What about Wilbur

I've looked hard for information an Wilbur Smith, and have been able to find some, but I can always use more. Please send me any information you know of so I can add it to my page. Here is the information I have located.

Name: Wilbur Addison Smith

Born: Jan. 9, 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia)

Married (1st Wife):Jewell Sabbert, Aug. 28, 1964

Married (2nd Wife): Danielle (Dee Dee) Antoinette Thomas in Feb. 1971

Children: 2 Sons, 1 Daughter

Education: Natal and Rhodes Univ.

Graduated: Bachelor of Commerce, 1954

Author: 1964- Present

Correct Address: Sunbird Hill, 34 Klaasens Road, Constantia 7800, South Africa.

Estate: Wilbur's home is on part of the original Cecil John Rhodes Estate, on the side of Table Mountain (Read 'Men of Men' to find out about Cecil Rhodes and his original estate.)

Agent's Address: Jon Brown, The Brown Group, 9300 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. (310) 247-2755.

Member of: Chartered Institute of Secretaries, South Africa Wildlife Society (trustee), Friends of Conservation (trustee), Rhodesian Wildlife Conservation Association, British Sub Aqua Club.

Languages: Afrikaans, Zulu, and some other African dialects.

Books to Movies: The Dark of The Sun (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1968) - Goldmine (Hemdale, 1974) - Shout at the Devil (1976)- Wild Justice (TV)

Who was in Movies: Roger Moore (Goldmine & Shout at the Devil), Rod Taylor (Dark of the Sun), Lee Marvin (Shout)

'Shout at the Devil' was shot on location in a town called Port St. Johns in the Transkei on the east coast of South Africa. The burning and exploding planes and ships seen are actually card board models. (Thanks to Juan Hartslief for this information).

Soon to be in movies: Sylvester Stallone has bought the movie rights to three of Smith's novels and may be starring in 'Eye of the Tiger' soon.

Smith has dedicated each of his books to his wife, Danielle. He even makes a point of beginning each new novel on their wedding anniversary. - Wilbur hates interviews feeling that "I think you can get to a stage where you have said everything possible there is to say" - both of his parents were born in England and taken to Africa as children, Wilbur holds both British and South African citizenship - Wilbur's father is the model for many of the intimidating men in his son's novels - Wilbur was named after Wilbur Wright, one of the flight pioneering Wright brothers - Wilbur's first four novels were originally banned in South Africa and his phone tapped for the 'indecent, obsene, and objectional' content in his novels to which Wilbur comments, "There's nothing like a good book banning to set an author on his feet" - Comments on his servants: "Anyone who has worked for us for 25 years, I buy them a house, and we educate all thier children. I've got about 25 kids going to technical college." - Smith bases his many characters with physical disabilities on himself. He had polio when he was a child and his right leg is withered. - 'River God' was the first Smith novel that was 'keyed' and not 'penned' - Wilbur has been offered $250,000 for the handwritten copy of 'When the Lion Feeds', but has turned it down - Wilbur now writes a new book every 2 years instead of ever year - Wilbur's books have sold over 70 million copies - Many more women buy Wilbur Smith books than men - Danielle sensors the 'Hustler magazine stuff' Wilbur usually writes before it is submitted for print - One man was buried with every Wilbur Smith novel when he died - In the U.S., where Wilbur's novel have been largely ignored in the past, Smith's novels more than quadrupled in sales in 1996-1997 - Wilbur discovered a ruined city in Botswana which became the inspiration for 'The Sunbird' , it is now a regular tourist spot - comments: "With journalism you are constrained by the facts. I don't give a damn for the facts: I just change them." - Danielle has had multiple books of her own published.

Cool Facts sent in by Tony Moffit: Wilbur's favourite novel is 'The Sunbird'. It has special significance for him because it was the first novel he wrote after meeting Danielle.-His personal stationery has a small, royal blue sunbird at the top -I've got two of his handwritten letters to prove it.-His property in Constantina is called 'Sunbird Hill' -If you look on the bottom right hand corner of all his hardcover books, actually printed into the cover is an impression of the same sunbird that is on his stationery.-River God/ Seventh Scroll were on Wilbur's mind as early as 1990. When he was in Australia promoting Golden Fox, we spoke on the phone at some length. He said he was heading back to Africa to take a cruise down the Nile because he "had a few ideas about trying to do another Sunbird" sometime in the future.- Wilbur told me his first novel, which has never seen the light of day, was rejected nearly 20 times. It's still unpublished. he now keeps that book in a safe place and whenever he starts to believe his own publicity he gets the book out to bring himself back to earth.

Wilbur's wife - Comments from the bio included in Danielle Thomas' book 'Drumbeat' - "Danielle Thomas was born in Zambia of British and Welsh/Irish parents. She graduated from the University of Cape Town and then went on to teach for fifteen years, showing a special interest in the education of 'difficult' children. For the past twenty-seven years she has been doing research for her author husband, Wilbur Smith. Her first three novels, Children of Darkness, Voices in the Wind and Cry of Silence, were huge successes and are all available in Pan paperback."

-----I wish I had more information, but I will keep searching and post anything I can get my hands on. Once again please mail me any information I can include on my page.

E-mail Gary