charles mccoll portis (december 28, 1933 – february 17, 2020) was an american writer. his best known novels are "norwood" (1966) and the classic western "true grit" (1968). two "true grit" movies have been made, released in 1969 and 2010. "norwood" was also made into a 1970 movie. he also wrote "the dog of the south" (1979) and "gringos" (1991). portis has been described as "one of the most inventively comic writers of western fiction."