“As Tough as He Was Tender”

Max Allan Collins, who has been finishing a number of Mickey Spillane’s novels since that latter author’s death in 2006, has posted a fond farewell to Biff Elliot--“the first actor to portray Mike Hammer in the movies” (in 1953’s I, the Jury, to be exact)--who passed away on August 15 at age 89. Writes Collins:

I count Biff as one of the best Hammers, and obviously a pioneering one. He left an indelible stamp on the role, though, at the time, some (even Mickey himself) expressed disappointment. Biff himself stated that his approach was to make a human being out of Spillane’s comic strip-style character, and I feel he succeeded.

You can read the entirety of Collins’ post here. Then click here to watch the trailer for I, the Jury.