The author's daughter Leslie says that his father died at his southern Florida home from complications from pneumonia.
- Jun 19, 2014
AceShowbiz - Literary world has lost one of its authors. Daniel Keyes, who is the author of 1966's novel "Flowers for Algernon", passed away on Sunday, June 15. As reported by The Washington Post, his daughter Leslie Keyes said that her father died from complications from pneumonia at his home in southern Florida. He was 86.
Keyes was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1927. His parents wanted him to be a doctor, but he was interested in being a writer. "Flowers for Algernon" originally was published as a short story in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1959. It tells the story of a mentally disabled man named Charlie who becomes a candidate of an experimental surgery which allegedly increases a mouse named Algernon's intelligence.
Keyes won Hugo Award for the short story and a Nebula Award in 1966 for the novel. The story was adapted into a 1968 movie "Charly" starring Cliff Robertson, who earned an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the movie.
In addition to "Flowers for Algernon", his other works included 1980's "The Fifth Sally", 1981's "The Minds of Billy Milligan", 1986's "Unveiling Claudia" and his memoir "Algernon, Charlie, and I: A Writer's Journey".
