Dan's JP3 Page - JP's Creator, Michael Crichton, Dead at 66

Michael Crichton, novelist, screenwriter, and best known to us here at DJP3P as the visionary inventor of the fictional "Jurassic Park" in his two novels, died yesterday, according to a report at ETOnline.com, after waging what is described as a "private battle" with cancer. He was 66. Crichton started his writing career as a way to pay his way through medical school, crafting tight, reality-based cautionary thrillers that would become his style throughout his career. He was never afraid to tackle popular controversies, and in fact reveled in turning them on their head, plowing into tricky subjects such as sexual harassment ("Disclosure"), global warming ("State of Fear"), or, my (obvious) personal favorite, what he saw as the dangerous game of genetic manipulation ("Jurassic Park"). Popular not only for his novels but television and movie work as well, he is to this day the only person to have the #1 movie (JP), the #1 TV show (ER), and the #1 book (Disclosure), all at the same time. (Thanks Phil)