Larry McMurtry (1936–2021)
Author of Lonesome Dove
About the Author
Larry McMurtry, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, among other awards, is the author of twenty-four novels, two collections of essays, two memoirs, more than thirty screenplays, & an anthology of modern Western fiction. He lives in Archer City, Texas. (Publisher Provided) Novelist Larry show more McMurtry was born June 3, 1936 in Wichita Falls, Texas. He received a B.A. from North Texas State University in 1958, an M.A. from Rice University in 1960, and attended Stanford University. He married Josephine Ballard in 1959, divorced in 1966, and had one son, folksinger James McMurtry. Until the age of 22, McMurtry worked on his father's cattle ranch. When he was 25, he published his first novel, "Horseman, Pass By" (1961), which was turned into the Academy Award-winning movie Hud in 1962. "The Last Picture Show" (1966) was made into a screenplay with Peter Bogdanovich, and the 1971 movie was nominated for eight Oscars, including one for best screenplay adaptation. "Terms of Endearment" (1975) received little attention until the movie version won five Oscars, including Best Picture, in 1983. McMurtry's novel "Lonesome Dove" (1985) won the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and the Spur Award and was followed by two popular TV miniseries. The other titles in the Lonesome Dove Series are "Streets of Laredo" (1993), "Dead Man's Walk" (1995), and "Comanche Moon" (1997). The other books in his Last Picture Show Trilogy are "Texasville" (1987) and "Duane's Depressed" (1999). McMurtry suffered a heart attack in 1991 and had quadruple-bypass surgery. Following that, he suffered from severe depression and it was during this time he wrote "Streets of Laredo," a dark sequel to "Lonesome Dove." His companion Diana Ossana, helping to pull him out of his depression, collaborated with him on "Pretty Boy Floyd" (1994) and "Zeke and Ned" (1997). He co-won the Best Screenplay Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain in 2006. He made The New York Times Best Seller List with his title's Custer and The Last Kind Words Saloon. McMurtry is considered one of the country's leading antiquarian book dealers. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Larry McMurtry
The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, and the Beginnings of Superstardom in America (2005) 235 copies
Lonesome Dove #3 107 copies
Larry McMurtry: Three Complete Novels (Lonesome Dove, Leaving Cheyenne, The Last Picture Show) (1701) 63 copies
Brokeback Mountain: A Screenplay — Author — 3 copies
By Larry McMurtry - Dead Man's Walk 2 copies
Il cammino del morto 2 copies
Larry McMurty 7 volume hardcover set: Dead Man's Walk, The Late Child, Streets of Laredo, Some Can Whistle, Loop… (1992) 2 copies
Thalia 1 copy
LD#1 - Lonesome Dove 1 copy
Lovesome Dove 1 copy
Associated Works
Novel History: Historians and Novelists Confront America's Past and Each Other (2001) — Contributor — 132 copies
Lone Star Literature: From the Red River to the Rio Grande: A Texas Anthology (2003) — Foreword, some editions — 66 copies
A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove (Wittliff Gallery of Southwestern and Mexican Photography) (2007) — Foreword — 40 copies
Texfake: An Account of the Theft and Forgery of Early Texas Printed Documents (1991) — Introduction, some editions — 33 copies
Lovin' Molly [1974 film] — Original book — 2 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- McMurtry, Larry Jeff
- Birthdate
- 1936-06-03
- Date of death
- 2021-03-25
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Archer City, Texas, USA
- Cause of death
- congestive heart failure
- Places of residence
- Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
Washington, D.C., USA
Archer City, Texas, USA - Education
- North Texas State University (BA|1958)
Rice University (MA|1960) - Occupations
- novelist
bookstore owner
screenwriter - Relationships
- McMurtry, James (son)
- Awards and honors
- Robert Kirsch Award (2002)
Texas Institute of Letters Jesse M. Jones Award (1962)
Western Literature Association's Distinguished Achievement Award (1987)
Carl Sandburg Literary Award (2014) - Agent
- Ben Ringel
Members
Discussions
Larry McMurtry in Legacy Libraries (February 2023)
MARCH GROUP READ - Lonesome Dove in Club Read 2019 (May 2019)
Larry McMurtry American Author Challenge in 75 Books Challenge for 2015 (September 2015)
Reviews
Lists
Five star books (1)
Favourite Books (3)
Overdue Podcast (1)
USA Road Trip (1)
Family Drama (1)
1970s (1)
Simon & Schuster (1)
1960s (1)
High Priority (1)
Best Westerns (3)
100 New Classics (1)
Page Turners (1)
Movies wishlist (1)
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 104
- Also by
- 14
- Members
- 36,965
- Popularity
- #494
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 773
- ISBNs
- 921
- Languages
- 15
- Favorited
- 131