American author and filmmaker born on 23 October 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, US. He earned a bachelor's degree in biological anthropology from Harvard College and later attended Harvard Medical School. His most famous works as an author include Jurassic Park, which was adapted into a film of the same name in 1993 as well as its sequel The Lost World. He also directed the films Coma (1978) and created the series ER (1994-2009). He died of cancer on 4 November 2008 in Los Angeles, California, US.