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Larry McMurtry

Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936 – March 25, 2021) was a prolific American novelist, essayist, prominent book collector, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.[1] His novels included Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966), and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34 Oscar nominations (13 wins).

Larry McMurtry
Author photo on the book jacket of his novel The Last Picture Show, 1966
BornLarry Jeff McMurtry
(1936-06-03)June 3, 1936
Archer City, Texas, U.S.
DiedMarch 25, 2021(2021-03-25) (aged 84)
Archer City, Texas, U.S.
Occupation
Education
Years active1961–2021

His 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations (seven wins). The subsequent three novels in his Lonesome Dove series were adapted as three more miniseries, earning eight more Emmy nominations. McMurtry and cowriter Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain (2005), which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins, including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2014, McMurtry received the National Humanities Medal.[2]

In Tracy Daugherty's 2023 biography of McMurtry, the biographer quotes critic Dave Hickey as saying about McMurtry:[3]

"Larry is a writer, and it's kind of like being a critter. If you leave a cow alone, he'll eat grass. If you leave Larry alone, he'll write books. When he's in public, he may say hello and goodbye, but otherwise he is just resting, getting ready to go write."[3]

Early life and education edit

According to the astrodatabank website, McMurtry's birth certificate states that he was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, the son of Hazel Ruth (née McIver) and William Jefferson McMurtry.[4] He grew up on his parents' ranch outside Archer City. The city was the model for the town of Thalia which is a setting for much of his fiction.[5] He earned a BA from the University of North Texas in 1958 and an MA from Rice University in 1960.[6][7]

In his memoir, McMurtry said that during his first five or six years in his grandfather's ranch house, there were no books, but his extended family would sit on the front porch every night and tell stories. In 1942, McMurtry's cousin Robert Hilburn stopped by the ranch house on his way to enlist for World War II, and left a box containing 19 boys' adventure books from the 1930s. The first book he read was Sergeant Silk: The Prairie Scout.[8]

Career edit

Writer edit

During the 1960–1961 academic year, McMurtry was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at the Stanford University Creative Writing Center, where he studied the craft of fiction under Frank O'Connor and Malcolm Cowley,[9] alongside other aspiring writers, including Wendell Berry, Ken Kesey, Peter S. Beagle, and Gurney Norman. (Wallace Stegner was on sabbatical in Europe during McMurtry's fellowship year.[10])

McMurtry and Kesey remained friends after McMurtry left California and returned to Texas to take a year-long composition instructorship at Texas Christian University.[11] In 1963, he returned to Rice University, where he served as a lecturer in English until 1969, and a visiting professor at George Mason College (1970) and American University (1970–71). [12] He entertained some of his early students with accounts of Hollywood and the filming of Hud, for which he was consulting. In 1964, Kesey and his Merry Pranksters conducted their noted cross-country trip, stopping at McMurtry's home in Houston. The adventure in the day-glo-painted school bus Furthur was chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. That same year, McMurtry was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.[13]

McMurtry won numerous awards from the Texas Institute of Letters: three times the Jesse H. Jones Award—in 1962, for Horseman, Pass By; in 1967, for The Last Picture Show, which he shared with Tom Pendleton's The Iron Orchard; and in 1986, for Lonesome Dove. He won the Amon G. Carter award for periodical prose in 1966 for Texas: Good Times Gone or Here Again?[14] and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984.[15] In 1986, McMurtry received the annual Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award from the Tulsa Library Trust.[16] He reflected on his 1985 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Lonesome Dove, in Literary Life: A Second Memoir (2009), writing that it was the "Gone With the Wind of the West … a pretty good book; it's not a towering masterpiece."[17]

McMurtry described his method for writing novels in Books: A Memoir. He said that from his first novel on, he would get up early and dash off five pages of narrative. When he published the memoir in 2008, he said this was still his method, although by then, he wrote 10 pages a day. He also wrote every day, ignoring holidays and weekends.[18] McMurtry was a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books.[19]

McMurtry was a vigorous defender of free speech and, while serving as president of PEN American Center (now PEN America) from 1989 to 1991, led the organization's efforts to support writer Salman Rushdie,[20] whose novel The Satanic Verses (1988) caused a major controversy among some Muslims, with the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, issuing a fatwā calling for Rushdie's assassination, after which attempts were made on his life.[21]

In 1989, McMurtry testified on behalf of PEN America before the U.S. Congress in opposition to immigration rules in the 1952 McCarran–Walter Act that for decades permitted the visa denial and deportation of foreign writers for ideological reasons.[17] He recounted how before PEN America was to host the 1986 International PEN Congress, "there was a serious question as to whether such a meeting could in fact take place in this country... the McCarran–Walter Act could have effectively prevented such a gathering in the United States." He denounced the relevant rules as "an affront to all who cherish the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and association. To a writer whose living depends upon the uninhibited interchange of ideas and experiences, these provisions are especially appalling." Subsequently, some provisions that excluded certain classes of immigrants based on their political beliefs were revoked by the Immigration Act of 1990.[22]

Antiquarian bookstore businesses edit

While at Stanford, McMurtry became a rare-book scout.[23] During his years in Houston, he managed a book store called the Bookman. In 1969, he moved to the Washington, D.C., area. In 1970 with two partners, he started a bookshop in Georgetown, which he named Booked Up. In 1988, he opened another Booked Up in Archer City. It became one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in the United States, carrying between 400,000 and 450,000 titles. Citing economic pressures from Internet bookselling, McMurtry came close to shutting down the Archer City store in 2005, but chose to keep it open after great public support.

In early 2012, McMurtry decided to downsize and sell off the greater portion of his inventory. He felt the collection was a liability for his heirs.[24] The auction was conducted on August 10 and 11, 2012, and was overseen by Addison and Sarova Auctioneers of Macon, Georgia. This epic book auction sold books by the shelf, and was billed as "The Last Booksale", in keeping with the title of McMurtry's The Last Picture Show. Dealers, collectors, and gawkers came out en masse from all over the country to witness this historic auction. As stated by McMurtry on the weekend of the sale, "I've never seen that many people lined up in Archer City, and I'm sure I never will again."[25]

In April 2006, McMurtry was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society.[26]

 
One of McMurtry's bookstores in Archer City, Texas
 
One of the aisles of books at Booked Up in Archer City
 
Bookstore cat, Booked Up (2008)

Film and television edit

McMurtry became well known for the film adaptations of his work, which were seen by many viewers, especially Hud (from the novel Horseman, Pass By), starring Paul Newman and Patricia Neal;[27] the Peter Bogdanovich–directed The Last Picture Show;[28] James L. Brooks's Terms of Endearment, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1984);[29] and Lonesome Dove, which became a popular television miniseries starring Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall.[30][31]

In 2006, he was co-winner (with Diana Ossana) of both the Best Screenplay Golden Globe[32] and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain, adapted from a short story by E. Annie Proulx. He accepted his Oscar while wearing a dinner jacket over jeans and cowboy boots.[33] In his speech, he promoted books, reminding the audience the movie was developed from a short story. In his Golden Globe acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his Swiss-made Hermes 3000 typewriter.[34]

Personal life edit

McMurtry married Jo Scott, who is an English professor and has authored five books.[35] Before divorcing, they had a son together, James McMurtry. Both he and his son (Larry's grandson) Curtis McMurtry are singer/songwriters and guitarists.[36]

In 1991 McMurtry underwent heart surgery.[37] During his recovery, he suffered severe depression. He recovered at the home of his future writing partner Diana Ossana and wrote his novel Streets of Laredo at her kitchen counter.[38][39]

McMurtry married Norma Faye Kesey, the widow of writer Ken Kesey, on April 29, 2011, in a civil ceremony in Archer City.[40]

McMurtry died on March 25, 2021, at his home in Archer City, Texas. He was 84 years old.[41]

It was announced in early 2023 that McMurtry's personal property including his writing desk, typewriters and personal book collection would be sold at public auction by Vogt Auction in San Antonio, Texas, on May 29, 2023.[42]

Fiction edit

Stand-alone novels edit

Thalia: A Texas Trilogy edit

Larry McMurtry's first three novels, all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II

Harmony and Pepper series edit

The books follow the story of mother/daughter characters Harmony and Pepper

  • 1983: The Desert Rose[56]
  • 1995: The Late Child[57]

Duane Moore series edit

The books follow the story of character Duane Moore

Houston series edit

The books follow the stories of occasionally recurring characters living in the Houston, Texas, area

  • 1970: Moving On (characters Patsy Carpenter/Danny Deck/Emma Horton/Joe Percy)[62]
  • 1972: All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers (Danny Deck/Jill Peel/Emma Horton)[62]
  • 1975: Terms of Endearment (Emma Horton/Aurora Greenway) – adapted for film as Terms of Endearment[62]
  • 1978: Somebody's Darling (Jill Peel/Joe Percy)[63]
  • 1989: Some Can Whistle (Danny Deck)[62]
  • 1992: The Evening Star (Aurora Greenaway)[64] – adapted for film as The Evening Star[65]

Lonesome Dove series edit

 
The Contrabando, a ghost town and movie set within Big Bend Ranch State Park, used for making the "Dead Man's Walk" and "Streets of Laredo" parts of the Lonesome Dove miniseries.

The Berrybender Narratives edit

As editor edit

  • 1999: Still Wild: A Collection of Western Stories[70]

Other writings edit

Nonfiction edit

  • 1968: In A Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas[62]
  • 1974: "It's Always We Rambled" (essay)[72]
  • 1987: Film Flam: Essays on Hollywood [72]
  • 1999: Crazy Horse: A Life (biography)[72]
  • 1999: Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections on Sixty and Beyond[72]
  • 2000: Roads: Driving America's Great Highways[72]
  • 2001: Sacagawea's Nickname—essays on the American West[72]
  • 2002: Paradise—South-Pacific travelogue/memoir[72]
  • 2005: The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley & the Beginnings of Superstardom in America[72]
  • 2005: Oh What A Slaughter! : Massacres in the American West: 1846—1890[72]
  • 2008: Books: A Memoir[75]
  • 2009: Literary Life: A Second Memoir[76]
  • 2011: Hollywood: A Third Memoir[77]
  • 2012: Custer[78]

Film edit

 
Paul Newman (left) and Melvyn Douglas in Hud (1963)

