Michael Crichton

What John Lange, Jeffery Hudson and Michael Douglas have in common? Nothing much, except that all these names were used by Michael Crichton as his pseudonyms. Michael Crichton, frequently cited as the “father of the techno-thriller”, was a multi-talented person. He was an accomplished author, director, screenwriter, doctor, and producer. Born on October 23, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, Crichton showed his flair for writing since an early age. He started his studies in Harvard College in 1960 and was an exceptionally bright student. Later he enrolled himself in Harvard Medical School, and started to publish his works during the period he studied there to become a doctor. He eventually got his MD from Harvard Medical School in 1969 but never became a licensed practitioner. By the time he graduated, he already had nearly a dozen thrillers published, though most of his early works were published under his pen names. Hence his decision to embark on a writing career makes sense totally and he further went to justify his career switch as he became the bestseller storyteller for the next three decades. During the pre-Rowling age, more specifically in the late ’90s, his annual earnings were estimated by Forbes at more than $20 million. In 1994, he became the only author in the history to simultaneously top the charts in television, film and book sales with ER, Jurassic Park and Disclosure respectively. Indeed, the film adaptation of Jurassic Park had such phenomenal success that Michael Crichton became globally celebrated author during the ’90s.