Author Michael Crichton dies

Michael CrichtonMichael Crichton, who helped create the TV show "ER" and wrote the best-sellers "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain," "Sphere" and "Rising Sun," died in Los Angeles on Tuesday, his public relations firm said in a news release.

He "died unexpectedly," the release said, "after a courageous and private battle against cancer."

He was 66.

Crichton, a medical doctor, was attracted to cautionary science tales. "Jurassic Park" -- perhaps his best-known work -- concerned capturing the DNA of dinosaurs and bringing them to life on a modern island, where they soon run amok; "The Andromeda Strain," his first major fiction success, involves an alien microorganism that's studied in a special military compound after causing death in a nearby community.

Crichton also invited controversy with some of his scientific views. He was an avowed skeptic of global climate change, giving lectures warning against "consensus science." He later took on global warming and the theories surrounding it in his 2004 novel "State of Fear," which attracted attacks in its own right from scientists including NASA's James Hansen.

Crichton was a distinctive figure in the entertainment business, a trained physician whose interests included writing, filmmaking and television. (He was physically distinctive as well, standing 6-foot-9.) He published "The Andromeda Strain" while he was still a medical student at Harvard Medical School. He wrote a story about a 19th-century train robbery, called "The Great Train Robbery," and then directed the 1979 film version.

Source: CNN

Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park has died aged 66 after a "courageous and private battle against cancer", his family has said.

He penned the books Congo, Twister and the popular Jurassic Park trilogy, all of which were adapted into films.

His books have sold more than 150 million copies. He also created the long-running US hospital drama ER.

"He will be profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched," his family said in a statement.

A private funeral service is expected.

A Harvard Medical School graduate, Crichton became the toast of Hollywood when his 1971 novel The Andromeda Strain was turned into a film.

Many of his novels and screenplays were adapted for cinema.

The most successful were the Jurassic Park trilogy, the first of which burst onto the screen in 1993, directed by Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg.

ER has won a host of Emmys since it began in 1994, and helped launch the career of George ClooneyGeorge Clooney.

Source: BBC