1986
Citation:
Author of 25 published novels, a dozen screenplays, and two television pilots, you have become a master of your craft and a shining example of what it is to make a dream come true. A graduate of the University of Detroit in 1950, you joined Campbell-Ewald Company as an advertising copywriter while pursuing your passion for fiction early each morning before work. Eleven years later, you traded the security of a job for more time to write. Now, after more than thirty years, the risk has yielded many rewards. Last year, you were featured on the cover of Newsweek magazine. Five of your scripts have come to life including “The Rosary Murders,” the first major movie to be completely filmed in Detroit. Deemed by many as the best crime fiction writer today, your recognition is well earned: a tribute to talent and tenacity.
Award was presented at the President’s Cabinet Nineteenth Annual Awards Dinner, May 3, 1986.