Celebrity Jim Harrison, Author of 'Legends of the Fall' , Has Died at 78 The author, essayist and poet died at his home in Arizona By Maria Mercedes Lara Maria Mercedes Lara Instagram Twitter Maria Mercedes Lara is the Digital Content Operations Director for PEOPLE, where she oversees content management and editorial workflow for the digital team as well as focus on increasing growth through PEOPLE's newsletters, homepage and notification audiences. She previously held the position of Deputy News Director for PEOPLE.com. Before joining PEOPLE, Maria worked at POPSUGAR, SpinMedia Group and Jezebel. She graduated with a B.A. in Literature from Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts at the New School in New York City. Maria currently lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 27, 2016 05:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Aaron Lynett/Toronto Star/Getty Jim Harrison, the author and poet who penned Legends of the Fall has died, CNN and The New York Times report. He was 78. He died on Saturday at his home in Patagonia, Arizona, his publisher, Grove Atlantic, confirmed, but the exact cause of death is still unknown. “We are very sad to hear about his death,” Morgan Entrekin, CEO of Grove Atlantic, told CNN. “He left a great body of work that is going to live on.” Harrison, who authored nearly 40 books – including novels and collections of poems – was considered the master of the novella and his work was compared to that of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway. The Michigan native, who attended Michigan State University, often wrote about characters who came from rural backgrounds. Harrison’s most famous work is probably his 1979 novella Legends of the Fall, which was turned into a film starring Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins in 1994. An avid outdoorsman and gourmand, Harrison enjoyed hiking, fishing and cooking – which he often wrote about. According to CNN, in his younger years he also used to go carousing with drinking buddies like Jack Nicholson and the writer Thomas McGuane. Harrison was also featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, which took place near Harrison’s home in Livingston, Montana. “A giant. A Titan. A friend. RIP Jim Harrison,” Bourdain tweeted about Harrison’s death. “There will be no more like him. I am told he left with pen in hand.” Harrison’s wife, Linda King Harrison, whom he married in 1959, died in October. He is survived by his two daughters, Jamie Potenberg and Anna Hjortsberg; a sister, Mary Dumsch; a brother, David; and three grandchildren.