[RonDog]

'Ben Hur' writer Fry dies aged 97

Perhaps.

But the "Ben Hur" AUTHOR died years ago.

From www.ben-hur.com:

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace was published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880. The novel was the result of seven years research and writing, most of which was carried out underneath a beech tree near Wallace’s residence in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

The novel grew in such popularity during Wallace’s lifetime that it was adapted into a stage play in 1899. That dramatization was followed by the motion picture productions in 1907, 1925, and 1959. Since the last film, Ben-Hur has been adapted into several cartoons and a musical...

Lew Wallace
1827 - 1905

[SpringheelJack]

Fry is an author of "Ben Hur" too, even though his screenplay was based on a novel. Just as Shakespeare is the author of "Romeo and Juliet," even though his play is an adaptation of a book by Arthur Brooke, and of "As You Like It," which is an adaptation of a novel by Thomas Lodge.

[Mogollon]

Exactly. General Lew Wallace wrote Ben Hur. One piece of trivia about him was that he was the Governor of New Mexico during the Lincoln County Range War and was the governor that had to deal with Billy the Kid during that time.