Morrell, David
Dates
- Existence: 1943-
Biography
David Morrell was born in Kitchener, Ontario, on April 24, 1943. He earned a B.A. in English from St. Jerome's College at the University of Waterloo in Ontario in 1966. The following year he received his M.A. from Pennsylvania State University. He was awarded his Ph.D. from Penn State in 1970, with a degree in American literature. Morrell taught American literature in the English department of the University of Iowa from 1970 to 1986. A full professor since 1977, David Morrell retired from teaching in 1986 to pursue a full-time career as a fiction writer. He published his first novel, First Blood, in 1972. He is best known for his fast-paced action adventures which introduced the character Rambo. Many of his novels have been adapted for film and television. In 1987, Morrell wrote Fireflies, an account of his 15-year-old son Matthew's death from cancer. In 1992, after 22 years in Iowa City, the Morrells moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he continues to write and publish.
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
David Morrell Papers
Born in Ontario 1943, awarded a PhD in American literature by Pennsylvania State University in 1970, taught at Iowa from 1970 to 1986, retired to write. Perhaps best known for Rambo, the central character of his 1972 novel First Blood, which lead to the Rambo films starring Sylvester Stallone, Morrell has written numerous novels as well as screen- and teleplays. The growing collection of his papers includes video and audio tapes as well as research notes, correspondence, and manuscripts.