Peter Gent 1942-2011 [Former Cowboys Wide Receiver and Author of North Dallas Forty]

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WEST MICHIGAN (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – A well-known best-selling author and star athlete from West Michigan has died.

Peter Gent passed away Friday morning in Bangor from complications due to an illness.

Gent is best known for his novel 'North Dallas Forty.' He was born and raised in Bangor and moved back there later in life. He was 69 years old.

Gent was a star basketball player for Bangor High School and went on to play for Michigan State. He led the Spartans in scoring three years in a row and is currently 22nd on the school's career points list.

Though he was drafted by the NBA Baltimore Bullets, Gent tried out for the Dallas Cowboys on a whim. And despite having never played football, he made the team.

Gent spent four years with the Cowboys as wide receiver and tight end, but it was Gent did after he retired from playing sports that he'll likely be most remembered for.

The 1979 movie 'North Dallas Forty' was a look at the seedier side of professional football. It started Nick Nolte as professional player Phil Elliot and was based on the best-selling book of the same name by Peter Gent, who also helped pen the screenplay.

Many have hypothesized the story's main characters are based on Gent himself and Dallas Cowboys' quarterback Don Meredith.

Gent also wrote a number of other books including; 'The Franchise,' and 'The Last Magic Summer.'

Gent's family says he was working on a new novel when he died.

Visitation for Gent will be held Wednesday at Miller Funeral Home in Bangor from 2:00 to 4:00 pm and again from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. A short service will follow at the funeral home at 8:00 pm.

[catlover79]