Crime figure Mark "Chopper" Read has died following a battle with liver cancer, his manager says. Source: AAP
THE life of Mark "Chopper" Read was a torrid and violent journey which ended on a quiet note, those close to the once-feared criminal say.
The best-selling crime author who spent almost half his life in jail died on Wednesday after a battle with liver cancer, aged 58.
He spent more than 23 years in jail for crimes including armed robbery, assault and kidnapping, even trying to abduct a County Court judge at gunpoint.
He also claimed involvement in killing 19 people and the attempted murder of 11 others.
But in the end he died a man who lived a quiet family life and paid his taxes, his manager Andrew Parisi said.
"He worked as a writer, painter and public speaker, paid his taxes and took care of his family," he said.
Mr Parisi asked people to reflect on how Read overcame his past to find a way to re-enter society.
He said Read wished to be remembered as someone who spun a great yarn and made people laugh.
"Despite his failing health, he delighted the audience with his skills as a raconteur and storyteller," he said.
He announced he had terminal liver cancer in April 2012 and made his last public appearance a fortnight ago in front of a sold-out audience at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre.
Read was last freed from prison in 1998, after serving six years for inflicting grievous bodily harm on a bikie by shooting him in the chest.
Former prison chaplain Peter Norden said Read was a complex character and a loner inside jail.
"He came through the school where you had to fight to survive," Mr Norden said.
"He didn't move with a gang, much.
"He was unpredictable."
Read claimed to have been stabbed seven times, shot once, run over by a car, and gouged to the head with a claw hammer.
He had a fellow inmate cut his ears off while in prison, which he said was part of a plan to avoid an ambush at Pentridge's H division.
Mr Norden said Read would often ask to see him while in H division where he worked in the laundry yard.
"Essentially he really just wanted some stimulating conversation," he said.
Mr Norden said he was more intelligent than most people realised and knew about topics like the suppression of Jesuits throughout the world.
Read's books, beginning in 1991 with Chopper: From the Inside - which sold more than 300,000 copies alone - made him Australia's best selling true crime author.
He was also immortalised in the movie Chopper.
But he was no hero and not much chop as a crook either, having been jailed for most of his serious crimes, Mr Norden said.
The best thing that happened to him was meeting his second wife Margaret Cassar who helped him forge a reasonable life.
"In the end he lived a simple life, but he carried scars," Mr Norden said.
The fact he began reflecting on his life through writing showed he would have had regrets, he added.
But he never showed weakness because he needed to maintain a tough exterior to survive.
"He did have some happiness in his life at the end of it but it was a pretty torrid journey along the way."
Read leaves behind his wife Margaret, their son Roy and another son Charlie he had with first wife Mary-Ann Hodge who he married while in Tasmania's Risdon Prison.
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