Television edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Hugh Rawson August 29, 2008, at the Wayback Machine "Screenings," American Heritage, April/May 2006.
  2. ^ "Larry McMurtry". The National Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Larry McMurtry: A Life by Tracy Daugherty, St. Martin's Press, 2023, page 201. ISBN 978-1-250-28233-0.
  4. ^ "Larry (Jeff) McMurtry Biography (1936-)". www.filmreference.com.
  5. ^ "New Life After 'The Last Picture Show'". The New York Times. April 4, 1982.
  6. ^ Judkins, Julie (June 3, 2015). "Happy birthday to our distinguished alumni Larry McMurtry!". UNT Special Collections.
  7. ^ Falk, Jeff (September 3, 2015). "Rice alum, author Larry McMurtry receives National Humanities Medal". Rice University.
  8. ^ McMurtry, Larry (2008). Books: A Memoir. pp. 1–8.
  9. ^ "Novelist Larry McMurtry's last kind words: "Lonesome Dove" author on closeted cowboys, pointless Pulitzers, and his latest Old West novel". Mother Jones. May 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  10. ^ McMurtry, Larry (December 5, 2002). "On the Road". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  11. ^ "A Guide to the Larry McMurtry Papers, 1968, 1987–1991". The Witcliff Collections. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  12. ^ "Guide to the Larry McMurtry and Diana Osanna Papers, 1890–2008, bulk dates 1980-2008 MS 276". Woodson Research Center. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  13. ^ "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation: Larry McMurtry". John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  14. ^ Compton, Bob; Wiesepape, Betty. "Texas Institute of Letters: Awards" (PDF). Texas Institute of Letters. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  15. ^ "Texas Institute of Letters: Literary Awards". Texas Institute of Letters. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  16. ^ "Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award". Tulsa Library Trust. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  17. ^ a b Flood, Alison (March 27, 2021). "Lonesome Dove author and Brokeback Mountain screenwriter Larry McMurtry dies at 84". The Guardian. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  18. ^ McMurtry, Larry (2008). Books : a memoir (1st Simon & Schuster hardcover ed.). New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 49. ISBN 9781416583349.
  19. ^ "Larry McMurtry". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  20. ^ "Larry McMurtry: Biographical Sketch". Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  21. ^ Loyd, Anthony (June 8, 2005). . The Times. London. Archived from the original on June 1, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "PEN America Mourns Death of Novelist, Former PEN America President Larry McMurtry". PEN America. March 26, 2021. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
  23. ^ West, Richard (June 1985). "Working Book Bound". D Magazine.
  24. ^ Lindenberger, Michael (August 15, 2012). "The Great Book Sale of Teas". Time. Retrieved August 20, 2012.
  25. ^ Williams, John (August 12, 2012). "Wanted, Dead or Alive: Used Books". The New York Times.
  26. ^ "MemberListP". American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Hud. OCLC 878940995. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  28. ^ a b The last picture show. OCLC 79950037. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  29. ^ . oscars.org. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Lonesome Dove. OCLC 423140732. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  31. ^ a b Lonesome Dove. OCLC 774391218. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  32. ^ White, Meghan (February 14, 2006). "Brokeback Mountain: Interview with Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana". Cinemalogue.
  33. ^ Hudak, Joseph (March 26, 2021). "Larry McMurtry, 'Lonesome Dove' Novelist, Dead at 84". Rolling Stone.
  34. ^ Keller, Julia; Elder, Robert K. (January 20, 2006). "What's so special about a Hermes 3000?". Chicago Tribune.
  35. ^ Hendricks, Diana Finlay. "Larry McMurtry: An Accidental Feminist?". dianahendricks.com. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  36. ^ Granberry, Michael (March 26, 2021). "Texas literary giant Larry McMurtry dies at 84". The Dallas Morning News.
  37. ^ Hoinski, Michael (May 22, 2014). "'Lonesome Dove' Legend Larry McMurtry on Fiction, Money, Womanizing, and Old Age". Grantland. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  38. ^ "Larry McMurtry, one of Texas' greatest writers, dead at 84 - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham". March 26, 2021.
  39. ^ Horowitz, Mark (December 7, 1997). "Larry McMurtry's Dream Job". The New York Times. Retrieved December 9, 2018.
  40. ^ Granberry, Michael (May 5, 2011). . The Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  41. ^ Garner, Dwight (March 26, 2021). "Larry McMurtry, Novelist of the American West, Dies at 84". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 28, 2021. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  42. ^ Marini, Richard A. (February 7, 2023). "Larry McMurtry auction includes signed books, desk, typewriter, boots". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  43. ^ "Cadillac Jack: A Novel". Kirkus Reviews. September 30, 2011.
