Trivia

After the success of Jurassic Park (1993), Rising Sun (1993), Disclosure (1994) and Congo (1995) (all adaptations of Crichton's novels), he was paid a substantial amount for the movie rights of his future bestseller Airframe before it was even published. Sigourney Weaver, Gwyneth Paltrow and Demi Moore were reportedly linked to the project. However, the movie adaptation was permanently shelved when Crichton could not agree on a screenplay that he liked, after which he returned the money.

He has related the story of his first visit to a movie studio, Universal, which was about to produce The Andromeda Strain (1971). A young novice director named Steven Spielberg was assigned the task of giving him a tour of the studio. It was almost 20 years later that he was contacted by Spielberg for a potential project that was dropped in favor of another of his stories, Jurassic Park (1993).

When writing a script or book, he always eats the same thing for lunch to aid his concentration. When writing Jurassic Park (1993), for example, he ate egg salad sandwiches with lots of pepper.

Son, John Michael Todd Crichton, was born February 12, 2009, three months after his death.

Was tied up and robbed at gunpoint by masked men in his home in Santa Monica, California, on 23 September 2002. No one was harmed.

ER (1994) began its life in the early 1970s as E.W.: Emergency Ward, which was what they were called at the time, and was a full-length film script. He was unable to get it produced. Steven Spielberg contacted him about it in 1989, expressing interest in turning it into a movie. It was dropped when Spielberg heard about Jurassic Park (1993). During the film's production, someone else at Amblin Entertainment read it and suggested that it was better suited for a television series.

Education: Harvard Medical School.

Michael was exorcised in 1986.

Director Nicolas Roeg originally wanted him to play the alien in The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976). The role eventually went to androgynous rock star David Bowie instead.

His first child and daughter, Taylor Anne, was born in 1989.

Of all the film adaptations made from his novels, he said that the best was Jurassic Park (1993) and the worst was The Terminal Man (1974).

After failing to get producers interested in ER (1994) in 1970, the script sat in a metal safe for twenty years until Steven Spielberg heard about it.

Original Job: Anthropology professor.

He wrote a screenplay about a genetically engineered dinosaur in 1983 but it was never produced.

Frequently hired Jerry Goldsmith to compose the scores for his films.

Became a vocal skeptic of environmentalism and global warming later in his career.

Has written two stories about futuristic theme parks that go haywire: Westworld (1973) and Jurassic Park (1993). Both films feature actors who worked with John Sturges. Yul Brynner appeared in The Magnificent Seven (1960), and referenced his earlier role as the robotic gunslinger. Richard Attenborough appeared in The Great Escape (1963).

Association of American Medical Writers award for "Five Patients." (1970)

Mystery Writer's of America Edgar award for "A Case of Need." (1968)

Mystery Writer's of America Edgar award for The Great Train Robbery (1978). (1980)

Played basketball at Roslyn High School

Visiting writer, MIT. (1988)

Raised in Roslyn, New York.

Biography in John Wakeman, editor, "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985," pp. 248-250. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.

Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, volume 127, pages 65-72. Farmington Hills, MI: The Gale Group, 1994.