His father was a journalist and Michael loved the writing profession. Michael Crichton was born in Chicago in 1942 and grew up in New York's suburbs. Sexual politics, medical and scientific ethics, anthropology, archaeology, economics, astronomy, astrology, quantum physics, and molecular biology were all regular topics of conversation." "No lunch with Michael lasted less than three hours and no subject was too prosaic or obscure to attract his interest. Brilliant, funny, erudite, gracious, exceptionally inquisitive and always thoughtful," "ER" executive producer John Wells told the AP. There is no one in the wings that will ever take his place."Ĭrichton was "an extraordinary man.
Michael was a gentle soul who reserved his flamboyant side for his novels.
"He was the greatest at blending science with big theatrical concepts, which is what gave credibility to dinosaurs again walking the Earth. "Michael's talent out-scaled even his own dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park,' " said Spielberg, a friend of Crichton's for 40 years, according to The Associated Press. Crichton originally wrote the script for the pilot in 1974.
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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. He also directed several other films, including "Westworld" (1973), "Coma" (1978), "Looker" (1981) and "Runaway" (1984). He wrote a story about a 19th-century train robbery, called "The Great Train Robbery," and then directed the 1979 film version. He published "The Andromeda Strain" while he was still a medical student at Harvard Medical School. (He was physically distinctive as well, standing 6 feet 9 inches.) : Were you a fan? Share your tributes.Ĭrichton was a distinctive figure in the entertainment business, a trained physician whose interests included writing, filmmaking and television. 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. "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.Ĭrichton also invited controversy with some of his scientific views. Crichton died unexpectedly Tuesday "after a courageous and private battle against cancer," the release said.Ĭrichton, a medical doctor, was attracted to cautionary science tales.