  44. ^ Gish, Robert (November 14, 2008). "'Anything for Billy' by Larry McMurtry". Los Angeles Times.
  45. ^ Fromberg Schaeffer, Susan (October 7, 1990). "Lonesome Jane". The New York Times.
  46. ^ a b Buffalo girls. OCLC 422719821. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  47. ^ Combs, Casey (December 11, 1994). "An Unlikely Team--Law Clerk and Novelist--Write 'Pretty Boy Floyd' : Books: Diana Ossana was an unknown, a woman who had done a lot of writing but never had anything published. Larry McMurtry is one of America's most successful writers". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press.
  48. ^ Johnson, Dean (March 25, 1997). "IIt's the Women Who Inspire in McMurtry's 'Zeke and Ned'". Chicago Tribune.
  49. ^ Kingston Pierce, J. (January 2001). "Saddle Sore: Review | Boone's Lick by Larry McMurtry". January Magazine.
  50. ^ Shea, Mike (December 2004). "Book Review: Loop Group". Texas Monthly.
  51. ^ Cain, Chelsea (June 18, 2006). "Cowboys Are My Weakness". The New York Times.
  52. ^ Cheuse, Alan (May 27, 2014). "McMurtry Takes Aim At A Legend In 'Last Kind Words Saloon'". NPR.
  53. ^ Poore, Charles (June 10, 1961). "Books of The Times". The New York Times.
  54. ^ King, Larry L. (March 1974). "Leavin' McMurtry". Texas Monthly.
  55. ^ a b Curwen, Thomas (March 26, 2021). "Larry McMurtry, author of 'Lonesome Dove' and 'The Last Picture Show', dies". Los Angeles Times.
  56. ^ "The Desert Rose: A Novel". Kirkus Reviews. September 1, 1983.
  57. ^ Klinkenborg, Verlyn (May 21, 1995). "Once More, With Harmony". The New York Times.
  58. ^ Prewitt, Taylor (July 24, 2020). "Texas Monthly Recommends: Larry McMurtry's 'Texasville'". Texas Monthly.
  59. ^ Harris, Michael (January 5, 1999). "'Duane's Depressed' by Larry McMurtry". Los Angeles Times.
  60. ^ Leland, John (March 18, 2007). "Duane's Depraved". The New York Times.
  61. ^ Hendricks, David (August 14, 2009). "Rhino Ranch by Larry McMurtry". Houston Chronicle.
  62. ^ a b c d e f Brinkley, Douglas (September 14, 2017). "After the Hurricane Winds Die Down, Larry McMurtry's Houston Trilogy Lives On". The New York Times.
  63. ^ Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (December 20, 1978). "Books of The Times". The New York Times.
  64. ^ Bradfield, Scott (October 22, 2011). "Book Review / New terms in Texas: The Evening Star - Larry McMurtry". The Independent.
  65. ^ a b The evening star. OCLC 422886574. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  66. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Streets of Laredo". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  67. ^ "Fiction Book Review: Dead Man's Walk". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved March 26, 2021.
  68. ^ "Book Review: Comanche Moon". Kirkus Reviews. September 15, 1997.
  69. ^ a b c d Graham, Don (December 2011). "Father Knows West". Texas Monthly.
  70. ^ Holland, Dick (August 4, 2000). "Two for the Road". Austin Chronicle.
  71. ^ Unger, Arthur (January 22, 1988). "A thriller with extra dimensions. Controversial murder case makes exceptional video drama". Christian Science Monitor.
  72. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "McMurtry, Larry 1936–". Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
  73. ^ a b Falling from grace. OCLC 27150707. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  74. ^ Debruge, Peter (September 15, 2020). "'Good Joe Bell' Review: Mark Wahlberg Stars in a Bad Movie About Bullying". Variety.
  75. ^ Campbell, James (July 27, 2008). "Shelf-Possessed". The New York Times.
  76. ^ "McMurtry's 'Literary Life': Not Simple, But Practical". NPR. December 23, 2009.
  77. ^ Baker, Jeff (August 21, 2010). "Nonfiction review: 'Hollywood: A Third Memoir' by Larry McMurtry". The Oregonian.
  78. ^ Pensky, Nathan (February 3, 2013). "Los Angeles Review of Books".
  79. ^ Lovin' Molly. OCLC 423149680. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  80. ^ Terms of endearment : based on the novel by Larry McMurtry. OCLC 917295387. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  81. ^ Texasville. OCLC 633123542. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  82. ^ Green, Reinaldo Marcus. "Good Joe Bell". tiff.net. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  83. ^ The American Film Institute's 10th anniversary special. OCLC 423447816. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  84. ^ The murder of Mary Phagan. OCLC 747040812. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  85. ^ The murder of Mary Phagan. OCLC 423224348. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  86. ^ Return to Lonesome Dove. OCLC 29625796. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  87. ^ Lonesome Dove--the series. [1994, unidentified episode, no. 1]. OCLC 423140736. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  88. ^ Lonesome Dove : the outlaw years. [1995, unidentified episode], the return. OCLC 423140737. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  89. ^ Comanche moon. OCLC 1145819768. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.
  90. ^ Comanche moon. OCLC 909055472. Retrieved March 28, 2021 – via worldcat.org.

