'Clifford The Big Red Dog' Creator Dead at 86

The author of the popular “Clifford the Big Red Dog” series died on Friday.

Norman Ray Bridwell, of Edgartown, passed away at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital at age 86.

Bridwell grew up in Kokomo, IN, and went on to study at the John Herron Art Institute in Indianapolis and Cooper Union in New York, according to Scholastic.

He worked as a commercial artist before he created Clifford the Big Red Dog in the 1960’s, MV Times reported.

He based Clifford off of a dog he wanted as a boy and named Clifford’s owner, Emily Elizabeth, after his daughter Emily, according to Scholastic.

Bridwell went on to write over 40 best selling books based on the series and sold 60 million copies, according to Boston.com.

He is survived by his wife Norma Bridwell and his children Tim Bridwell and Emily Bridwell Merz.

A memorial service will be held in summer of 2015.

Photo Credit: Chapman Cole & Gleason Funeral Home