McMurtry, Larry

McMurtry, Larry (Jeff)

(born June 3, 1936, Wichita Falls, Texas, U.S.) U.S. novelist. The son of a rancher, he wrote dozens of novels set in the American West, often in Texas. The Last Picture Show (1966) examines the isolation of small-town life. Lonesome Dove (1985, Pulitzer Prize) is part of an epic frontier series that also includes Streets of Laredo (1993), Dead Man's Walk (1995), and Comanche Moon (1997). His other novels include Horseman, Pass By (1961), Terms of Endearment (1975), Buffalo Girls (1990), and When the Light Goes (2007). Many of his novels were adapted for film or television; he also won several Academy Awards for screenwriting.

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McMurtry, Larry (Jeff) (1936–  ) writer; born in Wichita Falls, Texas. He studied at North Texas State College (now University) (B.A. 1958), Rice University (M.A. 1960), and at Stanford (1960). He taught at several institutions and was co-owner of a book store in Washington, D.C. (1970), where he lived. He drew upon his early years in Texas to write many successful novels, such as The Last Picture Show (1966), Terms of Endearment (1975), and Lonesome Dove (1985).