Jurassic Park author Crichton dies at 66

Michael Crichton, the bestselling author behind the Jurassic Park films and the long-running television series ER, has died unexpectedly in Los Angeles at the age of 66.

A statement released by his family said that the author died after a "courageous and private battle against cancer". He leaves behind his wife, Sherri, and Taylor, his daughter from a previous marriage.

Crichton was a prolific writer whose books spawned numerous film adaptations. More than a dozen of his novels, including Rising Sun, Congo and Twister made it on to the big screen, but it was Jurassic Park, his scientific thriller about the botched creation of a dinosaur theme park, which made him a household name. He co-wrote the screenplay for the film, which was directed by Steven Spielberg and won three Oscars for its special effects.

"Michael's talent outscaled even his own dinosaurs of Jurassic Park," Spielberg said yesterday. "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."

Crichton's books combined the latest scientific theories with fast-paced narratives, and his medical background meant that he was able to make unbelievable plots seem credible. By the time of his death, his books had sold more than 150 million copies.

The author was married five times and divorced four times. Yesterday, his family asked for privacy and said a private funeral service would be held in due course.

Michael Crichton was born in Chicago in 1942, qualifying as a doctor before turning his hand to writing. He received an MD from Harvard Medical School, later drawing on his experiences when he created the long-running US hospital drama ER. The series, which helped to launch the career of George Clooney, won Crichton an Emmy in 1996.

He wrote his first novels under the pseudonyms John Lange and Jeffery Hudson to finance his studies at medical school, but was encouraged to take up writing as a career after his novel The Andromeda Strain, published in 1969, became a bestseller.

Crichton was outspokenly sceptical about the threat of global warming, a subject which he addressed in his 2004 novel State of Fear, which revolves around a scientist who discovers that climate change is a fraud.

During a speech he gave in Washington in 2005, the author said: "In my view, our approach to global warming exemplifies everything that is wrong with our approach to the environment. We are basing our decisions on speculation, not evidence."

The writer's next work had been scheduled for release in the US next month, but publishers HarperCollins said yesterday that the book would be postponed indefinitely.