Neil Elliott

Neil Elliott, child actor, Air Force veteran, war correspondent, Hollywood screenwriter, author, political heavy, Cook County Sheriff, real estate developer and all around great guy, has died. Born and raised in the Palmer Square area of Chicago, he was the middle son of Sol and Helen Blum. Neil was a child actor on radio for all the Chicago soap operas and evening adventures of the 1940s and 50s. He found quick stardom as a child actor starring in educational films for Coronet and Encyclopedia Britannica. "I Never Catch a Cold," a 1941 Coronet educational film in which he starred, was revived at Chicago's Outdoor Film Festival in 2003. He also appeared in the film Chicago Deadline with Alan Ladd. On television he appeared on ER, Route 66, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and many other shows. He toured with a Broadway cast of The Matchmaker and appeared in countless roles over 40 years. He published novels, non-fiction, hundreds of magazine articles, and stories in 11 languages around the globe. He was a prolific pulp fiction writer under many names during the golden age of pulp fiction. His book The Gods of Life included the first example of a living will. He was a winner of the Universal Pictures Fellowship in Writing for the Performing Arts. His book My Years with Capone was used extensively for the productions of The Untouchables (movie and TV series). Parts of the book were also used in The Sopranos and Analyze This! His last book, The Autobiography of Jesus Christ, was the basis for his stage presentation, Jesus Tonight! Toward the end of the Korean War, he enlisted in the Air Force and served as a tail gunner and drop sound meteorologist on a B52 bomber. During the Vietnam War, he was embedded with the First Marine Division as a war correspondent. Later, he vastly enjoyed his role as a Cook County Deputy Sheriff. He left Vietnam in 1967 and was on his way home to the United States but made a stop in Tahiti, where he met his first wife, F. Kathleen Stagg. Kathleen had left New Zealand and was on her way home to Sheffield, England and also, luckily, made a stop in Tahiti. After their brief meeting, they wrote letters to each other for a year before he sent her a plane ticket to the States. They were then married in Chicago, and a couple of years later he switched from writing to real estate. He owned and managed several pieces of property around Chicago and the suburbs. Kathleen died in 1985. He married his second love, Kit Sullivan (Springhorn), in 1986. Kit and Neil met playing soccer and soon discovered they enjoyed the same authors, books, and poetry. After buying a home with a great porch swing, the two settled in Evanston, where they spent the next 29 years dancing and raising their children. He was not officially "retired" since (he said often) you have to have a job to retire. He kept busy writing his memoirs and mentoring young men who were interested in real estate. He was enjoying a pastrami sandwich at a local deli on Thursday, September 3, 2015, when he had a heart attack. His family takes great comfort in the fact that he was enjoying one of life's greatest pleasures when his heart gave out. A longtime avid soccer player into his 70s, his family imagines that he is once again playing and running the full field. As a matter of fact, he just scored a goal, and his team won. He leaves his wife of 29 years, Kit Sullivan Elliott (Springhorn); his daughter, Victoria Stagg Elliott and her wife, Karen Shoffner; his son, Stephen Elliott; his daughter, Alexandria Elliott and her husband Kyle Campbell; his son, William Elliott and his wife Kelsey Elliott; his brother Ronald Blum; and his sister Laura Blum Klemes and her husband Marvin. As he requested, his family will party and dance all day and night in his name. Though he also asked that his body be rolled out to the curb, the family has donated his body to science. Neil was chronologically 79 and spiritually about 38. His motto was "Good works don't cost; they pay," and his generosity will long be remembered. Services were private. In lieu of flowers, please help a homeless person or volunteer your time or resources at your local shelter. For more information, email thebookofneil@gmail.com. Info (847) 675-1990 or www.donnellanfuneral.com.