Larry McMurtry dead: Brokeback Mountain Oscar-winning scriptwriter and novelist dies aged 84

Larry McMurtry has died aged 84, according to a family spokesperson.

The Academy Award-winning screenwriter and novelist, who won an Oscar for the screenplay of Brokeback Mountain, passed away according to McMurtry family spokesperson, Amanda Lundberg, in an obituary published by the New York Times.

The cause of death or the location has not been made public at the moment.

Larry was born on June 3, 1936 at Archer City, Texas and was raised on a ranch just outside the city.

Larry has recalled previously that his childhood home had no books, but his family would gather every night and tell stories.

He studied creative writing at Stanford University. Whilst here, he met other aspiring writers such as Gurney Norman and Ken Kesey.

Larry was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for his efforts in fiction In 1964, and has won several awards for his works.

In 1966, his novel Horseman, Pass By – which he wrote five years earlier – was adapted into Hud, which starred Paul Newman and was nominated for seven Academy Awards, winning in three categories.

This elevated Larry’s status and his works were soon in great demand, as well as there being opportunities to write screenplays for movies.

Among his most famous works were James L. Brooks’ 1983 adaption of Larry’s 1975 novel Terms of Endearment, which starred Jack Nicholson and Debra Winger.

The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Larry was probably beest known for writing the script for the 2005 romantic drama film Brokeback Mountain, which he adapted from a short story of the same name by Annie Proulx which was published in The New Yorker in October 1997.