Michael Blake dead: Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves screenwriter dies aged 69

The author and screenwriter (above left) died peacefully of a lengthy illness

Oscar-winning screenwriter Michael Blake has died aged 69 (Getty Images)

Michael Blake, who won an Oscar for his adaptation of Dances With Wolves from his own novel, has died at the age of 69.

Blake died peacefully in Arizona after battling a lengthy illness, his manager and producing partner Daniel Ostroff confirmed.

Blake wrote the novel Dances With Wolves in 1988, which he turned into an Oscar-winning film starring Kevin Costner in 1990.

The film went on to win seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay. The script also won at the Golden Globes and the Writers Guild Awards.

The book sold more than 3.5 million copies and has been translated into 15 different languages.

Blake and Costner first worked together on the 1983 gambling drama Stacy’s Knights, which Blake wrote and Costner starred in. Costner also commissioned Blake to write two other screenplays, The Mick and The One.

Ostroff acquired film rights for the Dances With Wolves sequel The Holy Road last year. A stage version of Dances With Wolves is also currently in development.

Blake’s other novels include Airman Mortensen, Indian Yell, Marching to Valhalla, Twelve The King and Like A Running Dog.

He is survived by his wife, Marianne, and their three children. His family have requested that any donations should be made to horse charity the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros.

Read more: Kevin Costner interview: Dancing with Hollywood