TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - The Academy Award-winning writer of "Dances With Wolves" has died.
Michael Blake's business partner, Daniel Ostroff, says the 69-year-old died Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, after a long battle with cancer.
Blake wrote the novel "Dances With Wolves" at the urging of his longtime friend, actor Kevin Costner. The novel was fairly unsuccessful but became a hit film after Costner asked Blake to adapt it into a movie.
The Civil War epic about an Army lieutenant who befriends a Native American tribe won seven Academy Awards, including one for best adapted screenplay.
Blake was an outspoken advocate for literacy, Native American history and wild horses. He spent his later years in southern Arizona.
He is survived by his wife, Marianne Blake, and their three children.