Three Literary Giants Leave the Stage

Late October and early November have seen the passing of three prominent American authors – Tony Hillerman, Studs Terkel and now Michael Crichton.

Tony Hillerman died October 26th, at the age of 83. Hillerman is primarily known as a mystery writer, with the popular series of novels featuring Navajo Tribal policemen Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn. That series began in 1970 with The Blessing Way, and the 18th and final volume, The Shapeshifter, was released in 2006. Two of these novels have been turned into telefilms for PBS’ Mystery series – Coyote Waits and Skinwalkers. In addition to his mystery novels, Hillerman also has a couple of childrens books, and contributed the text to several photographic books about the American Southwest.

Here are some links to additional Tony Hillerman information: Hillerman page on Wikipedia, Obit in the Chicago Sun-Times, NPR Tribute, Unofficial Homepage.

Studs Terkel died October 31st at the age of 96. Terkel was an author, whose works chronicled ordinary Americans at various points in U.S. History. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his 1984 book, The Good War, a history of World War II. Terkel’s first book, The Giants of Jazz, was published in 1956, and he was still publishing in 2008.

Additional Studs Terkel info can be found at: Stud’s official site, his last interview, Obit at the BBC, Obit at the Daily Telegraph, Wikipedia page for Terkel.

Thriller writer Michael Crichton died November 4th, at the age of 66. During a diverse education, Crichton obtained an M.D. in 1969, as well as serving as a visiting lecturer in Anthropology at Britain’s Cambridge University in 1965. While a medical student, Crichton wrote novels under the pen names John Lange and Jeffrey Hudson, winning an Edgar Award in 1969 for A Case of Need as Hudson. Crichton is best know for his own particular type of novel – the medical/technology thriller. His first novel in this category was The Andromeda Strain, and he continued to write fast-paced, technology-based thrillers until his death. Some of his most well-known works are Congo, Jurassic Park, Disclosure, Airframe, Timeline, State of Fear, Prey and Next.

In addition to his writing, Crichton was also a director, helming 7 movies or tv-movies, including Westworld, The Great Train Robbery (based on his own book), Coma, and Runaway. He is credited with co-writing the 1996 hit Twister, and wrote the pilot script for the tv series ER, for which he has been listed as Creator and Executive Producer.

Crichton has one remaining unpublished novel, scheduled for release in 2009. He was diagnosed with cancer fairly recently and chose to keep that information private, such that his death came as a complete surprise for most fans. You can find more information about Crichton at: Obit at the Chicago Sun-Times, Profile/tribute in the New York Times, Tribute at PeopleForever.org, Crichton on Wikipedia, Official Michael Crichton web site.