Bedford mourns death of Michael Crichton
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- November
- 5
Bestselling author Michael Crichton has died of cancer at 66 in Los Angeles, reports the Hollywood Reporter and a slew of other media outlets. His books were made into fabulously successful movies, “Jurassic Park” and “The Andromeda Strain” and he is also the creator of the popular television series, ER.
His family released a statement and a story appeared in LoHud.com’s news update this afternoon.
He had kept it relatively private that he as battling cancer, says the Hollywood Reporter .
In Westchester County, he has been considered a local author sharing the Bedford community address with other notables like Ralph Lauren and Chevy Chase.
Indeed, Crichton lived in Bedford. In 1996, he bought a 13.2-acre estate with a 15-room, Tudor-style house in Bedford and then promptly filed paperwork with the town for major renovations. But, as part of 2001 divorce his wife Ann-Marie she got the house as part of the separation agreement, according to a 2003 story in Forbes magazine.
Nevertheless, Librarian Ann Cloonan, director of the Bedford Village Free Library, said she recalls hearing he was a big library supporter in communities where he has lived. He was known for generously donating funds and his time. When Bedford Village, for example, planned a building expansion more than a decade ago, Cloonan, says that staff recalls that he spoke at the library during a capital campaign fund-raiser.
He also was a featured author at Intrigue, a literary lunch with authors at Tappan Hill in Tarrytown to benefit the Katonah Museum of Art and sponsored by The Journal News in 2000. (Photo from The Journal News, 12/12/2000).
Cloonan said the library had fairly substantial collection of Crichton books and would pull out some because “always when this happens people come in looking for the books.”
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 5th, 2008 at 4:17 pm by Barbara Nackman.
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Category: Bedford Village Free Library, ER creator, Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton
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