Patrick McGilligan (born April 22, 1951) [1] is an American biographer, film historian and writer.
He was raised in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, [2] and he lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
He is the author of two New York Times Notable Books. His biography of Alfred Hitchcock, Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light, was a finalist for the Edgar Award. [3]
He is also noted for his biography of Clint Eastwood, Clint: The Life and Legend, which the author described as "a left-wing book." [4] In addition to Hitchcock and Eastwood, he has written biographies of Robert Altman, James Cagney, George Cukor, Fritz Lang, Oscar Micheaux, Jack Nicholson, Nicholas Ray, Orson Welles, and Mel Brooks.
He is also an editor of Backstory, which features interviews of Hollywood screenwriters and is published by the University of California Press. [5]