Gary DeVore
Gary DeVore | |
---|---|
Born | Gary Martin DeVore September 17, 1941 |
Died | June 28, 1997 Palmdale, California, U.S. | (aged 55)
Occupation | Screenwriter |
Spouse(s) | Sandie Newton
(m. 1981; div. 1985)Wendy DeVore
(m. 1996; |
Gary DeVore (ne Gary Martin DeVore; September 17, 1941 – June 28, 1997) was a Hollywood screenwriter best known for witty action films and for his own bizarre death in 1997.
Early career[]
DeVore began his writing career in the late 1960s on shows like Chuck Barris' The Newlywed Game, The Steve Allen Show, and Tempo.[1]
Personal life, death, and aftermath[]
DeVore married the singer Maria Cole (1969–1978)[1] and the actresses Sandie Newton (1981–1985),[1] Claudia Christian (1988–1992), and Wendy DeVore (1996–1997).
DeVore disappeared in June 1997, while driving at night from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Santa Barbara, California, prompting an extensive search and media speculation.[2] DeVore was working in his office in Santa Fe, New Mexico trying to finish a script. DeVore had recently complained of writer's block, and so had decided to change his environment. When he finally finished the script, DeVore decided to drive home through the Mojave Desert. His wife Wendy DeVore was waiting for him at their beachfront house in Carpinteria, California.[3][circular reference][4] When she didn't hear from him she decided to call around 1 am, a call which it was later discovered to have not been recorded by the telephone company.[5] He answered, but was not very specific on his location. This was the last time Wendy spoke with him.
A year later, he and his car were discovered submerged below a bridge over the Aqueduct in Palmdale, California.[2] Once the police had retrieved the vehicle from the water, it was found that his laptop containing the script (titled The Big Steal), his hands, and his gun were missing. This was considered very suspicious as the aqueduct was searched when the disappearance was reported, and it had showed no signs of impact at the time.[5] Police concluded that for DeVore to crash his vehicle in this location meant that he would have had to have driven 3 mi (4.8 km) against traffic without being seen. This would have been doubly difficult because the vehicle's lights were not switched on.[5] Gary DeVore's murder has not been solved to date.
Screenwriter credits[]
- The Dogs of War (1980)
- Back Roads (1981)
- Heart of Steel (TV) (1983)
- Running Scared (with Jimmy Huston) (1986)[1]
- Raw Deal (1986)[1]
- Traxx (1988, also producer)
- CBS Summer Playhouse: "The Heat" (1988)
- Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
- Passenger 57 (uncredited) (1992)
- Pentathlon (1994)
See also[]
- List of solved missing persons cases
- List of unsolved deaths
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e FRIENDLY, DAVID T. (17 July 1986). "Production Chief Buys--and Sells--scripts" – via LA Times.
- ^ Jump up to: a b SATZMAN, DARRELL; GLOVER, SCOTT (1998-07-09). "Missing Writer's Body Believed Found". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-05-10.
- ^ "Carpinteria, California".
- ^ Welkos, Robert (29 June 1998). "Without A Trace". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Gane, Thomas. "The Mystery of the Dead Hollywood Screenwriter Whose Hands Were Never Found". Vice.com.
External links[]
- Gary DeVore at IMDb
- 1941 births
- 1990s missing person cases
- 1997 deaths
- 20th-century American male writers
- 20th-century American screenwriters
- American male screenwriters
- Deaths by drowning
- Formerly missing people
- Missing person cases in New Mexico
- People from Palmdale, California
- Screenwriters from California
- Unsolved deaths