The Winston man, the author of “Forest Gump,” as well as several acclaimed novels and histories, died Wednesday at the age of 77.
The groom died in Fairhope, according to Fairhope Mayor Karin Wilson.
A native of Washington, DC, Washington, the man grew up in Mobile County and studied at UAMS-Wright and Alabama University before serving in Vietnam. At some point his life is parallel to his most famous character.
After Vietnam, he began to seriously pursue a career in writing. For the Washington Post, Puru recalled a journalist in his early 2000s.
“I got a job at the old Washington Washington Star in Washington, D.C., and as the lowest-ranked journalist on the staff, I had to go on demonstrations on many occasions to do the ‘head count.’ The way we came up with the numbers, ”he wrote.
On the star, “everyone had a brown bag with whiskey and an incomplete manuscript,” he recalls, but on the way there, he approached Willie Morris and met “Catch-22” author Joseph Heller, “Slaughterhouse Five” writers Kurt Vonagat and James. Jones, “Forever from here forever.”
In an interview for his novel “El Paso” in 2016, the man described himself only as an “old-fashioned” person who wanted to give readers a novel of action rather than introspection.
“I always say, if you want to send a message, call Western Union,” he said. His 1982 book, Conversations with Avery, was a Pulitzer Prize winner.
The man wrote eight novels, but no one is more famous than the one centered around Alabama’s unlikely heroes. The man created the character of Forrest Gump, he said, in 1994, when he and his father enjoyed a weekend getaway together. His father told him in the eighties about a neighborhood boy who was called “slow”, but he could play the piano brilliantly.
That same night, he began writing a book, which he said was “written only by himself.” He finished the first draft six weeks later. He wants the character to be proud, which he said later the story appeals to people.
“There were times when I would laugh out loud while writing a book. It was so much fun to write, and I really fell in love with the character, ”he said.
Published in 1986, “Forest Gump” spread to popular B-box office fees in 1994 and became a cultural sensation, with male characters interacting with presidents and inadvertently wandering in various touchstone moments for Baby Boomers. In the title role of Tom Hanks, the film won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The man gave the world a sequel, “Gump & Co.” As well as the history of the University of Alabama football, “Crimson Tide”. He also wrote several military histories and books about the West and the Civil War.
Related to Winston Male:
Winston returned to literature with the male epic ‘El Paso’
Bynville re-visits: Winston Men’s ‘Gone the Sun’ Still Closer to Home
Winston Men’s ‘The Generals:’ Payton, McArthur, Marshall Walk
Winston Grew speaks in Coastal Alabama, ‘Forest Gump’
35 Interesting Facts About ‘Forest Gump’
