Michael Crichton died yesterday.

[GmanJoe]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/11/05/obit.crichton/index.html

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Michael Crichton, who helped create the TV show "ER" and wrote the best-sellers "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain," "Sphere" and "Rising Sun," has died in Los Angeles, his public relations firm said in a news release.


Michael Crichton, here in 2005, was a director and best-selling author. He co-created the TV series "ER."

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

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 climatologist 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 feet 9 inches.)

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.

He also directed several other films, including "Westworld" (1973), "Coma" (1978), "Looker" (1981) and "Runaway" (1984).

In 1993, while working on the film version of "Jurassic Park" with Steven Spielberg, he teamed with the director to create "ER." The NBC series set in a Chicago emergency room debuted in 1994 and became a huge hit, making a star of George Clooney. Crichton originally wrote the script for the pilot in 1974.

Though most of Crichton\'s books were major best-sellers, he could ruffle feathers when he took on social issues. "Rising Sun" (1992) came out during a time when Americans feared Japanese ascendance, particularly when it came to technology. "Disclosure" (1994) was about a sexual harassment case.

Crichton won an Emmy, a Peabody, a Writers Guild of America Award for "ER," and won other awards as well.

"Through his books, Michael Crichton served as an inspiration to students of all ages, challenged scientists in many fields, and illuminated the mysteries of the world in a way we could all understand," the news release said.

[Titan]

Didn\'t read too many of his books but those that I read were amazing. My favorites were definitely the two Jurassic Park books. RIP.

He died because he thought there was no way Barack would win

He was one of my favorites. too bad.

[Bobs_Hardware]

He was very tall.

He was a great writer.

Sorry, I\'m gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you there.
 
He was a poor writer.  He had good story ideas, as evidenced by how successful his film and television projects were, but his writing style was really mediocre.
 
I\'ve read a few of his books; The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, and Airframe.  Every one of them was disappointing to me, and I didn\'t continue to read any others.  I guess you could say his writing was unchallenging, which is probably good for a mass audience.

I just wanted a reason to post that video of him kicking his wife to be honest

I just wanted a reason to post that video of him kicking his wife to be honest

Wait, I\'m confused.

That wasn\'t Michael Crichton.


And I agree about him not being a great writer, but having great ideas.


Still loved his books very much in my younger years.

Congo and The Eaters Of the Dead are my favs.

[GmanJoe]

Sorry, I\'m gonna have to go ahead and disagree with you there.
 
He was a poor writer.  He had good story ideas, as evidenced by how successful his film and television projects were, but his writing style was really mediocre.
 
I\'ve read a few of his books; The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, and Airframe.  Every one of them was disappointing to me, and I didn\'t continue to read any others.  I guess you could say his writing was unchallenging, which is probably good for a mass audience.

I think you\'re being a little harsh here. He was a medical student not a writer when he wrote Andromeda Strain. So it\'s no surprise his style of writing isn\'t the kind that professors teach to their students who\'s ambition is to becom writers. But his books were entertaining nonetheless which was his goal.

Wait, I\'m confused.
 
That wasn\'t Michael Crichton.
 
 

My bad, I thought it was Michael Crichton

Michael was much more handsome.

[Titan]

I think you\'re being a little harsh here. He was a medical student not a writer when he wrote Andromeda Strain. So it\'s no surprise his style of writing isn\'t the kind that professors teach to their students who\'s ambition is to becom writers. But his books were entertaining nonetheless which was his goal.

I have to agree with you. I enjoyed reading his books as a kid. But I want to see what Core is saying. Next time I go home, I\'ll grab the couple of books of his I have and look more into his writing style. When you\'re in middle school, you don\'t really read critically like that.