Michael Crichton: Tracking His Storied Career

The late best-selling author had a gift for writing page-turners, many of which were made into successful Hollywood productions like ''Jurassic Park,'' ''The Andromeda Strain,'' and ''ER''

By Marc Bernardin and Wook Kim Updated November 05, 2008 at 10:00 PM EST

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15. GUNSLINGER

FROM Westworld (1973)

PLAYED BY Yul Brynner

PROGRAMMING A black-hatted badass programmed to engage in mock shootouts with visitors to a Western-themed adult amusement resort, the Gunslinger starts gunning down tourists for real when he and the other robots go glitchy.

SPECIAL FEATURES A menacing stride, an icy stare, and a quick trigger finger.

WHY HE PUSHES OUR BUTTONS Brynner's truly chilling performance manages both to send up his Magnificent Seven role and to anticipate the implacable cyborgs of the Terminator movies.

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SPHERE (1998)

A 300-year-old spaceship found nestled on the bottom of the South Pacific? Popular author Michael Crichton may have made the premise plausible in his book, but on screen, the film, toplined by Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson, is just as unbelievable as it sounds.—Youyoung Lee