Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...

or contemporary

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

.Hugh Rawson
"Screenings," ''American Heritage'', April/May 2006. His novels included '' Horseman, Pass By'' (1962), ''

The Last Picture Show ''The Last Picture Show'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and co-written by Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry, adapted from the 1966 semi-autobiographical novel by McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast incl ...

'' (1966), and ''

Terms of Endearment ''Terms of Endearment'' is a 1983 American family tragicomedy film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff D ...

'' (1975), which were adapted into films. Films adapted from McMurtry's works earned 34

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

nominations (13 wins). He was also a prominent

book collector Book collecting is the collecting of books, including seeking, locating, acquiring, organizing, cataloging, displaying, storing, and maintaining whatever books are of interest to a given collector. The love of books is '' bibliophilia'', and some ...

and bookseller. His 1985

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

-winning novel '' Lonesome Dove'' was adapted into a television miniseries that earned 18

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

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 co-writer

Diana Ossana Diana Lynn Ossana (born August 24, 1949) is an American writer who has collaborated on Lonesome Dove series, writing screenplays, teleplays, and novels with author Larry McMurtry since they first worked together in 1992, on the semi-fictionalize ...

adapted the screenplay for ''

Brokeback Mountain ''Brokeback Mountain'' is a 2005 American neo-Western romantic drama film directed by Ang Lee and produced by Diana Ossana and James Schamus. Adapted from Brokeback Mountain (short story), the 1997 short story by Annie Proulx, the screenplay ...

'' (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 The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the humani ...

. Tracy Daugherty's 2023 biography of McMurtry quotes critic Dave Hickey: "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."''Larry McMurtry: A Life'' by Tracy Daugherty, St. Martin's Press, 2023, page 201. ISBN 978-1-250-28233-0.

Early life and education

McMurtry's birth certificate states that he was born in

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

, the son of Hazel Ruth (née McIver) and William Jefferson McMurtry. He grew up on his parents' ranch outside

Archer City, Texas Archer City is a city in and the county seat of Archer County, Texas, United States. The city lies at the junction of State Highway 79 and State Highway 25. It is located south of Wichita Falls, and is part of the Wichita Falls metropolita ...

. The city was the model for the town of Thalia which is a setting for much of his fiction. He earned a BA from the

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

in 1958 and an MA from

Rice University William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University, is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. Established in 1912, the university spans 300 acres. Rice University comp ...

in 1960. 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''.

Career

Writer

During the 1960–1961 academic year, McMurtry was a Wallace Stegner Fellow at the

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Creative Writing Center, where he studied the craft of fiction under

Frank O'Connor Frank O'Connor (born Michael Francis O'Donovan; 17 September 1903 – 10 March 1966) was an Irish author and translator. He wrote poetry (original and translations from Irish), dramatic works, memoirs, journalistic columns and features on as ...

and

Malcolm Cowley Malcolm Cowley (August 24, 1898 – March 27, 1989) was an American writer, editor, historian, poet, and literary critic. His best known works include his first book of poetry, ''Blue Juniata'' (1929), and his memoir, ''Exile's Return'' ( ...

, alongside other aspiring writers, including Wendell Berry,

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and Counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies o ...

, Peter S. Beagle and Gurney Norman. ( Wallace Stegner was on sabbatical in Europe during McMurtry's fellowship year.) McMurtry and Kesey remained friends after McMurtry left California and returned to Texas to take a year-long composition instructorship at

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

. 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). 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 Thomas Kennerly Wolfe Jr. (March 2, 1930 – May 14, 2018)Some sources say 1931; ''The New York Times'' and Reuters both initially reported 1931 in their obituaries before changing to 1930. See and was an American author and journalist widely ...

in '' The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test''. That same year, McMurtry was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

. 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 ''

'', 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?'' and the Lon Tinkle Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1984. In 1986, McMurtry received the annual Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award from the Tulsa Library Trust. 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 Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'' of the West … a pretty good book; it's not a towering masterpiece." He described his method for writing 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 wrote every day, ignoring holidays and weekends. McMurtry was a regular contributor to ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

''. McMurtry was a vigorous defender of

free speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

and, while serving as president of PEN American Center (now

PEN America PEN America (formerly PEN American Center), founded in 1922, and headquartered in New York City, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose goal is to raise awareness for the protection of free expression in the United States and worldwide th ...

