Next Stop, 80!

Today is the 70th birthday of legendary (and awfully damn prolific) crime fictionist Lawrence Block. It seems the Buffalo, New York-born Block has written so many books (including early ones of a pornographic bent and others penned pseudonymously), that even he can’t remember all of them. He’s best recognized, however, for his series, of which at least three remain active--those involving private eye Matthew Scudder (When the Sacred Ginmill Closes, All the Flowers Are Dying), gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr (The Burglar on the Prowl), and the hit man named Keller (who stars in Block’s Hit and Run, which is being released today).

So, how is Block intending to celebrate his big 7-0? It seems he will be in Los Angeles tonight as a guest on his friend Craig Ferguson’s Late Late Show on CBS.