Patricia Highsmith Comics. When Highsmith wrote the psychological thriller novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley" (1955), one of the title character's first victims is a comic-book artist named Reddington: "Tom had a hunch about Reddington. He was a comic-book artist. He probably didn't know whether he was coming or going." Highsmith's first novel, "Strangers on a Train", proved modestly successful upon publication in 1950, and Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 film adaptation of the novel enhanced her reputation. Highsmith's second novel, "The Price of Salt", was published in 1952 under the "nom de plume" Claire Morgan. Highsmith mined her personal life for the novel's content.
Shelby Highsmith H. W. Bush nominated Highsmith on June 27, 1991 to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, to the seat vacated by Judge Thomas E. Scott. Confirmed by the Senate on September 12, 1991, he received commission on September 16, 1991. Highsmith assumed senior status on March 15, 2002, but stopped hearing cases in 2008. He died on December 2, 2015, at his family's home in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, from the effects of adrenal cancer. Shelby Highsmith Shelby Highsmith (January 31, 1929 – December 2, 2015) was an American lawyer and a United States District Judge