Author Sam Greenlee, best know for his seminal The Spook Who Sat by the Door, reportedly passed away at his Chicago home this morning. Pemon Remi, a longtime mentee of Greenlee's and Director of Educational Services and Public Programs at Chicago's DuSable Museum, tells EBONY.com that the 83-year-old had been in and out of the hospital for the past two years.

A veteran, he published The Spook in 1969; the story of a CIA agent who uses his training to turn a Chicago street gang into a Black guerrilla army was made into a film in 1973.

Greenlee is survived by his wife, Maxine, daughter Matika and granddaughter, Nailah.