Acknowledgments

This book has been distilled from over 500 hours of interviews and a first-draft manuscript of over 2,300 pages. That amorphous mass of research would never have been sculpted into a readable book without the assistance of several people. First I must thank Jesse Graham, who talked me into writing it in the first place and spent many late-night hours on the phone offering emotional support and feedback. Jesse pushed me constantly to probe deeper, to leave no stone unturned, and made crucial contributions to the final round of editing. Howard Libes is the one living human to have read every page of the original manuscript. He helped me throughout the editing process, by suggesting ways not only to cut and tighten but to improve the structure, character development, and prose. Writers like to complain that there are no editors in New York who actually edit anymore, but Anton Mueller at Grove Press put that myth to rest. Anton laid out the groundwork that enabled me to finally bring the manuscript down to a practical length, and showed enormous patience as he waited and waited and waited for me to produce a final draft. The copy editor, Marc Romano, also made a significant contribution with his sharp eye for detail and hundreds of suggestions for tightening and improving sentence structure.

My agent, Kristine Dahl, believed in this book when no one else did; without her efforts it would not exist. She demolished another cliché, that of the money-hungry agent who cares only about the deal. The time and effort that she expended couldn't even begin to be compensated for by the meager financial returns. Her assistants Gordon Kato and Dorothea Herrey were equally generous with their advice and support.

I'd also like to thank Greg Critser for introducing me to Dahl, and Ann Godoff, who originally bought the book for Atlantic Monthly Press and provided me with guidance in its formative stages that helped shape the final product.

I will never find enough words to express my gratitude to the Peckinpah family—Walter and Fern Lea Peter; Kristen, Melissa, and Mathew Peckinpah; Marie Selland—for allowing me into their lives, for enduring hours and hours of questions, for their willingness to delve into a past that was often painful . . . for trusting me. A special thanks to Gill Dennis, who propped me up in my darkest hours, and Max Evans, whose letters and phone calls and passionate belief in this project helped me maintain the faith. And then there is Jim Silke, whom I am so grateful to for finally trusting me, for the insights, the prodding, and the support.

The Sam Peckinpah collection at the Margaret Herrick Library at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles contains every production file, screenplay, and scrap of professional and personal correspondence that Peckinpah accumulated over his fifty-nine years. I spent six months combing through those files, with the guidance of Val Almendarez, Howard Prouty, and the rest of the library staff. All of my interview tapes and the “uncut” manuscript for this book will be donated to the library and become part of the Peckinpah collection for future scholars to draw upon.

Of all the books on Peckinpah that preceded this one, two stand out as outstanding pieces of scholarship: Peckinpah: The Western Films by Paul Seydor, and Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage by Garner Simmons. They form the foundation upon which this book is built, and have influenced it in countless ways. Seydor's is the most thorough critical examination of Peckinpah's work ever done, and Simmons still gives the most complete accounting of the making of each Peckinpah television show and feature film. Both men generously donated their time, advice, and research materials to me.

I would also like to thank Laura Larsen and Don Jordan for valuable assistance with some of my computer files; Nick Redman for research materials; Frank Kowalski for his great storytelling ability, which planted the seeds of fascination from which this sprouted; Jeff Slater for rare film footage; Paul Joyce for setting up interviews and valuable financial support; my brother James Weddle, who came in at the eleventh hour and helped me push through to the finish line; Don Shay, for interview material with deceased members of the Peckinpah Bunch; and my UCLA interns who worked for no money and with great enthusiasm—Josh Lobel, Shelly McCrory, Sandy Nang, Jill Le Ger, Maggie Guinn, Emily Love, and Jason Shankel, who offered valuable insights on Peckinpah's contributions to the screenplay of Straw Dogs.