Larry McMurtry was born in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 1936. He earned a B.A. at the University of North Texas in 1958 and an M.A. at Rice University in 1960. He wrote novels about the Old West and contemporary Texas, and also worked as a screenwriter.
His books include Horseman, Pass By (1961), The Last Picture Show (1966), Terms of Endearment (1975) and Lonesome Dove (1985). With Diana Ossana he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Brokeback Mountain in 2006. He died in Tucson, Arizona, in 2021.