Thomas Steinbeck, the eldest son of John Steinbeck, has died. He was 72 years old.
Here’s more from The New York Times: “Thomas Steinbeck gained perhaps his widest attention in 2004, when he and a granddaughter of John Steinbeck began a lengthy battle for intellectual property rights to the elder Steinbeck’s written works that they said rightfully belonged to the author’s direct descendants. The fight arose from Steinbeck’s will, written shortly before his death in 1968, in which he left most of his estate of more than $1 million to his third wife, Elaine, with whom he had no children.”
The Chicago Tribune reports that Thomas greatly resembled his Nobel Laureate father. He established his own authorial career at the age of 58 with the publication of his first short story collection, Down to a Soundless Sea (2002). He followed that book with two novels: In the Shadow of The Cypress (2010) and The Silver Lotus (2011). Throughout his lifetime, he also wrote scripts for television and movie projects. (Photo Credit: Bill Rich)