Michael Crichton: Biography

The son of an Advertising Age executive editor, Chicago-born Michael Crichton has become one of the most distinguished medical scholars in academic history. Recognized for his brilliance while a Harvard undergrad, Crichton moved on to Cambridge, where he taught anthropology. But Crichton's "guilty pleasure" was writing thriller novels, an activity he pursued under the nom de plume of John Lange (one of several pen names adopted by the fantastically prolific Crichton over the years). Under his own name, Crichton utilized his scientific and medical know-how to add credibility to his nail-biting best-sellers The Andromeda Strain, The Terminal Man and Jurassic Park; each of these works resulted in a high-grossing film adaptations--most notably Jurassic Park, which under the guidance of Steven Spielberg, became one of the biggest moneymakers of all time. In 1972, Crichton made his directing debut with a TV-movie adaptation of his own novel Binary. Subsequent Crichton-directed efforts have included Westworld (1973), Coma (1976), The Great Train Robbery (1978) and Runaway (1983). While most of his works have been universally popular, Crichton brewed up a storm of controversy with his 1991 novel Rising Sun, which was perceived in some circles to be a "Japanese basher" (the subsequent 1993 film version was considerably toned down). In 1994, Crichton returned to television as the creative force and executive producer of the top-rated NBC medical series ER. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide