13 Facts About Winston Groom

1.

Winston Groom is best known for his novel Forrest Gump, which became a cultural phenomenon after being adapted as a 1994 film of the same name, starring Tom Hanks.

2.

Winston Groom wrote a total of fifteen non-fiction works on such varied subjects as the American Civil War and World War I, including five multiple biographies.

3.

Winston Groom was raised in Mobile County, Alabama, where he attended the private University Military School.

4.

Winston Groom attended the University of Alabama, where he became a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity and the Army ROTC.

5.

Winston Groom graduated with Omicron Delta Kappa honors in 1965.

6.

Winston Groom served in the United States Army from 1965 to 1967, including a tour of duty in the Vietnam War.

7.

Winston Groom resigned and moved to New York to pursue a career in writing novels.

8.

In 1985, Winston Groom moved back to Mobile, Alabama, where he began to work on the novel Forrest Gump.

9.

Winston Groom began writing Forrest Gump the same day, and within six weeks finished the novel.

10.

Winston Groom disputed accounting by Paramount Pictures related to profits from the film.

11.

In 2016, Winston Groom published El Paso, his first novel in nearly 20years.

12.

At the time of his death in 2020, Winston Groom was waiting for publication of The Patriots, his biography of American leaders John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson.

13.

Winston Groom died from a suspected heart attack at his home in Fairhope on September 17,2020, at age 77.