Is John W. Creasy real?

I can't find any information on the dude in the net whatsoever, but I just finished watching this movie and it's pretty good.
Was John W. Creasy from the movie "Man on Fire" a real person or is it just a movie character?

I think he wasn't. As far as I know the movie was completely a work of fiction. However, I'm sure the character is at least inspired by real people - although probably not people who go around blowing up people to find missing girls.
I read some websites that say it's based on a book and this actually occurred in Italy, not Mexico.

I think John W. Creasy is just a fictional character.
It is an excellent story from a very good book.
I picked it up by accident at my local library something like 9 years ago.

john w creasy was real i live in mexico an everybody knows that john creasy was real it happen in italy you say jajajaja if you dont know mexico dont say nothing in mexico words

John Creasy is actually the name of an author that died in 73, but he has no affiliation with the movie or the novel.

It is based over a novel that was published in 1981 by the author Philip Nicholson who writes as A. J. Quinnell (A. J. Quinnell being his pen name)

The Main character is Marcus Creasy who also stars in later books written by the same author
and in the novel the story is in Italy but besides those two differences it is actually the same story.

there was made an earlier movie based on the novel

It can be found if you search on www.IMDB.com

Hope this helped you out

Originally Posted by chemo

john w creasy was real i live in mexico an everybody knows that john creasy was real it happen in italy you say jajajaja if you dont know mexico dont say nothing in mexico words

Thank you, chemo-we would all like to believe that John W Creasy was a real person, personally I think that he was. If so, what a real man he must have been.
If he was a real person, then this old world we live in could use a lot more men like he was. But if he was not a real person, shame on the directors and producers of 'MAN ON FIRE' to lead the public to believe that he was to make a buck.

I hope that he was real, God knows we need real heroes to look up to instead of a made up person out of someones mind.

If you live in Mexico then you should know if he was real or not, I believe you.

Thanks

I live on the Texas border. A family member of mine who worked for CBP at the time (in charge of a few of our ports of entry) told me he received orders that if J. Creasy were to cross the border back into the states he was to be detained on orders from Washington...No BS he was a real person.

It would be really cool if he was real. I originally thought so, until last week when I was flipping through channels and discovered that the movie is a remake from the 80's.

To the best of my knowledge John W. Creasy is not real. The movie was completely a work of fiction.
The movie is a remake from the original Man on Fire from 1987 where Scott Glenn Played Greasy.
However, I'm sure the character is at least inspired by real people.

Are people really buying into these things... J. Creasy is real...I saw it with my own eyes...A friend told me...People in Washington will detain him...I mean come on. If people in Washington wanted him...they would find him...and if they didn't maybe he would make FBI top 10 list. It is based on fiction. Its a great movie!!

It could be real therefore it is... Too me (perception=reality).

Definitely real

Perception... real. I was hoping to find out if it's a true story, if it is not, the imagination of this story blows my mind... great, great movie.

John Creasy is not a real person, the whole movie is based on a fictional book and is a remake of a movie from the 70's.

Originally Posted by Guest

I live on the Texas border. A family member of mine who worked for CBP at the time (in charge of a few of our ports of entry) told me he received orders that if J. Creasy were to cross the border back into the states he was to be detained on orders from Washington...No BS he was a real person.

Sorry Buddy... You can't pass go, and no collecting your 200.00. It's straight to jail pal. I DO WORK for the Customs and Border Protection Services, after spending 24 years in the United States Army, and NO, John W. Creasy was a fictional character; he was not real, sorry. Although I would love to have someone like that nowadays taking care of those drug gangs. Send in an elite team or Army Rangers, Navy Seals, Green Berets, or Special Forces and start picking them off one by one with sniper fire, then THEY would be running scared, which would be AWESOME and about TIME. Mexico is too damn lenient, what would happen in the US if these drug gangs started doing that crap over here??!! The cops and law enforcement would have them shut down in NO time, they really need to take off the gloves and start handling those animals with the same brute force THEY are allowed to use, THEN watch a turnaround happen, QUICKLY.

Was based on a real person the name john w creasy was a made up name the book was written in the 70's so the person it was based on was pre 60's i believe.

This is a quote from the writer of the original book, I think unless he is lying, it is definitive! (he could be lying to boost sales?) His name is A J. Quinell and he died in 2005 while making a prequel to man on fire, he said, "Yes, the story [Man on Fire] was based on an actual event in Italy in '75."

