For the founder of Bunkerville, Nevada, see Edward Bunker (Mormon).
Edward Bunker (Los Angeles, December 31, 1933 - July 19, 2005 in Burbank, California) was an American author of crime fiction, a screenwriter, and an actor. He wrote numerous books, some of which have been adapted into films.
Bunker was a bright but troublesome child, who spent much of his childhood in different foster homes and institutions. He started on a criminal career at a very early age, and continued on this path throughout the years, returning to prison again and again. He was convicted of bank robbery, drug dealing, extortion, armed robbery, and forgery. A repeating pattern of convictions, paroles, releases and escapes, further crimes and new convictions continued until he was released yet again from prison in 1975, at which point he finally left his criminal days permanently behind and became a writer. Bunker stayed out of jail thereafter, and instead focused on his career as a writer and actor.
Edward Bunker (born August 1, 1822, died November 17, 1901) was a Mormon pioneer and city founder of Bunkerville, Nevada.
"Straight Time" won 1st Prize in the San Mateo Video Festival in 1979. Youngest person (at the time) to ever go to San Quentin. At one time, he was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.
Was once convicted of a bank robbery.
Has been convicted of numerous crimes since early childhood, including smashing a neighbor's backyard incinerator with a claw hammer at 3, setting fire to a neighbor's garage at 4 and jamming a fork in a boy's eyeball at 15. By 17, Bunker had established himself as the Doogie Howser of the California penal system, parlaying a series of robberies, assaults and the stabbing of a prison guard into a stint in San Quentin (he was the youngest inmate there at the time).
Was a close friend of late Mexican Mafia leader, Joe "Pegleg" Morgan.
He met Danny Trejo in California's Folsomo Prison in the late '70s. The two became close friends and have since worked in several films together: Runaway Train (1985), Heat (1995), Animal Factory (2000).
He is a close friend of Michael Mann (I) since the two worked on the screenplay adaptation of his first novel, "No Beast So Fierce". Bunker worked on Heat (1995)--as prison technical advisor--with Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Kevin Gage and Dennis Haysbert. He taught them how to think, react and walk like ex-prison convicts. Recently, he announced that he and Mann are working closely on a TV series about gang life in prison.
He is a friend of famous crime novelist James Ellroy. Ellroy praised "No Beast So Fierce" as "the most gritty and realistic novel about the West Coast criminality". Recently he signed for the screenplay adaptation of Ellroy's "Suicide Hill", the third part of the Lloyd Hopkins trilogy, for the French company Davisfilm.
As a child he used to swim at the Hearst Castle (while William Randolph Hearst was still alive).
His first film was Straight Time (1978) and his last film was Longest Yard, The (2005), both of which take place inside a prison.
Was the basis for Jon Voight's character (Nate) in Heat (1995).
