(born 1936) Born in Archer City, Texas, McMurtry has chronicled the changing fortunes of modern—and sometimes disappearing—Texas with humor and insight. Unforgettable characters populate his small towns and cowboy society; he has also addressed the foibles of contemporary Houston (Terms of Endearment, 1975, film 1983) and Las Vegas, NV (Desert Rose, 1983). His popular works have also translated into major motion pictures (The Last Picture Show, 1966, film 1971) as well as landmark television miniseries and sequels based on the Pulitzer-prize-winning Lonesome Dove (1986), which richly recreates the tales of an 1870s cattle drive (miniseries 1989; sequels 1993 and 1995).