) from 1989 to 1991, led the organization's efforts to support

Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie ( ; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British and American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern wor ...

, whose novel '' The Satanic Verses'' (1988) caused a major controversy among some

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

, with the

Supreme Leader of Iran The supreme leader of Iran, also referred to as the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution, but officially called the supreme leadership authority, is the head of state and the highest political and religious authority of Iran (above the Presi ...

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

Ruhollah Khomeini Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini (17 May 1900 or 24 September 19023 June 1989) was an Iranian revolutionary, politician, political theorist, and religious leader. He was the founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the main leader of the Iranian ...

, issuing a '' fatwā'' calling for Rushdie's assassination, after which attempts were made on Rushdie's life. In 1989, McMurtry testified on behalf of PEN America before the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

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. 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 The Immigration Act of 1990 () was signed into law by George H. W. Bush on November 29, 1990. It was first introduced by Senator Ted Kennedy in 1989. It was a national reform of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. It increased total, o ...

Antiquarian bookstore businesses

While at Stanford, McMurtry became a rare-book scout. During his years in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, he managed a bookstore 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. The auction was conducted on August 10 and 11, 2012, and was overseen by Addison and Sarova Auctioneers of

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. Situated near the Atlantic Seaboard fall line, fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is southeast of Atlanta and near the ...

. 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." In April 2006, McMurtry was elected a member of the

American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...

Film and television

McMurtry became well known for the film adaptations of his work, especially '' Hud'' (from the novel '' Horseman, Pass By'');

Peter Bogdanovich Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian. He started out his career as a young actor studying under Stella Adler before working as a film critic for ''Fi ...

's ''

''; James L. Brooks's ''

'', which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1984); and '' Lonesome Dove'', a popular television miniseries starring

Tommy Lee Jones Tommy Lee Jones (born September 15, 1946) is an American actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Tommy Lee Jones, various accolades including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Scre ...

and

Robert Duvall Robert Selden Duvall (; born January 5, 1931) is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He has received an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy Film Awards ...

. In 2006, he was co-winner (with

) of both the Best Screenplay

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

and the

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

for Best Adapted Screenplay for ''

'', adapted from a short story by E. Annie Proulx. He accepted his Oscar while wearing a dinner jacket over

jeans Jeans are a type of trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with the addition of copper pocket rivets added by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and patented by ...

and cowboy boots. 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.

Personal life

McMurtry married Jo Scott, an English professor who has authored five books. Before divorcing, they had a son together, James McMurtry. Both James and his own son, Curtis McMurtry, are singer/songwriters and guitarists. In 1991 McMurtry underwent heart surgery. During his recovery, he suffered severe depression. He recovered at the home of his future writing partner

and wrote his novel '' Streets of Laredo'' at her kitchen counter. McMurtry married Norma Faye Kesey, the widow of

, on April 29, 2011, in a civil ceremony in Archer City. McMurtry died on March 25, 2021, at his home in Tucson, Arizona. He was 84 years old. 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, on May 29, 2023.

Fiction

Stand-alone novels

* 1982: '' Cadillac Jack'' * 1988: '' Anything for Billy'' (fictionalized biography of

Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...

) * 1990: '' Buffalo Girls'' (fictionalized biography of

Calamity Jane Martha Jane Canary (May 1, 1856 – August 1, 1903), better known as Calamity Jane, was an American American frontier, frontierswoman, Exhibition shooting, sharpshooter, sex worker, and storyteller. In addition to many exploits, she was known f ...

