Michael Crichton, equiescat in pace ...

[Robin Landseadel]

For some weird reason I was in a science fiction class at Hollywood
High in 1972. The class I was taking over at Mclane High in Fresno
[1971-1972] was your standard issue english class---read 10 sci-fi
books, write book reports , get graded. But the Hollywood High class
was more like a workshop for future authors, standards were higher
and well known authors showed up at the class including the late Mr.
Crichton.

I asked him two questions. First, "how much money did you make on
'The Andromeda Strain' ?", probably the one book that turned Sci-Fi into
a major Pop phenomenon. The teacher was shocked by my question,
and told me it was out of bounds, which was news to me. I also asked
him if he did his own research on "Dealing, or the Berkeley-to-Boston
40 brick lost bag blues", a book serialized in Playboy. I guess he was
between a rock and a hard place, and mumbled how his brother [who
collaborated with him on that book] did the research, though his laugh
kinda betrayed his evasion.

Not much of a fan of his market-driven writing, more of a Hesse/ 
Brautigan
hippie wanna-be at the time. The movie of "The Andromeda Strain" that
came out soon after was well above average for Sci-Fi at the time.



On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:04 AM, Dave Monroe wrote:

> Best-selling author Michael Crichton dies
> November 5, 2008 at 11:55 AM
>
> Chicago-born Michael Crichton, author of best sellers including
> "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain," has died in Los Angeles,
> his Web site reported today. He was 66.
>
> More details to come.
>
> http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/11/best-selling-author-michael-crichton-dies.html