Novelist and screenwriter Donald E. Westlake died Friday of a heart attack at age 75. Westlake who began publishing in 1960, wrote more than 100 books under his name and several pseudonyms. He won three Edgar awards from the Mystery Writers of America, and his screenplay of Jim Thompson’s novel The Grifters earned him an Academy Award nomination. Fifteen of his novels were adapted to film, including 1972’s The Hot Rock, with Robert Redford, and 1999’s Payback, with Mel Gibson.

Like many pulp authors, Westlake wrote a few erotica novels, these under the pen name Alan Marshall. Curiously, a visit to Westlake’s official website finds no mention of Marshall, which we count as an official disavowal. Nevertheless, you see an Alan Marshall cover below. Westlake said he published under so many names because it would have been unbelievable that one person wrote so much. His feverish output will continue even after death—his latest novel Get Real is due to be published in April.

Based on a novel by revered crime writer Jim Thompson, The Grifters treated filmgoers to a heavy dose of amorality and incestuous sexual tension. We’re talking dark, folks. It was directed by Stephen Frears and starred John Cusack, Annette Bening, and the always-brilliant Anjelica Huston as an extremely dangerous milf. Bening had appeared already in Valmont and Postcards from the Edge, but her role here as the slinky predator Myra Langtry made her a star. Highest marks all around. And who can forget that hotel scene? See below. The Grifters premiered today in 1990.