Amidst the chaos of the most historic presidential election in modern history, many people may remain unaware that America has lost one of its most successful and brilliant novelists. On Tuesday, November 4th, acclaimed writer Michael Crichton passed away from lung cancer.

He is probably best known as the author of the novel “Jurassic Park,” but he has a writing and film directing career that spans five decades. His books have sold more than 150 million copies worldwide, and are mainly fast-paced action stories that have strong undertones of science and medical technology, as well as things like time travel and future history.

During his long career, he has been an accomplished film producer, film director, television producer, and medical doctor.

Crichton was born in 1942 in Chicago, Illinois, but grew up in Roslyn, New York. He studied briefly at Harvard University, but left after some disillusionment with their academic standards. His father was a journalist and always encouraged him to write, but after a year in Europe, he returned to the states and attended medical school in Boston. After graduation, he gave up the medical profession and returned to his true love, writing novels.

Steven Spielberg - one of Michael Crichton's first friends in the film industry.

After giving up medicine, Crichton moved to Hollywood in the early 1970s and pursued a career in the entertainment industry. One of his first contacts with the film production world was a tour of Universal Studios. Universal was producing the film adaptation of one of his books, The Andromeda Strain (1971), so Universal assigned an inexperienced young director named Steven Spielberg to give him a tour of the studio.

In 1970, Crichton had an idea for a movie that he wanted to call E.W.: Emergency Ward. It was a script for a full length film and for nearly 20 years no one was interested in producing it. Finally, in 1989, Spielberg contacted him and expressed interest in making the movie.

It was about to get made, but then Spielberg read Crichton’s book “Jurassic Park,” and decided to drop E.W. and make Jurassic Park instead. During the film’s production, someone else at Amblin Entertainment read the E.W. script and thought that it might be better as a television series. “E.R.” was first broadcast in September 1994, it remains on the air and is now in its 15th season.

Crichton started directing movies based on his books in the early 1970s, and got his first big break with the science fiction western Westworld (1973), but he was also the author of The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Rising Sun, The Terminal Man, Timeline, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, and Sphere, among others. Since the late 1960s,he has published almost 30 novels, including “Eaters of the Dead,” which was made into the movie The 13th Warrior (1999).

Despite Crichton’s extensive work in the realm of fantasy, he is highly critical of leaps of scientific logic, and has gone so far as to say that the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is not science, since it is based on the Drake Equation (which basically is meant to allow scientists to estimate the number of extra-terrestrial civilizations in our galaxy), which cannot be tested. “Therefore SETI is not science,” Crichton says, “but unquestionably a religion.”

Michael Crichton inspired people to see the world through new eyes, and is remembered by those who knew him as a devoted husband, a loving father, and a good friend. He died at age 66, and he is survived by his wife Sherri and his daughter Taylor.

2008 has not been a good year as far as celebrity deaths. The filmgoing world is still reeling from the tragedy of Heath Ledger’s death, not the least reason for which is because of the smashing success of The Dark Knight, creating a bizarre coincidence about Ledger’s final role. Now, on Saturday, Aug. 9th, 50-year-old Bernie Mac has died suddenly as well.

He was born in Chicago in 1957 and grew up in a rough neighborhood, living in a small house with a large family. Not the greatest situation, but the situational comedy of his young life laid the foundation for his comedic style and, while it prevented his career from really taking off for more than a decade, it defined the Bernie Mac that we have come to know and love.

Mac started his career in show business as a stand up comedian at age 19 in 1977, and didn’t make his film debut until 1992, with the Wayan brothers’ Mo’ Money. He then showed up in a line of small roles in small comedies, until the banner year of 1995, when he did an HBO special, “Midnight Mac,” and also took on the role of Pastor Clever in the hit comedy Friday, from which he began to gain a cult following

In 1996, he had a starring role in Spike Lee’s Get On The Bus, and also stole the show in the less impressive Don’t Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. At this point he had a recurring role in the TV series “Moesha,” and then began to get bigger and better movie roles, such as his role as Buster in How To Be A Player and the curiously named Dollar Bill in The Player’s Club, for which he is billed above co-stars Jamie Foxx, Ice Cube, and none other than Terrence Howard.