). adapted for TV as '' Buffalo Girls'' * 1994: ''

Pretty Boy Floyd Charles Arthur Floyd (February 3, 1904 – October 22, 1934), nicknamed Pretty Boy Floyd, was an American bank robber. He operated in the West and Central states, and his criminal exploits gained widespread press coverage in the 1930s. He was s ...

'' (with

) (fictionalized biography of the titular gangster) * 1997: '' Zeke and Ned'' (with Diana Ossana) (fictionalized biography of the last Cherokee warriors) * 2000: '' Boone's Lick'' * 2005: '' Loop Group'' * 2006: '' Telegraph Days'' * 2014: '' The Last Kind Words Saloon''

''Thalia: A Texas Trilogy''

Larry McMurtry's first three novels, all set in the north Texas town of Thalia following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * 1961: '' Horseman, Pass By'', adapted for film as '' Hud'' * 1963: '' Leaving Cheyenne'', adapted for film as '' Lovin' Molly'' * 1966: ''

'', adapted as film of the same name

''Harmony and Pepper'' series

The books follow the story of mother/daughter characters Harmony and Pepper. * 1983: ''The Desert Rose'' * 1995: ''The Late Child''

''Duane Moore'' series

The books follow the story of character Duane Moore. * 1966: ''

'' – adapted for film as ''

'' * 1987: ''

Texasville ''Texasville'' is a 1990 American drama film written and directed by Peter Bogdanovich. Based on the 1987 novel ''Texasville'' by Larry McMurtry, it is a sequel to ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971), and features Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, ...

'' – adapted for film as ''

'' * 1999: '' Duane's Depressed'' * 2007: '' When the Light Goes'' * 2009: '' Rhino Ranch: A Novel''

''Houston'' series

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) * 1972: '' All My Friends Are Going to Be Strangers'' (Danny Deck/Jill Peel/Emma Horton) * 1975: '' Terms of Endearment (novel)'' (Emma Horton/Aurora Greenway) – adapted for film as ''

'' * 1978: '' Somebody's Darling'' (Jill Peel/Joe Percy) * 1989: '' Some Can Whistle'' (Danny Deck) * 1992: ''

The Evening Star ''The Evening Star'' is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Harling, adapted from the 1992 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film ''Terms of Endearment'' starring Shirley MacLaine, who r ...

'' (Aurora Greenaway) – adapted for film as ''

''Lonesome Dove'' series

* 1985: '' Lonesome Dove'', 1986

winner * 1993: '' Streets of Laredo'' * 1995: '' Dead Man's Walk'' * 1997: '' Comanche Moon''

'' The Berrybender Narratives''

* 2002: '' Sin Killer'' * 2003: '' The Wandering Hill'' * 2003: '' By Sorrow's River'' * 2004: '' Folly and Glory''

As editor

* 1999: ''Still Wild: A Collection of Western Stories''

Other writings

* 1988: '' The Murder of Mary Phagan'' – TV movie * 1990: ''Montana'' – TV movie * 1992: ''Memphis'' – TV movie * 1992: '' Falling from Grace'' – film starring

John Mellencamp John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...

* 2002: ''

Johnson County War The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River and the Wyoming Range War, was a range war in Johnson County, Wyoming from 1889 to 1893. The conflict began when cattle companies started ruthlessly persecuting alleged Cattle raiding ...

'' – TV miniseries * 2005: ''

'' (with

) – Oscar-winning screenplay (adapted from the short story by E. Annie Proulx) * 2020: '' Joe Bell'' (with Diana Ossana)

Nonfiction

* 1968: '' In a Narrow Grave: Essays on Texas'' * 1974: "It's Always We Rambled" (essay) * 1987: '' Film Flam: Essays on Hollywood'' * 1999: '' Crazy Horse: A Life'' (biography) * 1999: '' Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen: Reflections on Sixty and Beyond'' * 2000: '' Roads: Driving America's Great Highways'' * 2001: '' Sacagawea's Nickname'' – essays on the American West * 2002: ''

