Parker was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. On August 26, 1957, Parker married Joan H. Parker, whom he claimed to have met as a toddler at a birthday party. (They spent their childhoods in the same neighborhood.)

Parker and his wife had two sons, David and Daniel T. Originally, Spenser was to have the first name "David," but he didn't want to omit his other son. He removed the first name completely, and, to this day, Spenser's first name remains unknown.

After earning a BA degree from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Parker served in the US Army in Korea. In 1957, he earned his Master's degree in English literature from Boston University and then worked in advertising and technical writing until 1962. Parker received a PhD in English literature from Boston University in 1971. His dissertation, titled "The Violent Hero, Wilderness Heritage and Urban Reality", discussed the exploits of fictional private-eye heroes created by Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and Ross Macdonald.

Parker wrote his first novel in 1971 while at Northeastern University. He became a full professor in 1976, and turned to full-time writing in 1979 with five Spenser novels to his credit.

Parker's popular Spenser novels are known for his characters of varied races and religions. According to critic Christina Nunez, Parker's "inclusion of [characters of] other races and sexual persuasions" lends his writings a "more modern feel". For example, the Spenser series characters include Hawk and Chollo, African-American and Mexican-American, respectively, as well as his Jewish girlfiend, Susan, various Russians, Ukrainians, Chinese, a gay cop, Lee Farrell, and even a gay mob boss, Gino Fish. The open homosexuality of both his sons gives his writing "[a] sensibility," Ms. Nunez feels, "[which] strengthens Parker's sensibility [toward gays]." In 1985 Spenser was made into a successful television series, Spenser for Hire which starred Robert Urich, Avery Brooks and Barbara Stock.

Parker created female detective Sunny Randall at the request of actress Helen Hunt, who wanted him to write a part for her to play. He wrote the first book, and the film version was planned for 2000, but never materialized. However, his publisher liked the character and asked him to continue with the series.

Aside from crime writing, Parker also produced several Western novels, including Appaloosa, and children's books. In 1994 he collaborated with Japanese photographer Kasho Kumagai on a coffee table book called Spenser's Boston, exploring the city through Spenser's "eyes" via high quality, 4-color photos. In addition to Parker's introduction, excerpts from several of the Spenser novels were included.

Parker and his wife created an independent film company called Pearl Productions, based in Boston. It is named after their German short-haired pointer, Pearl.

Awards

Parker received three nominations and two Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America. He received the first award, the "Best Novel Award" in 1977, for the fourth novel in the Spenser series, Promised Land. In 1990 he shared, with wife Joan, a nomination for "Best Television Episode" for the TV series B.L. Stryker; however, the award went to David J. Burke and Alfonse Ruggiero Jr. for Wiseguy.

In 2002 he received the Grand Master Award Edgar for his collective oeuvre.

In 2008 he was awarded the Gumshoe Lifetime Achievement Award.

Bibliography

Novels

Non-fiction

• Sports Illustrated Training with Weights (with John R. Marsh) (1974) ISBN 1-568-00032-4
• Three Weeks in Spring (with Joan H. Parker) (1982) ISBN 0-395-26282-8
• A Year At The Races (with Joan H. Parker) (1990) ISBN 0-670-82678-2
• Spenser's Boston (with Kasho Kumagai) (1994) ISBN 1883402506 ISBN 978-1883402501

Short fiction

"Surrogate"' (1991)" A short story published in the crime magazine New Crimes 3 ISBN 0-8818-4737-2

Parker died suddenly of a heart attack, sitting at his desk in Cambridge, Massachusetts on January 18, 2010. He was 77.