Frederick Forsyth, the British novelist behind The Day Of The Jackal, The Odessa File, The Dogs Of War and several other books that were turned into movies or TV shows, died today in Kent, England, his agent Jonathan Lloyd told the BBC. He was 86.

Forsyth called on his experiences as a fighter pilot, spy and journalist to bring authenticity to his novels — the first of which, 1971’s The Day of the Jackal, was penned while he was unemployed. It was adapted into a 1973 film director by multiple Oscar winner Fred Zinneman and a 2024 TV series starring Eddie Redmayne. Set in the turbulent year of 1963, it followed an assassination plot against French president Charles de Gaulle. The 1973 movie also was remade as The Jackal (1997), starring Bruce Willis and Richard Gere.

Born on August 25, 1938 in Kent, Forsyth was a pilot for the UK’s Royal Air Force and later worked as a journalist for Reuters and the BBC. He also worked in radio and newspapers before turning his attention to the written page. His first book was a 1969 nonfiction work about the Nigerian civil war; from there he went on to pen more than two dozen novels, many of which became international bestsellers.

Forsyth followed up Day of the Jackal with The Odessa File (1972) and The Dogs of War (1974). The former became a 1974 film starring Jon Voight and Maximillian Schell — it was director Ronald Neame’s follow-up to The Poseidon Adventure — and the coup-themed Dogs of War was turned into a 1980 movie from John Irvin starring Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger.

Among Forsyth’s other works turned into films were The Fourth Protocol (1984), which starred Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan and also became a video game; The Shepherd (2023); and The Phantom of Manhattan (1999), a pseudo-sequel to The Phantom of the Opera that was adapted as Love Never Dies (2012). The latter also became a stage show that played the Adelphi Theatre in London’s West End.

Several of his other novels became TV movies, including Cry of the Innocent, Code Name: Wolverine, Icon and Avenger.

Forsyth also earned executive producer or consulting producer credit for a half-dozen TV projects ranging from The Fourth Protocol — in which he also voice a newsreader — to 2024’s The Day of the Jackal.

He was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997 and later reveal that he worked as a spy for MI6 for more than two decades.