steakley married photographer Lori Jones; they held their wedding reception in the showroom of a local Subaru dealership.[8] He was an avid golfer and in the mid-1990s carried a single-digit handicap.[9] He died after a five-year battle with liver disease.
Steakley's sister told the press that he went to Hollywood at the invitation of screenwriter L.M. "Kit" Carson. He sold a film treatment, and played a bit part ("Local 1") in at least one film, Don't Open the Door!, but "he stayed out there a few years and just hated it."[2] Following through on his childhood fantasy of becoming a science fiction writer, Steakley returned to Texas, and wrote.[2] He published his first professional short story, "The Bluenose Limit", in the March 1981 issue of Amazing Stories; and another, "Flyer", in the September 1982 issue.[10] He published two major novels, Armor (1984)[3] and Vampire$ (1990). According to his website, he worked on the incomplete Armor II for years.
Steakley wrote the screenplay for the 1997 film, Scary Texas Movie; he also played a nameless bit part in that film. Steakley also played a nameless bit part in the 2000 film Playing Dead.
^Johnson, Malcolm (October 30, 1998). "'Carpenter's Vampires': Great Fangs, But No Teeth". Hartford Courant. p. F5. Retrieved November 27, 2010. Carpenter and his screenwriter, Don Jacoby, set out a bloodless story line drawn from the John Steakley novel "Vampire$" about the pursuit of a master vampire
