Steve Lopez
Steven M. Lopez ( born 1953 ) is an American journalist who works as a columnist for The Los Angeles Times since 2001.
Life
Lopez is originally from Pittsburg and studied at the San José State University. He was an employee at Time Inc., and has written for Time, Life, Entertainment Weekly, and Sports Illustrated. He also worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Jose Mercury News and the Oakland Tribune. Lopez is the author of three novels: Third and Indiana, which was published in German under the title The sprayer at Earthscan, The Sunday Macaroni Club and In the Clear, he also wrote a summary of his work for The Philadelphia Inquirer, entitled Land of Giants.
Lopez's column series about his unusual friendship with the schizophrenic bassist Nathaniel Anthony Ayers inspired the movie The Soloist, in which Robert Downey Jr. plays the role of Steve Lopez. Lopez wrote a nonfiction book titled The Soloist: A Lost Dream, on Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music, which was the basis for the film.. Lopez also worked on the screenplay of the film.
The relationship between Ayers and Lopez was treated for 60 Minutes in an episode of the news magazine on March 22, 2009.
In October 2010, the Prosecutor of the City of Los Angeles, Carmen Trutanich, Lopez invited to participate in a driving test under the influence of marijuana. The reason for this test was to estimate the potential consequences of Proposition 19, a legislative initiative to legalize possession, manufacture, transportation and sale of marijuana.
Awards
2008 Lopez received the " President's Award" from the Los Angeles Press Club at the 50th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards. On April 29, 2011 Lopez received an honorary doctorate from the San José State University.
Works
- Third and Indiana Penguin Books, 1995. ISBN 978-0-140-23945-4
- The Sunday Macaroni Club Harcourt Brace & Co, 1997. ISBN 978-0-151-00264-1
- In the Clear Harcourt Brace & Co, 2002. ISBN 978-0-151-00284-9
- Land of Giants: Where No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Camino Books, 1995 ISBN 978-0-940-15930-3.