Tom Clancy, Who Created Jack Ryan, Dies At 66

Tom Clancy, the famous author of such books-turned-movies as The Hunt For Red October, and gave us the iconic character Jack Ryan, reportedly died. He was 66 years old.

Tom Clancy’s novels were less fiction and more realistic scenarios, chocked full of technical detail. His books The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, and The Sum of All Fears, were all turned into successful movies. And Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck have all played Dr. Jack Ryan.

Tom Clancy rode Dr. Ryan’s popularity to fame and fortune, becoming part-owner of the Baltimore Orioles, and eventually Clancy’s name became the focus of a new set of videogames in 2008.

“It was an honor to know Tom Clancy and work on his fantastic books,” Ivan Held, President and Publisher of G.P. Putnam’s Sons, said in a statement confirming the news and noted in the NY Daily News. “He was ahead of the news curve and sometimes frighteningly prescient. To publish a Tom Clancy book was a thrill every time. He will be missed by everyone at Putnam and Berkley, and by his fans all over the world.”

Tom Clancy was the kind of conservative a modern liberal could embrace, and couch-potato conservatives would shun, calling him a RINO (Republican In Name Only). He will be missed, a lot.

Stay tuned.