Michael Crichton, the million-selling author who made scientific research terrifying and irresistible in such thrillers as "Jurassic Park," "Timeline" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died of cancer, his family said.
Crichton died Tuesday in Los Angeles at 66.
"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," his family said in a statement.
He was an experimenter and popularizer known for his stories of disaster and systematic breakdown, such as the rampant microbe of "The Andromeda Strain" or the dinosaurs running madly in "Jurassic Park." Many of his books became major Hollywood movies, including "Jurassic Park," "Rising Sun" and "Disclosure."
Crichton (pronounced CRY-ton) directed and wrote "The Great Train Robbery" and he co-wrote the script for the blockbuster "Twister."
People are also reading…
In 1994, he created the award-winning TV hospital series "ER."
He even had a dinosaur named for him, Crichton's ankylosaur.
"Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park,' " said "Jurassic Park" director Steven Spielberg, a friend of Crichton's for 40 years.
"He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth. … Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels. There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place," Spielberg said.
John Wells, executive producer of "ER," called the author "an extraordinary man — brilliant, funny, erudite, gracious, exceptionally inquisitive and always thoughtful."
"No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours, and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest. Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archaeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation," said Wells.
Neal Baer, a physician who became an executive producer on "ER," was a fourth-year medical student at Harvard University when Wells, a longtime friend, sent him Crichton's script.
"I said, 'Wow, this is like my life.' Michael had been a medical student at Harvard in the early '70s, and I was going through the same thing about 20 years later," said Baer.
"ER" offered a fresh take on the TV medical drama, making doctors the central focus rather than patients. In the early life of "ER," Crichton, who hadn't been involved in medicine for years, and Spielberg would take part in writers' room discussions.
A new novel by Crichton had been tentatively scheduled to come next month, but publisher HarperCollins said the book was postponed indefinitely because of his illness.