I am sure we could speculate all day about real or not real. The truth is this type of human trafficking and kidnapping has been happening forever and is only getting worse. I feel books and movies that point that out to all of us are important, so we can educate our kids.

I believe that from every fictional work, there has to be some sort of real life experience to generate the idea. Did John Creasy exist? Perhaps he did in some form or another and let's be thankful that the message is reaching all of us loud and clear. I like to believe that there are humans with dedication of that level out there. I know that I would with out thinking and with out hesitation give my life for my husband or my son. Imagine what it must be like to live some where that you have to worry about that kind of sacrifice everyday.

We all need to take a good look. The future looks a bit grim indeed. I do hope that we can rise together to continue educating and that one day we can eradicate those who suffer such injustice.

Originally Posted by Guest

This is a quote from the writer of the original book, I think unless he is lying, it is definitive! (he could be lying to boost sales?) His name is A J. Quinell and he died in 2005 while making a prequel to man on fire, he said, "Yes, the story [Man on Fire] was based on an actual event in Italy in '75."

A.J. Quinell was the pen name the author used instead of using his real name.

It is real from what i was able to dig up on it. I did a lot of research on it trying to figure out if it was...probably spent more time on it than i needed to, but here is what i learned.

It was real but it took place in Italy, and it was not a girl it was a little boy. The little boy was kidnapped from some thugs in the mafia and they kidnapped him with the intention of getting a ransom.

They bound and gagged the boy and put him in the trunk of their car and while they were in transit to a safe house the boy apparently vomited and due to the gag, asphyxiated on his own vomit. They dumped the body, which was found by the police and then reported to the media. The media covered it and John Creasy flew off the handle and went on a killing spree.

He was much more brutal in the way he killed the men involved. Not nearly as intricate as the movie would have you believe. He did a lot of dismembering and killed one guy, decapitated him and left his head on the street.

Eventually he was found by some mafia hit men walking down the street and shot in the back of the head. Not quite as happy and poetic as the movie, but none the less he killed a lot of the mafia members he felt were involved and in my eyes, should have a statue built after him.

You know what I don't care if he was real or not a part of John Creasy would come out of all of us if someone hurt someone we love, understand me?

John W. Creasy is real, he was ex-CIA and had g19 clearance and conducted an operation against drug dealers who kidnapped a girl, he died freeing her.

The movie Man on Fire was a very good movie. I think we all agree on that. Weather in Italy or Mexico, it does not matter. If everyone would put their thinking caps on and go back to the mid to late 80's. Their was a ex-CIA agent in Mexico that went on a revenge spree for the killing of a young child he was protecting. He was credited with the killing of a large number of Mexican Mob members. He was later caught by the mob and killed. You have to go back in time to remember what was in the NEWS. I wish we had more men like him. I Salute him and all others like him and the charter of the movie "Man on Fire. We need more people that him.
Our Judicial System stinks a little and if we punished the criminals they way they should be punished then there would be a lot less crime.
WOULD YOU NOT AGREE!

Originally Posted by coc898en

The cops and law enforcement would have them shut down in NO time, they really need to take off the gloves and start handling those animals with the same brute force THEY are allowed to use, THEN watch a turnaround happen, QUICKLY.

you play too much shooting games.... its not as easy as you say, reality is different. I would like to see you doing it.

Whether or not this gentleman lived or not. This movie is one of the greats! We should all be so lucky as to have JUST one of his attributes. Whether this movie is fictional or not we should all strive to be the man that John Creasy eventually became.

Originally Posted by Gabriella

I can't find any information on the dude in the net whatsoever, but I just finished watching this movie and it's pretty good.
Was John W. Creasy from the movie "Man on Fire" a real person or is it just a movie character?

This movie is based on two stories, one from Europe about the ex-CIA character who supposedly did some of these same things to get a child back and a second story out of Mexico about corrupt officials and a reporter working with police, the book originally based the story in Italy.

Originally Posted by coc898en

The cops and law enforcement would have them shut down in NO time, they really need to take off the gloves and start handling those animals with the same brute force THEY are allowed to use, THEN watch a turnaround happen, QUICKLY.

I do agree with you... however, as a friend of mine who works in D.C. once said, our policy is dictated by power and money, not by ethics or morality. Apparently, there is more money to be made - somewhere in the halls of power - to let let these parasites do business. Their poison is sold on our streets, and the most we do is arrest those who are too insignificant to make any real impact.