Michael Crichton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Michael Crichton | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Michael Crichton at Harvard University (April 18, 2002) | |
| Born | John Michael Crichton October 23, 1942 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | November 4, 2008 (aged 66) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Pen name | John Lange Jeffery Hudson Michael Douglas |
| Occupation | Author, film producer, film director, screenwriter, television producer, physician |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Harvard College Harvard Medical School |
| Period | 1966–2008 |
| Genres | Action, science fiction, techno-thriller |
| Notable award(s) | 1969 Edgar Award |
| | |
| | |
| Official website | |
John Michael Crichton, M.D. (pronounced /ˈkrəɪtən/;[2] October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008), best known as Michael Crichton, was an American author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted into films. In 1994, Crichton became the only creative artist ever to have works simultaneously charting at #1 in television, film, and book sales (with ER, Jurassic Park, and Disclosure, respectively).[3]
His literary works are usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. His novels epitomise the techno-thriller genre of literature, often exploring technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background. Among others, he was the author of Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Travels, Sphere, Rising Sun, Disclosure, The Lost World, Airframe, Timeline, Prey, State of Fear, Next (the final book published before his death), Pirate Latitudes (published November 24, 2009), and a final unfinished techno-thriller yet to be released.[4] Forbes listed Crichton in tenth place in its list of "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities" of 2009.[5]
Early life and education
John Michael Crichton was born in Chicago,[6] Illinois, to John Henderson Crichton, a journalist, and Zula Miller Crichton, on October 23, 1942. He was raised on Long Island, in Roslyn, New York,[2] and had three siblings: two sisters, Kimberly and Catherine, and a younger brother, Douglas. Crichton showed a keen interest in writing from a young age and at the age of just 14 had a column related to travel published in The New York Times. [3] Crichton had always planned on becoming a writer and commenced his studies at Harvard College in 1960.[3] During his undergraduate study in literature, Crichton conducted an experiment to catch off guard a professor who he believed was giving him abnormally low marks and criticizing his literary style. Informing another professor of his suspicions, Crichton plagiarized a work by George Orwell and submitted it as his own. Unaware, the paper was returned by his professor with a mark of "B−".[7] His issues with the English Department led Crichton to switch his course to biological anthropology as an undergraduate, obtaining his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1964.[8] Crichton was also initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He went on to become the Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellow from 1964 to 1965 and Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1965.
Crichton later enrolled at Harvard Medical School when he began publishing work. By this time Crichton had become unusually tall. According to his own words, he was approximately 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall in 1997.[9][10] In reference to his height, while in medical school, he began writing novels under the pen names John Lange and Jeffery Hudson (Lange is a surname in Germany, meaning "long" and Sir Jeffrey Hudson was a famous 17th century dwarf in the court of Queen Consort Henrietta Maria of England). In Travels, he recalls overhearing unaware doctors discussing the flaws in The Andromeda Strain while he maintained anonymity in medical school. A Case of Need, written under the Hudson pseudonym, won him his first Edgar Award for Best Novel in 1969. He also co-authored Dealing with his younger brother Douglas under the shared pen name Michael Douglas. The back cover of that book contains a picture of Michael and Douglas at a very young age taken by their mother.
Crichton graduated from Harvard, obtaining an M.D. in 1969, and undertook a post-doctoral fellowship study at the Jonas Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, from 1969 to 1970.
At Harvard he developed the belief that all diseases, including heart attacks, are direct effects of a patient's state of mind. He later wrote: "We cause our diseases. We are directly responsible for any illness that happens to us."[11] Eventually he came to believe in auras, spoon bending, and clairvoyance.[11]
In 1988, Crichton was a visiting writer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Writing career
Read More...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Crichton
Don
No comments:
Post a Comment