What Is James Ellroy's Net Worth?
James Ellroy is an American crime fiction writer and essayist who has a net worth of $10 million. James Ellroy authored novels like "The Black Dahlia" and "L.A. Confidential." In his early writing career, he wrote in the noir fiction genre before becoming known for writing postmodern historiographic metafiction and infusing real-life events into his novels. Several of his books have been adapted into films like "The Black Dahlia," "L.A. Confidential," and "Killer on the Road."
Early Life
James Ellroy was born on March 4, 1948, in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Geneva Odelia and Armand Ellroy. His mother worked as a nurse, while his father worked as a business manager. In 1954, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother to El Monte, California. When he was seven years old, Ellroy saw his mother naked and developed a sexual fantasy centered around her. Throughout his youth, he struggled with this obsession and developed a psycho-sexual relationship with her and tried to see her nude. This obsession was ended in 1958 after his mother was raped and murdered. Her murder was never solved.
Upon learning of his mother's death, Ellroy stated that he felt relief as he was able to move to live with his father. However, James was unable to come to terms with the emotions surrounding his mother's murder. This ultimately led him to transfer these emotions onto another murder victim – Elizabeth Short. He developed an obsession with Short's murder, which had occurred in 1947. He went through an intense period of clinical depression in his youth during this time.
Ellroy attended Fairfax High School, a predominantly Jewish high school. While a student there, he engaged in a number of outrageous acts that were anti-Semitic in nature. He joined the American Nazi Party, mailed Nazi pamphlets to girls he liked, and purchased Nazi paraphernalia. James was eventually expelled from Fairfax High School in 11th grade after ranting about Nazism in his English class. His father died soon after this. After being expelled, James decided to join the U.S. Army. However, he was discharged after three months after he convinced an army psychiatrist he was unfit for combat.
Career
In 1981, Ellroy published his first novel, "Brown's Requiem." The book drew upon his experience working as a golf caddie. He then published the books "Clandestine" and "Killer on the Road." He followed these books up with three more novels that came to be known as the "Lloyd Hopkins Trilogy": "Blood on the Moon" (1984), "Because the Night" (1984), and "Suicide Hill" (1986). These early books helped Ellroy earn a cult following among crime fiction buffs.
Ellroy went on to achieve even greater success and critical acclaim when he published the L.A. Quartet, the name by which his four most popular novels are collectively referred. He first published "The Black Dahlia" in 1987, based on the murder of Elizabeth Short. In 1988, James published "The Big Nowhere," followed by "L.A. Confidential" in 1990. In 1992, he published "White Jazz." These four novels represented a change in Ellroy's writing style, shifting away from modernist noir fiction into postmodern historiographic metafiction.
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In 1995, Ellroy published "American Tabloid," the first novel in a series that came to be called the "Underworld USA Trilogy." The book was named "TIME" magazine's book of the year in 1995. Its follow-up, "The Cold Six Thousand," became a bestseller. The final novel in the trilogy was "Blood's a Rover," which wasn't released until 2009.
In 1996, Ellroy released a memoir called "My Dark Places." The book tells the story of his mother's murder and his unconventional relationship with her. It also prompted a reopening of the investigation of his mother's death, though the case remains unsolved.
In 2014, Ellroy published "Perfidia," the first book in what Ellroy calls his "Second L.A. Quartet." The second book, "This Storm," was released in 2019. However, after releasing "The Enchanters," the third book in the series, James announced he would instead be writing a quintet with the intention of publishing two more books.
Personal Life
Ellroy was married to Mary Doherty from 1988 to 1991. In 1991, he married writer and critic Helen Knode in California. In 1995, they moved to Kansas City. They divorced in 2006. However, the two later reconciled and moved to Denver, Colorado. They lived in the same apartment building but in separate apartments. James also had an affair with writer Erika Schickel, who was married at the time. Schickel wrote about the affair in her memoir, "The Big Hurt," though she refers to Ellroy by the name Sam Spade in the book.
James struggled with various alcohol and substance abuse problems throughout his life. He drank heavily and abused Benzedrex inhalers during his 20s. He also engaged in a number of petty crimes during that period of time. After serving some time in jail in his early life and suffering from health issues, Ellroy decided to stop drinking. He joined Alcoholics Anonymous in the 1970s and began working as a golf caddie in order to pursue his career in writing.
Politically, Ellroy has frequently espoused conservative political views and has been supportive of various conservative politicians.