Further reading edit

External links edit

  • Larry McMurtry Collection, from the Rare Book & Texana Collections, University of North Texas website
  • McMurtry, Larry. "The Author Who Sold Books", Washingtonian, August 1, 2008.
  • Larry McMurtry Papers 1984–1991, from the Texas State University-San Marcos website
  • Larry McMurtry at IMDb  
  • Larry McMurtry at Curlie
  • The Treasure Hunter Michael Dirda review of McMurtry's Books: A Memoir from The New York Review of Books
  • Larry McMurtry screenplays, 1979–1988 and undated, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
  • Guide to the Larry McMurtry and Diana Osanna Papers, 1890–2004, in the Woodson Research Center at Rice University
  • Articles in Western American Literature

larry, mcmurtry, larry, jeff, mcmurtry, june, 1936, march, 2021, prolific, american, novelist, essayist, prominent, book, collector, bookseller, screenwriter, whose, work, predominantly, either, west, contemporary, texas, novels, included, horseman, pass, 1962. Larry Jeff McMurtry June 3 1936 March 25 2021 was a prolific American novelist essayist prominent book collector bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas 1 His novels included Horseman Pass By 1962 The Last Picture Show 1966 and Terms of Endearment 1975 which were adapted into films Films adapted from McMurtry s works earned 34 Oscar nominations 13 wins Larry McMurtryAuthor photo on the book jacket of his novel The Last Picture Show 1966BornLarry Jeff McMurtry 1936 06 03 June 3 1936Archer City Texas U S DiedMarch 25 2021 2021 03 25 aged 84 Archer City Texas U S OccupationNovelistscreenwriteressayistantiquarian booksellerEducationUniversity of North Texas BA Rice University MA Years active1961 2021His 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Lonesome Dove was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18 Emmy Award nominations seven wins The subsequent three novels in his Lonesome Dove series were adapted as three more miniseries earning eight more Emmy nominations McMurtry and cowriter Diana Ossana adapted the screenplay for Brokeback Mountain 2005 which earned eight Academy Award nominations with three wins including McMurtry and Ossana for Best Adapted Screenplay In 2014 McMurtry received the National Humanities Medal 2 In Tracy Daugherty s 2023 biography of McMurtry the biographer quotes critic Dave Hickey as saying about McMurtry 3 Larry is a writer and it s kind of like being a critter If you leave a cow alone he ll eat grass If you leave Larry alone he ll write books When he s in public he may say hello and goodbye but otherwise he is just resting getting ready to go write 3 Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 2 1 Writer 2 2 Antiquarian bookstore businesses 2 3 Film and television 3 Personal life 4 Fiction 4 1 Stand alone novels 4 2 Thalia A Texas Trilogy 4 3 Harmony and Pepper series 4 4 Duane Moore series 4 5 Houston series 4 6 Lonesome Dove series 4 7 The Berrybender Narratives 4 8 As editor 4 9 Other writings 5 Nonfiction 6 Film 7 Television 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External linksEarly life and education editAccording to the astrodatabank website McMurtry s birth certificate states that he was born in Wichita Falls Texas the son of Hazel Ruth nee McIver and William Jefferson McMurtry 4 He grew up on his parents ranch outside Archer City The city was the model for the town of Thalia which is a setting for much of his fiction 5 He earned a BA from the University of North Texas in 1958 and an MA from Rice University in 1960 6 7 In his memoir McMurtry said that during his first five or six years in his grandfather s ranch house there were no books but his extended family would sit on the front porch every night and tell stories In 1942 McMurtry s cousin Robert Hilburn stopped by the ranch house on his way to enlist for World War II and left a box containing 19 boys adventure books from the 1930s The first book he read was Sergeant Silk The Prairie Scout 8 Career editWriter edit During the 1960 1961 academic year McMurtry was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at the Stanford University Creative Writing Center where he studied the craft of fiction under Frank O Connor and Malcolm Cowley 9 alongside other aspiring writers including Wendell Berry Ken Kesey Peter S Beagle and Gurney Norman Wallace Stegner was on sabbatical in Europe during McMurtry s fellowship year 10 McMurtry and Kesey remained friends after McMurtry left California and returned to Texas to take a year long composition instructorship at Texas Christian University 11 In 1963 he returned to Rice University where he served as a lecturer in English until 1969 and a visiting professor at George Mason College 1970 and American University 1970 71 12 He entertained some of his early students with accounts of Hollywood and the filming of Hud for which he was consulting In 1964 Kesey and his Merry Pranksters conducted their noted cross country trip stopping at McMurtry s home in Houston The adventure in the day glo painted school bus Furthur was chronicled by Tom Wolfe in his book The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test That same year McMurtry was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship 13 McMurtry won numerous awards from the Texas Institute of Letters three times the Jesse H Jones Award in 1962 for Horseman Pass By in 1967 for The Last Picture Show which he shared with Tom Pendleton s The Iron Orchard and in 1986 for Lonesome Dove He won the Amon G Carter award for periodical prose in 1966 for Texas Good Times Gone or Here Again 14 and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984 15 In 1986 McMurtry received the annual Peggy V Helmerich Distinguished Author Award from the Tulsa Library Trust 16 He reflected on his 1985 Pulitzer Prize winning novel Lonesome Dove in Literary Life A Second Memoir 2009 writing that it was the Gone With the Wind of the West a pretty good book it s not a towering masterpiece 17 McMurtry described his method for writing novels in Books A Memoir He said that from his first novel on he would get up early and dash off five pages of narrative When he published the memoir in 2008 he said this was still his method although by then he wrote 10 pages a day He also wrote every day ignoring holidays and weekends 18 McMurtry was a regular contributor to The New York Review of Books 19 McMurtry was a vigorous defender of free speech and while serving as president of PEN American