Then there's the "fictionalization" of real characters that
he likes to
do -- Dick Contino is an obvious example of this process ...
certainly
none of the events in the novella actually occurred. And he
likes to
litter the stories with real characters, though not
necessarily based in
fact ...ie; Dot Rothstein, the bulldyke screw at the
Tehachapi, (or
whereever she is,) and Howard Hughes.
Lastly, Ellroy is in love with specific names. "Buzz Meeks"
is a good
example. The Meeks in the Dahlia is definitely NOT the same
Meeks in The
Big Nowhere, (or whatever that book is.) He just likes the
sound of the
name. Some names are references to friends of his -- one of
his friends
is Joe Stinson, a writer, so "Stinson" almost always shows
up. Some are
references to his past ... I believe "Whitey Haines" from
Blood On The
Moon was a guy he knew as a kid, who vowed to become a
gynecologist --
and apparently, he did.
Dave
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