Harry Crews, an author best known for his gritty tales of the rural south has passed at the age of 76 in Gainesville, FL. His ex-wife, Sally Ellis Crews, said he had suffered from neuropathy.

This is video from 2004 when his book inspired the movie "The Hawk is Dying." The movie was filmed in Gainesville, FL. Crews, author of 17 novels and numerous short stories taught graduate and undergraduate fiction writing workshops at the University of Florida from 1968 until his retirement in 1997.

He was a Georgia native, but a longtime Florida resident.