Col. Donald Conroy, the father of best-selling author Pat Conroy and the subject of his son's novel "The Great Santini," died Saturday of colon cancer. He was 77.
Conroy, a Marine fighter pilot nicknamed "The Great Santini," spent 33 years in the service until he retired in 1974. He was a dive bomber in the Philippines during World War II, was part of the Black Sheep Squadron during the Korean War and served two tours of duty in Vietnam.However, he gained notoriety as the subject of his son's book, "The Great Santini." In the movie version, actor Robert Duvall played the lead role of Bull Meecham and was nominated for an Academy Award.
In an obituary sent to the funeral home, Pat Conroy said his father claimed full credit for the success of Duvall, whom he said was a "B" actor before the role.
" `The poor guy finally got a role with some meat on it,' " Conroy told his children, the son said.