In The News

Former Aussie criminal Chopper Read passes away

Former Aussie criminal Chopper Read passes away

THE death has taken place in Australia of former notorious criminal Mark “Chopper” Read who became a bestselling crime writer. He was 58.

Mr. Read was reputed to have been a hitman for the Melbourne underworld and once claimed he had killed 19 people, but he was never convicted of murder. He shot and killed a man in 1987 but was acquitted on the grounds of self-defence.

However, he did spend 23 years in jail for kidnapping and malicious wounding.

After being released from jail, Mr. Read turned his back on crime and became a writer and painter. He penned several bestselling crime novels.

He became a household name in Australia when a film based on his life was released in 2000 (see below). Chopper, which starred Eric Bana, became a cult hit.

Mr. Read’s fearsome reputation did not deter some comedians from producing the odd parody of the former criminal who once recorded an interview to introduce “the real Chopper Read” (see below).

Andrew Rule, a journalist with the Herald Sun, co-wrote Mr. Read’s biography. He said: “Read’s main feature was not that he was necessarily bigger or stronger or tougher or a better fighter than all the other, because others would transcend him in all those things, but he was fearless of consequences.”

Mr. Read passed away at the Royal Melbourne Hospital where he had been receiving treatment for liver cancer.

To see the trailer for the film Chopper, click here.

To view an excerpt from The Real Chopper Read interview, click here.

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