But his biggest break to date would come in 1999, when he starred as Jangle Leg alongside Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence in the highly popular crime comedy Life (”I da pappy!”). Barely a year later, Mac became more of a household name after the success of the stand-up comedian feature film The Original Kings of Comedy, which he then followed up alongside Martin Lawrence again with a clever role in the otherwise less-than-impressive What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

His film acting career took another noticable turn upwards in 2001 when he played a major role in the star-studded Ocean’s 11, where he appeared alongside George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Elliott Gould, but he may be best remembered for his hugely popular television series, “The Bernie Mac Show,” which appeared for a full five seasons and for which TV Guide recognized him as one of the 50 greatest TV dads of all time.

During that time he also starred in several popular and successful films, including Ocean’s 12 and 13, Bad Santa, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Mr. 3000, and Transformers, and, believe it or not, he currently has four projects in post-production. One of them, Soul Men, also stars Samuel L. Jackson, and the other, Old Dogs, has an endless cast that includes John Travolta, Robin Williams, Matt Dillon and Seth Green.

In searching for photos of Bernie Mac online, I noticed that it’s difficult to find many of him without a gleaming grin spread across his face, and I think it’s safe to assume that this is how he’ll be most remembered.

He had a very unique style of humor that was entirely his own and that he never compromised. There seems to be a distinct shortage of big-name actors who refuse to let the Hollywood machine change them, and Mac’s loss makes that short list even shorter.

In his autobiography, he tells of a formative experience early in life that really puts his work into perspective:

“One night I come in and find my mama in front of the TV cryin’. And you know how it is when you’re a little kid: your mama cryin’, you gonna be cryin in a minute.

I climb onto her lap. She holds me. I look at them big-ass tears coming down her cheeks and I reach up and wipe em with my pudgy little hands. “Mama,” I ask, “why you cryin’?”

She didn’t answer. She was lookin at the TV. Black guy’s talking to Ed Sullivan. I look at him, but I don’t hear but a few words. And I can’t make them out anyway, see, because suddenly my mama’s laughin’ to bust a gut. Her whole lap is shakin’. I got to hold on tight or get thrown clear across the room.

I turn to look at her - this is the same woman that was cryin’ a second ago? - then turn back to the TV. “Who that man, mama?” She’s still laughin’. Takes her awhile to catch her breath.

“Bill Cosby, son. He’s a comedian.”

A comedian?

“What’s that?”

Now she’s laughin’ harder. Tears still comin’ out of her eyes, but she’s happy. She’s slappin’ the arm of the chair, she’s so happy.

“That’s what I want to be, mama. A comedian. Make you laugh like that, maybe you never cry again.”

Bernie Mac lost his mother and his two brothers, and he leaves behind his wife Rhonda, his daughter Je’Niece, and millions of fans.

Some tragic and unexpected news for everyone today: the comedian known as Bernie Mac, has died.  His real name was Bernard Jeffrey McCollough.  His publicist confirmed that he died from complications due to pneumonia early Saturday morning.

Mac, who was only 50 years old, had been hospitalized for about a week at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago.  Several years ago, Mac revealed that he suffered from sarcoidosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in tissue, most often in the lungs.

Even though we all know him as a hilarious comedian, movie superstar and TV regular, that wasn’t always the case.  Mac didn’t get his big break in show business until his 30s.

When he was 32,  he won the Miller Lite comedy search and that performance took him to the standup stage.  After his entertaining performance, he started landing gigs like his regular performances on popular shows like HBO’s Def Comedy Jam.

He was also one of The Original Kings of Comedy in the 2000 documentary of that title that brought a new generation of black standup comedy stars to a wider audience.

I would venture to say that most people will recognize him from his roles in the Ocean’s movies.  In those three movies, he shared the screen with Hollywood’s leading men- George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon- to name a few.

Last spring, Mac said that he was retiring from standup, and instead would focus more on movies.  In 2007, he co-starred in Ocean’s Thirteen, Pride and had a role in the blockbuster Transformers. He also had starring roles in Bad Santa and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and will be in a few movies scheduled for future release: Soul Men, with Samuel L. Jackson, which will be released this year, and Old Dogs, with Robin Williams, which is due next year.

Mac is survived by his wife Rhonda McCullough, and their daughter, Je’Niece

The entertainment industry has indeed lost a talented man, who I am sure would have starred in many more films.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family.