Tom Clancy 

Tom Clancy is the best-selling author whose fictional character Jack Ryan, developed for his political genre novels, is a long-standing fan favorite. Clancy’s fictional books are based largely on government, military, politics, and espionage, but Clancy’s ties to Washington are very real. He has a close association with former U.S. secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld and his current wife, Alexandra Marie Llewellyn, is related to Colin Powell.

Thomas Leo Clancy, Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland on April 12, 1947. He was part of Loyola Blakefield’s graduating class of 1965 and he studied English Literature at Loyola College. Though he wanted to serve in the United States military, he was prevented after failing a required eye exam in the ROTC. Upon graduating college, he earned his living selling insurance but would soon turn his career into full-time writing.

His first novel, The Hunt for Red October, was published in 1984. With this first introduction to the recurring major character, Jack Ryan, the book became a best seller. Thirteen other novels followed including Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and Rainbow Six. Many of his novels have been turned into blockbuster films with Jack Ryan being played by Alec Baldwin (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford (Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger), and Ben Affleck (The Sum of all Fears). Plans have been announced to produce three future films based on Clancy’s novels including Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell.

In addition to feature films, Clancy’s novels have become graphic – in video game form, that is. Tom Clancy founded Red Storm Entertainment in 1996 and reportedly sold the company to Ubisoft Entertainment for $45 million. Red Storm Entertainment has published several Rainbow Six and Splinter Cell title video games with Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (2005) being the most recent to date.

All but two of Clancy’s novels feature Jack Ryan or John Clark as major characters. Clancy’s most recent novel, The Teeth of the Tiger, introduces Jack Ryan’s son as a new major character. The possible retirement of Jack Ryan has left some fans disappointed, but many will follow to see what may come. In addition to his novels, Clancy has written eleven non-fiction titles to date. He has also branded a series of fiction books, including Net Force, which are written by ghost authors.

Tom Clancy has four children with first wife, Wanda Thomas, and has been married to his current wife, Alexandra, since 1999. Clancy is co-owner of the Baltimore Orioles.

YUDDY