Center now PEN America from 1989 to 1991 led the organization s efforts to support writer Salman Rushdie 20 whose novel The Satanic Verses 1988 caused a major controversy among some Muslims with the Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issuing a fatwa calling for Rushdie s assassination after which attempts were made on his life 21 In 1989 McMurtry testified on behalf of PEN America before the U S Congress in opposition to immigration rules in the 1952 McCarran Walter Act that for decades permitted the visa denial and deportation of foreign writers for ideological reasons 17 He recounted how before PEN America was to host the 1986 International PEN Congress there was a serious question as to whether such a meeting could in fact take place in this country the McCarran Walter Act could have effectively prevented such a gathering in the United States He denounced the relevant rules as an affront to all who cherish the constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and association To a writer whose living depends upon the uninhibited interchange of ideas and experiences these provisions are especially appalling Subsequently some provisions that excluded certain classes of immigrants based on their political beliefs were revoked by the Immigration Act of 1990 22 Antiquarian bookstore businesses edit While at Stanford McMurtry became a rare book scout 23 During his years in Houston he managed a book store called the Bookman In 1969 he moved to the Washington D C area In 1970 with two partners he started a bookshop in Georgetown which he named Booked Up In 1988 he opened another Booked Up in Archer City It became one of the largest antiquarian bookstores in the United States carrying between 400 000 and 450 000 titles Citing economic pressures from Internet bookselling McMurtry came close to shutting down the Archer City store in 2005 but chose to keep it open after great public support In early 2012 McMurtry decided to downsize and sell off the greater portion of his inventory He felt the collection was a liability for his heirs 24 The auction was conducted on August 10 and 11 2012 and was overseen by Addison and Sarova Auctioneers of Macon Georgia This epic book auction sold books by the shelf and was billed as The Last Booksale in keeping with the title of McMurtry s The Last Picture Show Dealers collectors and gawkers came out en masse from all over the country to witness this historic auction As stated by McMurtry on the weekend of the sale I ve never seen that many people lined up in Archer City and I m sure I never will again 25 In April 2006 McMurtry was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society 26 nbsp One of McMurtry s bookstores in Archer City Texas nbsp One of the aisles of books at Booked Up in Archer City nbsp Bookstore cat Booked Up 2008 Film and television edit McMurtry became well known for the film adaptations of his work which were seen by many viewers especially Hud from the novel Horseman Pass By starring Paul Newman and Patricia Neal 27 the Peter Bogdanovich directed The Last Picture Show 28 James L Brooks s Terms of Endearment which won five Academy Awards including Best Picture 1984 29 and Lonesome Dove which became a popular television miniseries starring Tommy Lee Jones and Robert Duvall 30 31 In 2006 he was co winner with Diana Ossana of both the Best Screenplay Golden Globe 32 and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain adapted from a short story by E Annie Proulx He accepted his Oscar while wearing a dinner jacket over jeans and cowboy boots 33 In his speech he promoted books reminding the audience the movie was developed from a short story In his Golden Globe acceptance speech he paid tribute to his Swiss made Hermes 3000 typewriter 34 Personal life editMcMurtry married Jo Scott who is an English professor and has authored five books 35 Before divorcing they had a son together James McMurtry Both he and his son Larry s grandson Curtis McMurtry are singer songwriters and guitarists 36 In 1991 McMurtry underwent heart surgery 37 During his recovery he suffered severe depression He recovered at the home of his future writing partner Diana Ossana and wrote his novel Streets of Laredo at her kitchen counter 38 39 McMurtry married Norma Faye Kesey the widow of writer Ken Kesey on April 29 2011 in a civil ceremony in Archer City 40 McMurtry died on March 25 2021 at his home in Archer City Texas He was 84 years old 41 It was announced in early 2023 that McMurtry s personal property including his writing desk typewriters and personal book collection would be sold at public auction by Vogt Auction in San Antonio Texas on May 29 2023 42 Fiction editStand alone novels edit 1982 Cadillac Jack 43 1988 Anything For Billy fictionalized biography of Billy the Kid 44 1990 Buffalo Girls fictionalized biography of Calamity Jane 45 adapted for TV as Buffalo Girls 46 1994 Pretty Boy Floyd with Diana Ossana fictionalised biography of the titular gangster 47 1997 Zeke and Ned with Diana Ossana fictionalized biography of the last Cherokee warriors 48 2000 Boone s Lick 49 2005 Loop Group 50 2006 Telegraph Days 51 2014 The Last Kind Words Saloon 52 Thalia A Texas Trilogy edit Larry McMurtry s first three novels all set in the north Texas town of Thalia after World War II 1961 Horseman Pass By 53 adapted for film as Hud 27 1963 Leaving Cheyenne adapted for film as Lovin Molly 54 1966 The Last Picture Show adapted for film as The Last Picture Show 55 Harmony and Pepper series edit The books follow the story of mother daughter characters Harmony and Pepper 1983 The Desert Rose 56 1995 The Late Child 57 Duane Moore series edit The books follow the story of character Duane Moore 1966 The Last Picture Show adapted for film as The Last Picture Show 55 1987 Texasville adapted for film as Texasville 58 1999 Duane s Depressed 59 2007 When The Light Goes 60 2009 Rhino Ranch A Novel 61 Houston series edit The books follow the stories of occasionally recurring characters living in the Houston Texas area 1970 Moving On characters Patsy Carpenter Danny Deck Emma Horton Joe Percy 62 1972 All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers Danny Deck Jill Peel Emma Horton 62 1975 Terms of Endearment Emma Horton Aurora Greenway adapted for film as Terms of Endearment 62 1978 Somebody s Darling Jill Peel Joe Percy 63 1989 Some Can Whistle Danny Deck 62 1992 The Evening Star Aurora Greenaway 64 adapted for film as The Evening Star 65 Lonesome Dove series edit nbsp The Contrabando a ghost town and movie set within Big Bend Ranch State Park used for making the Dead Man s Walk and Streets of Laredo parts of the Lonesome Dove miniseries 1985 Lonesome Dove 1986 Pulitzer Prize winner 62 1993 Streets of Laredo 66 1995 Dead Man s Walk 67 1997 Comanche Moon 68 The Berrybender Narratives edit 2002 Sin Killer 69 2003 The Wandering Hill 69 2003 By Sorrow s River 69 2004 Folly and Glory 69 As editor edit 1999 Still Wild A Collection of Western Stories 70 Other writings edit 1988 The Murder of Mary Phagan TV movie 71 1990 Montana TV movie 72 1992 Memphis TV movie 72 1992 Falling from Grace 72 film starring John Mellencamp 73 2002 Johnson County War TV miniseries 72 2005 Brokeback Mountain with Diana Ossana Oscar winning screenplay adapted from the short story by E Annie Proulx 72 2020 Joe Bell with Diana Ossana 74 Nonfiction edit1968 In A Narrow Grave Essays on Texas 62 1974 It s Always We Rambled essay 72 1987 Film Flam Essays on Hollywood 72 1999 Crazy Horse A Life biography 72 1999 Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen Reflections on Sixty and Beyond 72 2000 Roads Driving America s Great Highways 72 2001 Sacagawea s Nickname essays on the American West 72 2002 Paradise South Pacific travelogue memoir 72 2005 The Colonel and Little Missie Buffalo Bill Annie Oakley amp the Beginnings of Superstardom in America 72 2005 Oh What A Slaughter Massacres in the American West 1846 1890 72 2008 Books A Memoir 75 2009 Literary Life A Second Memoir 76 2011 Hollywood A Third Memoir 77 2012 Custer 78 Film edit nbsp Paul Newman left and Melvyn Douglas in Hud 1963 1963 Hud based on novel Horseman Pass By from 1961 72 1971 The Last Picture Show co wrote screenplay based on novel from 1966 28 1974 Lovin Molly based on the novel Leaving Cheyenne from 1963 79 1983 Terms of Endearment based on novel from 1975 80 1990 Texasville based on novel from 1987 81 1992 Falling from Grace wrote screenplay and story 73 1996 The Evening Star based on novel from 1992 65 2005 Brokeback Mountain co wrote screenplay with Diana Ossana and adapted from the short story by E Annie Proulx 72 2020 Joe Bell co wrote screenplay with Diana Ossana 82 Television edit1977 The American Film Institute s 10th Anniversary Special writer 83 1988 The Murder of Mary Phagan mini series based on story 84 85 1989 Lonesome Dove mini series based on 1985 novel 30 31 1990 Montana original screenplay 72 1992 Memphis teleplay 72 1993 Return to Lonesome Dove based on the fictional universe of the 1985 novel 86 1994 1995 Lonesome Dove The Series based on the fictional universe of the 1985 novel 87 1995 Buffalo Girls based on 1990 novel 46 1995 Streets of Laredo wrote teleplay based on 1993 novel 72 1995 1996 Lonesome Dove The Outlaw Years based on the fictional world of the 1985 novel 88 1996 Dead Man s Walk wrote teleplay based on 1995 novel 72 2002 Johnson County War wrote teleplay 72 2008 Comanche Moon wrote teleplay based on 1997 novel 89 90 See also editFrank Q DobbsReferences edit Hugh Rawson Archived August 29 2008 at the Wayback Machine Screenings American Heritage April May 2006 Larry McMurtry The National Endowment for the Humanities Retrieved December 9 2020 a b Larry McMurtry A Life by Tracy Daugherty St Martin s Press 2023 page 201 ISBN 978 1 250 28233 0 Larry Jeff McMurtry Biography 1936 www filmreference com New Life After The Last Picture Show The New York Times April 4 1982 Judkins Julie June 3 2015 Happy birthday to our distinguished alumni Larry McMurtry UNT Special Collections Falk Jeff September 3 2015 Rice alum author Larry McMurtry receives National Humanities Medal Rice University McMurtry Larry 2008 Books A Memoir pp 1 8 Novelist Larry McMurtry s last kind words Lonesome Dove author on closeted cowboys pointless Pulitzers and his latest Old West novel Mother Jones May 2014 Retrieved March 27 2021 McMurtry Larry December 5 2002 On the Road The New York Review of Books Retrieved March 27 2021 A Guide to the Larry McMurtry Papers 1968 1987 1991 The Witcliff Collections Retrieved March 26 2021 Guide to the Larry McMurtry and Diana Osanna Papers 1890 2008 bulk dates 1980 2008 MS 276 Woodson Research Center Retrieved March 26 2021 John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Larry McMurtry John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Retrieved March 27 2021 Compton Bob Wiesepape Betty Texas Institute of Letters Awards PDF Texas Institute of Letters Retrieved March 27 2021 Texas Institute of Letters Literary Awards Texas Institute of Letters Retrieved March 27 2021 Peggy V Helmerich Distinguished Author Award Tulsa Library Trust Retrieved March 26 2021 a b Flood Alison March 27 2021 Lonesome Dove author and Brokeback Mountain screenwriter Larry McMurtry dies at 84 The Guardian Retrieved March 27 2021 McMurtry Larry 2008 Books a memoir 1st Simon amp Schuster hardcover ed New York Simon amp Schuster p 49 ISBN 9781416583349 Larry McMurtry The New York Review of Books Retrieved March 27 2021 Larry McMurtry Biographical Sketch Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin Retrieved March 27 2021 Loyd Anthony June 8 2005 Tomb of the unknown assassin reveals mission to kill Rushdie The Times London Archived from the original on June 1 2010 Retrieved March 27 2021 PEN America Mourns Death of Novelist Former PEN America President Larry McMurtry PEN America March 26 2021 Retrieved March 27 2021 West Richard June 1985 Working Book Bound D Magazine Lindenberger Michael August 15 2012 The Great Book Sale of Teas Time Retrieved August 20 2012 Williams John August 12 2012 Wanted Dead or Alive Used Books The New York Times MemberListP American Antiquarian Society Retrieved March 17 2018 a b Hud OCLC 878940995 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org a b The last picture show OCLC 79950037 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org The 56th Academy Awards 1984 oscars org Archived from the original on May 1 2016 Retrieved March 28 2021 a b Lonesome Dove OCLC 423140732 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org a b Lonesome Dove OCLC 774391218 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org White Meghan February 14 2006 Brokeback Mountain Interview with Larry McMurtry amp Diana Ossana Cinemalogue Hudak Joseph March 26 2021 Larry McMurtry Lonesome Dove Novelist Dead at 84 Rolling Stone Keller Julia Elder Robert K January 20 2006 What s so special about a Hermes 3000 Chicago Tribune Hendricks Diana Finlay Larry McMurtry An Accidental