Forrest Gump author Winston Groom dies at 77

In this Aug. 21, 1995, file photo, Winston Groom, author of &quot;Forrest Gump,&quot; the book on which the film was based, signs copies of &quot;Gump &amp; Co.,&quot; the sequel to &quot;Forrest Gump&quot;, at a New York Cit

(Image credit: AP Photo/Anders Krusberg, File)

published 18 September 2020

Winston Groom, the author behind Forrest Gump, has died at 77.

Karin Wilson, the mayor of Groom's hometown of Fairhope, Alabama, confirmed the author died on Wednesday night, telling CNN, "We are extremely sad to hear this. He is definitely an icon here."

Groom worked as a reporter for the Washington Star after graduating from the University of Alabama and serving in the U.S. Army, per CNN, and he went on to write a total of 16 fiction and nonfiction books, The Associated Press notes. Among them was Conversations with the Enemy, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, but his most well known book was Forrest Gump, which follows the title character and his unlikely presence throughout history. After being published in 1986, it became a wildly popular movie starring Tom Hanks in 1994, which won six Oscars including Best Picture. In 1995, Groom wrote the sequel Gump and Co., which wasn't adapted into a film.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox