( CNN ) -- One of Australia 's most colorful underworld figures and author , Mark `` Chopper '' Read -- whose cavalcade of violent crime put him behind bar for almost 23 years -- has died after a battle with liver cancer . `` I am deeply saddened to confirm the death of Mark Brandon Read , known widely throughout Australia and the world as 'Chopper ' , '' his manager , Andrew Parisi said in a statement carried by Australian media . The 58 year old was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital recently with an `` ongoing and serious illness , '' Parisi said . Read was portrayed by Eric Bana in the 2000 film based on his exploits `` Chopper , '' and his autobiographical books have remained among Australia 's best-selling true crime titles . His success in parlaying a life of crime into a lucrative media career -- he often toured with a stage show -- led to calls to extend Australia 's Federal Proceeds of Crime Bill ( 2001 ) , which confiscates the proceeds of drug deals and robberies , to include money from book deals and television appearances . Life of crime . Born in 1954 in Melbourne 's tough northern suburbs , Read began his apprenticeship in crime in the 1970s by robbing massage parlors and taking on contracts to rob and maim rivals , obtaining what he called a `` doctorate '' as a `` stand over '' merchant . `` I once told a friend 'Why rob a straight guy of $ 20 when you can rob a drug dealer of $ 10,000 and he ca n't go running to the police ' , '' he said on his website , arguing that an honest man is more likely to put up a fight for a hard-earned $ 20 than a drug-dealer for thousands in fast cash from the proceeds of crime . Bullied at school and often on the receiving end in hundreds of fights , Read explained on his website that he learned to brawl on the streets of Melbourne 's Prahran district , graduating to kidnapping and torturing underworld figures , sometimes using a blowtorch on their feet or removing their toes with bolt cutters to extort money . Famed for his peculiar brand of playground sadism , he said the electro-convulsive therapy he received as a teenager in mental institutions may have been responsible for some of his psychopathic tendencies . In prison gang fights , Read said he lost several feet of intestines and even had a fellow inmate cut off his ears so that he could get out of Pentridge Prison 's high security H Division , according to his website . Read claimed to be involved in the killing of 19 people and the attempted murder of 11 others . In an interview with the New York Times in April , Read said `` Look , honestly , I have n't killed that many people , probably about four or seven , depending on how you look at it . '' `` He 's like this perfect cross between a complete psychopath and the crazy uncle you 've got at your barbecue , '' his manager , Parisi , said , in quotes carried by the New York Times . Celebrity criminal . Political cartoonist for The Australian newspaper Bill Leak -- who met Read at a media engagement -- told CNN a long night on the town with the celebrity criminal ended true to the `` Chopper '' legend . `` I met Chopper for a drink and I skived off to play the pokies ( slot machines ) , I must have put in all of $ 10 when I won some kind of jackpot and the management of the hotel gave me $ 1,500 in cash , '' said Leak , who spent the rest of the evening buying rounds of drinks for friends at the bar . The next day , somewhat worse for wear and after having offered Read a couch for the night , Leak awoke at 8 a.m. to find Read had already gone . `` He 'd left this lovely note thanking me for my hospitality , saying I should contact him if I was ever in Melbourne , '' he said . `` Later that day I met a friend for lunch at a cafÃ© and when it came to the bill I thought there must be some change left from my winnings the night before but when I opened my wallet there was n't one cent left -- Chopper had knocked it off ! `` Working as I do for the media , everyone wanted to write the story but I did n't want it to get out : I simply thought I 'd kept fast company and paid the price and put it down to that . '' Weeks later , Leak received a letter from Chopper addressed to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ( ABC ) . `` Everyone knew it was from Chopper so a small crowd gathered around me as I opened it up , '' he said . `` When I did 10 crisp $ 50 notes fell out and there was one of those Hallmark cards with a religious image on it that said 'Congratulations on your Ordination ' . `` Inside he 'd written 'Congratulations on your ordination into a very select group of people who 've been pinched by Chopper Read and lived to tell the tale . I 'm sorry Bill but I 'm a hopeless kleptomaniac , especially after a few red wines . I 'll nick anything if it 's not bolted down , and if it is , I 'll use a heavy vehicle to rip it off . ' `` Of course , everyone standing around me fell about laughing . '' 'Bull**** artist ' He said while many of Chopper 's exploits were well documented , he was well known for embellishing the truth . `` At one stage in the evening I told him I thought he was the biggest bull**** artist I 'd ever met , '' Leak said . `` He suddenly stood up and towered over me and one of my friends thought 'Oh no , there 's going to be blood and guts everywhere now . ' `` Then he roared with laughter and said ' I 'm not just the biggest bull**** artist you 've ever met but probably the biggest one in Australia . Half the people I killed in my book are still walking around Melbourne today . ''
Mark `` Chopper '' Read dies after battle with liver cancer , agent says . He was once one of Australia 's most colorful and violent underworld figures . Score: 7