Did not graduate high school because he refused to take his graduation
exams.
He married Charlene Broock in September 1978. In his 1979 novel "The
Short-Timers", Leonard ("Private Pyle") names his M-14 rifle
"Charlene".
Died alone, living in a cheap motel on the island of Aegina in
Greece.
His sequel to "The Short-Timers" (1979), "The Phantom Blooper", was
published in 1990. Though his two war novels, particularly his first,
are considered classics of Vietnam War-era fiction, neither book
currently is in print.
Won an Academy Award nomination (along with co-screenwriters Michael Herr
and Stanley Kubrick ) for the only produced screenplay he ever wrote.
Maintained lifelong friendships with his fellow combat correspondents
of the First Marine Division, the self-proclaimed "Snuffies."
As a struggling writer, he associated with various 1970s science
fiction writers, and roomed with Harlan Ellison for a time.
He collaborated with Stanley Kubrick for three years on the screenplay
for Full Metal Jacket (1987), which is based on his 1979 novel
"The Short-Timers." Hasford met Kubrick in person only once, and during
dinner, Kubrick said to co-screenwriter Michael Herr "I
can't deal with this man.".
A voracious reader and bibliophile, he was sentenced to six months in
jail in 1988 for stealing 748 books from nine libraries throughout the
country.