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

'' – South-Pacific travelogue/memoir * 2005: '' The Colonel and Little Missie: Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley & the Beginnings of Superstardom in America'' * 2005: '' Oh What a Slaughter! : Massacres in the American West: 1846–1890'' * 2008: '' Books: A Memoir'' * 2009: '' Literary Life: A Second Memoir'' * 2011: '' Hollywood: A Third Memoir'' * 2012: '' Custer''

Film

* 1963: '' Hud'' (based on his 1961 novel '' Horseman, Pass By'') * 1971: ''

'' (co-wrote screenplay with

, based on novel from 1966) * 1972: ''The Streets of Laredo'' (unproduced; co-wrote story with Peter Bogdanovich, later adapted into novel '' Lonesome Dove'') * 1974: '' Lovin' Molly'' (based on the novel '' Leaving Cheyenne'' from 1963) * 1983: ''

'' (based on novel from 1975) * 1984: ''The Lady in the Moon'' (unproduced; wrote screenplay and story) * 1985: ''Honkytonk Sue'' (unproduced; based on the ''National Lampoon'' character) * 1990: ''

'' (based on novel from 1987) * 1992: '' Falling from Grace'' (wrote screenplay and story) * 1996: ''

'' (based on novel from 1992) * 2005: ''

'' (co-wrote screenplay with

and adapted from the short story by Annie Proulx) * 2007: ''Boone's Lick'' (unproduced; co-wrote screenplay with Diana Ossana, based on novel from 2000) * 2010: ''Empire of the Summer Moon'' (unproduced; co-wrote screenplay with Diana Ossana and adapted from the novel by S. C. Gwynne) * 2012: ''Duane's Depressed'' (unproduced; based on novel from 1999) * 2020: '' Joe Bell'' (co-wrote screenplay with Diana Ossana)

Television

*1977: ''The American Film Institute's 10th Anniversary Special'' (writer) *1988: '' The Murder of Mary Phagan'' (mini-series based on story) *1989: '' Lonesome Dove'' (mini-series based on 1985 novel) *1990: ''Montana'' (original screenplay) *1992: '' Memphis'' (teleplay) *1993: '' Return to Lonesome Dove'' (based on the fictional universe of the 1985 novel) *1994–1995: '' Lonesome Dove: The Series'' (based on the fictional universe of the 1985 novel) *1995: '' Buffalo Girls'' (based on 1990 novel) *1995: '' Streets of Laredo'' (wrote teleplay, based on 1993 novel) *1995–1996: ''Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years'' (based on the fictional world of the 1985 novel) *1996: '' Dead Man's Walk'' (wrote teleplay, based on 1995 novel) *2002: ''Johnson County War'' (wrote teleplay) *2008: '' Comanche Moon'' (wrote teleplay, based on 1997 novel)

References

External links

Larry McMurtry Collection
from the Rare Book & Texana Collections,

website *McMurtry, Larry.
The Author Who Sold Books
, ''Washingtonian'', August 1, 2008.

from the Texas State University-San Marcos website *
The Treasure Hunter

Michael Dirda Michael Dirda (born 1948) is an American book critic, working for the '' Washington Post''. He has been a Fulbright Fellow and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1993. Career Having studied at Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree in 1970, Dirda ea ...

review of McMurtry's ''Books: A Memoir'' from ''

''
Larry McMurtry screenplays, 1979–1988 and undated, in the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University
* ttps://westernamericanliterature.com/larry-mcmurtry-2/ Articles in ''Western American Literature'' {{DEFAULTSORT:McMurtry, Larry 1936 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American novelists American book and manuscript collectors American chick lit writers American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male screenwriters American military historians American Western (genre) novelists Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award winners Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Best Screenplay BAFTA Award winners Best Screenplay Golden Globe winners Historians from Texas National Humanities Medal recipients Novelists from Texas PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners People from Archer City, Texas People from Wichita Falls, Texas Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winners Rice University alumni Screenwriters from Texas Stegner Fellows Texas Christian University faculty University of North Texas alumni Western (genre) writers Writers Guild of America Award winners