Tom Clancy Author - H 2012
Getty ImagesBest-selling author Tom Clancy has died, his literary agent confirms to The Hollywood Reporter.
The author of The Hunt for Red October, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears and Patriot Games was 66.
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Clancy passed away Tuesday in a hospital in his hometown of Baltimore, his publisher told The New York Times.
Ivan Held, the president of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, did not provide a cause of death to The Times.
Several of Clancy’s novels have been turned into films that focused on his Jack Ryan character, who was portrayed by Alec Baldwin in the original (The Hunt for Red October), Harrison Ford in two sequels (Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger) and finally by Ben Affleck in 2002’s The Sum of All Fears.
The worldwide box office grosses for Clancy adaptations exceed $846 million.
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Paramount is set to release the Chris Pine-starring reboot Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, an original story based on characters created by the author, on Christmas Day (though there is a chance the opening could be pushed back until mid-January).
Paramount CEO Brad Grey said of Clancy in a statement obtained by THR this afternoon, “Tom Clancy was one of the great storytellers of our time, and his passing has been deeply felt by all of us at Paramount. We are forever indebted to Tom for making this studio his home, and our deepest sympathies go out to his family, and his many fans, at this great loss.”
Clancy topped The New York Times best-seller list 16 times and also co-wrote an 18-book YA series as well as three co-branded adult series.
He was one of the first authors to develop video games based on his works, debuting a Hunt for Red October PC game in 1987.
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In 1996, he co-founded Red Storm Entertainment, which was sold to Ubisoft in 2008 for a deal estimated to be worth $94 million.
A separate deal netted Clancy an estimated $60 million for the video game rights to his name.
Following a high-profile divorce and remarriage to family friend Alexandra Llewellyn in the late ’90s, Clancy kept a low public profile.
Clancy’s next book, Command Authority, is set to be published on Dec. 3.
