Larry McMurtry, ‘Lonesome Dove’ Novelist and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ Screenwriter, Dies at 84

Larry McMurtry, award-winning author of over 30 books and screenplays, died in his Texas home on Thursday, The New York Times reports. The famed author was 84 and died of congestive heart failure, according to his writing partner. He was most known for his novel Lonesome Dove, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and was later adapted into a TV series. Many of his other novels were also made into popular films, like The Last Picture Show and Terms of Endearment, which won an Academy Award. Many of his critically acclaimed works centered around the American West, inspired by his own childhood on a Texas ranch. Additionally, McMurtry ran a bookstore for nearly 50 years in Archer City called “Booked Up.” At the height of its success, the store had over 400,000 books, filling six buildings. McMurtry is survived by his wife and son, and three siblings. “I think my own nonfiction will outlive my novels,” he once wrote in an essay.