Dallas Escorts: Dead at 64, John Carlen "Was Born in a Dallas Whorehouse" His Great …
John Carlen does not rank among Hollywood’s best-known screenwriters; though he’d been working in the business since 1978, when he served as a technical adviser on Ulu Grosbard’s Straight Time, his most famous script was for Nic Cage’s critically savaged directoral debut Sonny starring James Franco. Which is why, perhaps, it has taken several days for news of Carlen’s death last week, at the age of 64 following a stroke, to reach us.
A Friend of Unfair Park sends his Variety obit, which contains intriguing details about the Dallas-born screenwriter’s early life: “According to an obituary submitted by his friend Tracy Quinn, Carlen was born in a Dallas whorehouse, out of which his great-grandmother ran a criminal empire. He spent time as a male prostitute and a bank robber, then served time in prison.” Carlen filled in the details in this wide-ranging interview: