caption death_date death_place birth_place image_size nationality birth_date language image article_title name occupation
collin wilcox in san francisco in 1991 12 july 1996 san francisco , california detroit , michigan 200px american 21 september 1924 english colin wilcox.jpg collin wilcox -lrb- writer -rrb-
 collin wilcox writer
collin wilcox -lrb- writer -rrb-

collin wilcox -lrb- september 21 , 1924 -- july 12 , 1996 -rrb- was an american mystery writer who published 30 books in 30 years .
born in detroit , michigan , his first book was `` the black door '' -lrb- 1967 -rrb- , featuring a sleuth possessing extrasensory perception .
his major series of novels was about lieutenant frank hastings of the san francisco police department .
titles in the hastings series included `` hire a hangman '' , `` dead aim '' , `` hiding place '' , `` long way down '' and `` stalking horse '' .
two of his last books , `` full circle '' and `` find her a grave '' , featured a new hero-sleuth , alan bernhardt , an eccentric theater director .
wilcox also published under the pseudonym `` carter wick '' .
wilcox 's most famous series-detective was the television character sam mccloud , a new mexico deputy solving new york crime .
the `` urban cowboy '' was played by dennis weaver in the 1970-1977 tv series mccloud .
wilcox wrote three novelizations based on scripts from the series : `` mccloud '' -lrb- 1972 -rrb- , `` the new mexican connection '' -lrb- 1974 -rrb- , and `` the park avenue executioner '' -lrb- 1975 -rrb- .
wilcox died in san francisco from cancer at the age of 71 .
wilcox was survived by two sons , christopher of berkeley , calif. , and jeff of lafayette , calif. , and five grandchildren .
his five grandchildren are scotty , conor , hayley , jessica , and emma .
