Mark 'Chopper' Read, one of Australia's most notorious criminals, dies of cancer at age 58

Published January 13, 2015

Mark "Chopper" Read, one of Australia's most notorious crime figures, has died. He was 58.

Read's manager Andrew Parisi says Read died on Wednesday after a long battle with liver cancer.

Read spent 23 years of his life in prison for a variety of crimes including assault and armed robbery. He wrote more than a dozen books detailing his long career of violence, including one entitled "How to Shoot Friends and Influence People." He gained international fame in 2000 after Australian-born actor Eric Bana played him in the film "Chopper."

Read earned the nickname "Chopper" after asking a fellow inmate to slice off his ears while in prison.

He was never convicted of killing anyone, though he claimed in his books to have murdered 19 underworld figures.

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