The US author, Michael Crichton, best known for the novel Jurassic Park has died of cancer, it was reported today.

The 66-year-old died in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his website.

Crichton's books, including Jurassic Park and its sequel The Lost World, which were adapted into successful films, have sold more than 150 million copies.

He was also a film and television director, who created the popular medical series ER.

His family said that he died after a "courageous and private battle against cancer" and would be "profoundly missed by those whose lives he touched".

"While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us - and entertained us all while doing so - his wife Sherri, daughter Taylor, family and friends knew Michael Crichton as a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes," his family said in a statement on his website.

The statement added: "He did this with a wry sense of humour that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

The Crichton family asked for privacy and said a private funeral service would be held for the author.

Born in Chicago, he trained as a doctor at Harvard Medical School, where he supported himself by writing thrillers under pseudonyms. The Andromeda Strain, which was published in 1969, became his first best-seller.

His medical and scientific background inspired many of his novels, including Congo, Disclosure, Timeline, State of Fear, Prey, and Next.

Jurassic Park and the Lost World became his best-known works after they were turned into blockbuster films. The first Jurassic Park film, directed by Steven Spielberg, was released in 1993.

Many of his other novels, such as Congo and Timeline, were also turned into films and he wrote and directed a number of films, including The Great Train Robbery in 1979 and Twister, which he co-wrote in 1996.

The author has won a string of awards including an Emmy, a Peabody, and a Writer's Guild of America award for ER.

Crichton's 2005 novel, State of Fear, in which the hero is a scientist who discovers that climate change is a fraud, led to the author being invited to a US Senate hearing as an expert witness. In spite of the views expressed in the book, Crichton insisted that he did not reject outright the theory of climate change.

He has been married five times and divorced four times.

· This article was amended on Thursday November 6 2008. Michael Crichton wrote two Jurassic Park novels, not three. This has been corrected.