His service included a tour in Vietnam - one of the settings for “Forrest Gump. Groom served in the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division from 1965 to 1969, the university said. It was the best known book by Groom, who grew up in Mobile, Alabama, and graduated from the University of Alabama in 1965, according to a biography posted by the university. George Wallace’s “stand at the schoolhouse door,” to meetings with presidents. “Forrest Gump” was the improbable tale of a slow-witted but mathematically gifted man who was a participant or witness to key points of 20th century history - from Alabama segregationist Gov. Our hearts & prayers are extended to his family,” Alabama Gov. “While he will be remembered for creating Forrest Gump, Winston Groom was a talented journalist & noted author of American history. A local funeral home also confirmed the death and said arrangements were pending. Mayor Karin Wilson of Fairhope, Alabama, said in a message on social media that Groom had died in that south Alabama town.

(AP) - Winston Groom, the writer whose novel “Forrest Gump” was made into a six-Oscar winning 1994 movie that became a soaring pop cultural phenomenon, has died at age 77. Namely, author Winston Groom, who wrote the 1986 novel of the same name that Forrest Gump is based upon, barely made anything from the hit films enormous success, if you can believe it. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.įAIRHOPE, Ala. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.

Forrest gump author