<p>William Diehl, best-selling author of "Primal Fear" and other novels, died Friday at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. He was 81.</p><p>Diehl died of an aortal aneurysm, said two of his longtime friends, Michael Parver and Don Smith. His death was first reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.</p><p>Diehl was formerly a writer for the newspaper, and also was a freelance photographer and a magazine editor.</p><p>He started on his first novel, "Sharky's Machine," while serving as a juror in a Fulton County courtroom. Diehl, then 50, was bored by the trial and started writing fiction on a notepad.</p><p>The book, published in 1978, became a best-seller and _later _ a movie starring Burt Reynolds.</p><p>The novel was a needed break: Diehl was unemployed when he got the news that the book was going to be published, said Parver.</p><p>When his agent first called to tell him, the phone line went dead. Diehl hadn't paid the bill, Parver told the Journal-Constitution.</p><p>Diehl's friends and relatives were turned into characters in his later works. Parver became a dirty cop in the novel "Hooligans."</p><p>The author's other novels included "Primal Fear," a 1993 thriller about a lawyer defending a young man accused of slaying an archbishop. It was turned into a successful 1996 film starring Richard Gere and Edward Norton.</p><p>Diehl was a World War II veteran, serving as a ball turret gunner aboard a B-24 bomber.</p><p>Diehl lived in Woodstock with his wife, Virginia Gunn. He is also survived by five children and eight grandchildren.</p><p>He was writing his 10th novel at the time of his death. The book was expected to published sometime next year, his friends said.</p><p>A funeral is not planned, but family and friends are organizing a memorial service, Parver said.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdba30)</p>