Feminist dianahendricks com Retrieved March 26 2021 Granberry Michael March 26 2021 Texas literary giant Larry McMurtry dies at 84 The Dallas Morning News Hoinski Michael May 22 2014 Lonesome Dove Legend Larry McMurtry on Fiction Money Womanizing and Old Age Grantland Retrieved May 5 2023 Larry McMurtry one of Texas greatest writers dead at 84 ABC11 Raleigh Durham March 26 2021 Horowitz Mark December 7 1997 Larry McMurtry s Dream Job The New York Times Retrieved December 9 2018 Granberry Michael May 5 2011 Author Larry McMurtry marries Ken Kesey s widow The Dallas Morning News Archived from the original on May 8 2011 Retrieved May 5 2023 Garner Dwight March 26 2021 Larry McMurtry Novelist of the American West Dies at 84 The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 28 2021 Retrieved March 26 2021 Marini Richard A February 7 2023 Larry McMurtry auction includes signed books desk typewriter boots San Antonio Express News Retrieved March 16 2023 Cadillac Jack A Novel Kirkus Reviews September 30 2011 Gish Robert November 14 2008 Anything for Billy by Larry McMurtry Los Angeles Times Fromberg Schaeffer Susan October 7 1990 Lonesome Jane The New York Times a b Buffalo girls OCLC 422719821 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Combs Casey December 11 1994 An Unlikely Team Law Clerk and Novelist Write Pretty Boy Floyd Books Diana Ossana was an unknown a woman who had done a lot of writing but never had anything published Larry McMurtry is one of America s most successful writers Los Angeles Times Associated Press Johnson Dean March 25 1997 IIt s the Women Who Inspire in McMurtry s Zeke and Ned Chicago Tribune Kingston Pierce J January 2001 Saddle Sore Review Boone s Lick by Larry McMurtry January Magazine Shea Mike December 2004 Book Review Loop Group Texas Monthly Cain Chelsea June 18 2006 Cowboys Are My Weakness The New York Times Cheuse Alan May 27 2014 McMurtry Takes Aim At A Legend In Last Kind Words Saloon NPR Poore Charles June 10 1961 Books of The Times The New York Times King Larry L March 1974 Leavin McMurtry Texas Monthly a b Curwen Thomas March 26 2021 Larry McMurtry author of Lonesome Dove and The Last Picture Show dies Los Angeles Times The Desert Rose A Novel Kirkus Reviews September 1 1983 Klinkenborg Verlyn May 21 1995 Once More With Harmony The New York Times Prewitt Taylor July 24 2020 Texas Monthly Recommends Larry McMurtry s Texasville Texas Monthly Harris Michael January 5 1999 Duane s Depressed by Larry McMurtry Los Angeles Times Leland John March 18 2007 Duane s Depraved The New York Times Hendricks David August 14 2009 Rhino Ranch by Larry McMurtry Houston Chronicle a b c d e f Brinkley Douglas September 14 2017 After the Hurricane Winds Die Down Larry McMurtry s Houston Trilogy Lives On The New York Times Lehmann Haupt Christopher December 20 1978 Books of The Times The New York Times Bradfield Scott October 22 2011 Book Review New terms in Texas The Evening Star Larry McMurtry The Independent a b The evening star OCLC 422886574 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Fiction Book Review Streets of Laredo Publishers Weekly Retrieved March 26 2021 Fiction Book Review Dead Man s Walk Publishers Weekly Retrieved March 26 2021 Book Review Comanche Moon Kirkus Reviews September 15 1997 a b c d Graham Don December 2011 Father Knows West Texas Monthly Holland Dick August 4 2000 Two for the Road Austin Chronicle Unger Arthur January 22 1988 A thriller with extra dimensions Controversial murder case makes exceptional video drama Christian Science Monitor a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u McMurtry Larry 1936 Contemporary Authors New Revision Series Encyclopedia com Retrieved March 25 2021 a b Falling from grace OCLC 27150707 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Debruge Peter September 15 2020 Good Joe Bell Review Mark Wahlberg Stars in a Bad Movie About Bullying Variety Campbell James July 27 2008 Shelf Possessed The New York Times McMurtry s Literary Life Not Simple But Practical NPR December 23 2009 Baker Jeff August 21 2010 Nonfiction review Hollywood A Third Memoir by Larry McMurtry The Oregonian Pensky Nathan February 3 2013 Los Angeles Review of Books Lovin Molly OCLC 423149680 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Terms of endearment based on the novel by Larry McMurtry OCLC 917295387 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Texasville OCLC 633123542 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Green Reinaldo Marcus Good Joe Bell tiff net Retrieved March 28 2021 The American Film Institute s 10th anniversary special OCLC 423447816 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org The murder of Mary Phagan OCLC 747040812 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org The murder of Mary Phagan OCLC 423224348 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Return to Lonesome Dove OCLC 29625796 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Lonesome Dove the series 1994 unidentified episode no 1 OCLC 423140736 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Lonesome Dove the outlaw years 1995 unidentified episode the return OCLC 423140737 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Comanche moon OCLC 1145819768 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Comanche moon OCLC 909055472 Retrieved March 28 2021 via worldcat org Further reading editDaugherty Tracy Larry McMurtry A Life New York St Martin s Press 2023 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Larry McMurtry nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Larry McMurtry Larry McMurtry Collection from the Rare Book amp Texana Collections University of North Texas website McMurtry Larry The Author Who Sold Books Washingtonian August 1 2008 Larry McMurtry Papers 1984 1991 from the Texas State University San Marcos website Larry McMurtry at IMDb nbsp Larry McMurtry at Curlie The Treasure Hunter Michael Dirda review of McMurtry s Books A Memoir from The New York Review of Books Larry McMurtry screenplays 1979 1988 and undated in the Southwest Collection Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University Guide to the Larry McMurtry and Diana Osanna Papers 1890 2004 in the Woodson Research Center at Rice University Articles in Western American Literature Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Larry McMurtry amp oldid 1188623732, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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