Author Tom Clancy, known best for his spy thrillers has died. He was 66. Some of Clancy's best sellers include "Patriot Games" and "The Hunt for Red October", which were also reinterpreted to blockbuster films.

Tom Clancy's publishers, The Penguin Group spoke of the author's death. He passed away in Baltimore. However, Penguin's statement did not disclose the author's cause of death.

It was Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October", published in 1984 that made him famous. After the success of "Red October", Clancy became known as a favorite storyteller in the US. More success followed when the book was made into a movie, which starred big names like Alec Baldwin and Sean Connery.

Alec Baldwin has talked about the author and has said that "spending time with Tom prior to shooting" was the best part of the whole experience for him. He also went on to say that the man was very intelligent, a wonderful story teller and was a real gentleman.

Harrison Ford was another notable that brought Clancy's "Patriot Games" and "Clear and Present Danger" to life. Ford played Jack Ryan for both books turned into movies. In later years, actor Ben Affleck played Ryan when "The Sum of All Fears" was turned into a movie.

Penguin executive David Shanks, who worked very closely with the author in each of his books, expressed sadness at his passing. According to Shanks, Tom Clancy "will be missed dearly" at Penguin, and "he will be missed by tens of millions of readers worldwide."

Tom Clancy's last book is called "Command Authority" and will be published in December 2013.

Clancy was born in Baltimore and formerly worked as an insurance agent. He will always be remembered for his very detailed and meticulous thrillers which were mostly about military tactics, technology and political intrigue.