Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton was born on the 23rd of October 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Roslyn, New York, where he walked to school and rode his bike for miles without fear of random murder or drug use. At age sixteen, he published an article about a trip to Sunset Crater in The New York Times. This early success convinced him that writing was his future path. He entered Harvard University in 1960 as an English major with plans to become a professional writer. During his freshman year, he conducted an experiment to expose a professor who gave him abnormally low marks. He submitted an essay by George Orwell under his own name. The paper returned with a grade of B-minus. He decided then to drop English as his major. His differences with the department led him to switch to biological anthropology. He graduated summa cum laude in 1964 and joined Phi Beta Kappa society. A Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellowship allowed him to serve as a visiting lecturer at Cambridge from 1964 to 1965. He later enrolled at Harvard Medical School but realized within two weeks that he hated it. He graduated with an MD in 1969 but never practiced medicine.
In 1965, Crichton wrote a novel called Odds On while attending medical school. He needed money for furniture and groceries so he wrote quickly. Doubleday passed the book on to New American Library which published it in 1966. He used the pen name John Lange because patients might worry if they knew their doctor was writing thrillers. The name came from cultural anthropologist Andrew Lang. He added an e to the surname and substituted his real first name for Andrew. The novel described an attempted robbery at an isolated hotel on the Costa Brava in Spain. It became successful enough to lead to a series of John Lange novels. Film rights were sold in 1969 but no movie resulted. His second Lange novel Scratch One appeared in 1967. He wrote it in eleven days after visiting Cannes and Monaco. He later described the book as no good. Easy Go followed in 1968 and earned him $1,500. He said his competition was in-flight movies and readers could finish them in an hour and a half. A Case of Need arrived in 1968 under the pseudonym Jeffrey Hudson. This name referenced Sir Jeffrey Hudson, a seventeenth-century dwarf in Queen Henrietta Maria's court. The novel won an Edgar Award in 1969 and proved a turning point toward technology-focused stories.
Crichton wrote and directed Westworld in 1973 as his feature film directorial debut. It was the first feature film using two-dimensional computer-generated imagery. The story involved robots that ran amok in a western-themed amusement park. The producer hired Crichton to write an original script which became Extreme Close-Up in 1973. Jeannot Szwarc directed that erotic thriller but it disappointed Crichton. He also wrote and directed Coma in 1978 adapted from Robin Cook's novel. The film was a popular success. He then directed The Great Train Robbery in 1978 starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. That film received nominations for Best Cinematography and an Edgar Allan Poe Award. In 1984 he released Runaway, a police thriller set in the near future. It was a box office disappointment. His work on Westworld earned him an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 1995. He pushed Steven Spielberg to include computer programs in Jurassic Park films. This pioneering use of CGI changed how movies were made. He believed programming gave control over machines and felt liberation when making them do something unique.
In 1990, Crichton published Jurassic Park about genetic research creating extinct animals. The story began as a screenplay written in 1983 about a graduate student recreating a dinosaur. He concluded it would emerge from a desire to entertain rather than pressing need. The book used chaos theory to explain the collapse of an amusement park on Isla Nublar. Steven Spielberg learned of the novel in October 1989 while discussing ER. Universal acquired rights in May 1990 for Spielberg. Crichton demanded a non-negotiable fee of $1.5 million plus gross percentage. Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and 20th Century Fox had bid but lost. Universal paid him another $500,000 to adapt his own novel. The film released in 1993 became a major cultural phenomenon. A sequel titled The Lost World appeared in 1995 and was adapted into a 1997 film directed by Spielberg. Airframe followed in 1996 as an aero-techno-thriller. Twister came out that same year with Anne-Marie Martin. Timeline arrived in 1999 exploring quantum physics and time travel. His books sold over 200 million copies worldwide. More than a dozen adaptations became films.
In 2004, Crichton published State of Fear concerning eco-terrorists attempting mass murder. The central premise claimed climate scientists exaggerated global warming. An initial print run reached 1.5 million copies. It hit number one on Amazon.com and number two on The New York Times Best Seller list in January 2005. A review in Nature found the novel likely to mislead the unwary. He testified before Congress in September 2005 as an expert witness on global warming. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton criticized his views while Republican Jim Inhofe praised them. Al Gore responded in March 2007 saying if your baby has a fever you go to the doctor. Peter Doran wrote in The New York Times that results from Antarctica had been misused as evidence against global warming by Crichton. At an Intelligence Squared debate in March 2007, he argued Global Warming Is Not a Crisis. The audience shifted from 57 percent against to 46 percent for after his presentation. Critics labeled his views pseudoscience but supporters called him brave for challenging consensus.
Crichton considered himself an expert in intellectual property law during a November 2006 speech at the National Press Club. In 1985, Ted Berkic sued claiming Coma plagiarized Reincarnation Inc. The Ninth Circuit ruled in Crichton's favor stating works were not substantially similar. Geoffrey Williams claimed Jurassic Park violated copyright covering dinosaur-themed children's stories published in the late 1980s. The Second Circuit granted summary judgment for Crichton in 1996. Stephen Kessler alleged Twister was based on Catch the Wind in 1998. A Missouri jury took about 45 minutes to reach a verdict for Crichton. He refused to shake Kessler's hand after the trial. He later summarized all cases saying I always win. These legal battles protected his authorship and financial interests throughout his career. His success rate reinforced his confidence in defending creative rights against competitors.
Several novels remained unfinished when Crichton died on the 4th of November 2008. Pirate Latitudes appeared as a manuscript found on one of his computers. HarperCollins published it in November 2009. Micro reached completion by Richard Preston using notes and files from Crichton. It came out in November 2011 focusing on technology shrinking humans to microscopic sizes. Dragon Teeth arrived the 28th of July 2016, written in 1974 during Bone Wars research. Real life characters Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope appear in this historical novel released May 2017. Eruption followed as a collaboration with James Patterson based on an unfinished Mauna Loa volcano manuscript. That book released the 3rd of June 2024. The Andromeda Evolution debuted the 12th of November 2019 co-authored with Daniel H. Wilson. In 2020, plans emerged adapting unpublished works into TV series and films via CrichtonSun LLC. These projects ensured his legacy continued beyond his lifetime despite early death from lymphoma.
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Common questions
When was Michael Crichton born and where did he grow up?
John Michael Crichton was born on the 23rd of October 1942, in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in Roslyn, New York.
What medical degree did Michael Crichton earn from Harvard University?
Michael Crichton graduated with an MD from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but never practiced medicine.
Which novel by Michael Crichton won an Edgar Award in 1969?
A Case of Need arrived in 1968 under the pseudonym Jeffrey Hudson and won an Edgar Award in 1969.
How many copies of books written by Michael Crichton have been sold worldwide?
His books sold over 200 million copies worldwide.
On what date did Michael Crichton die and what caused his death?
Crichton died on the 4th of November 2008 due to early death from lymphoma.