Colin Dexter, creator of Inspector Morse, dies at 86

LONDON – Writer Colin Dexter, who created music-loving Oxford detective Inspector Morse, has died aged 86.

Publisher Pan Macmillan says Dexter died Tuesday at his home in Oxford.

Born in 1930 in Stamford, central England, Dexter studied classics at Cambridge University and became a teacher and author of textbooks before turning to fiction.

“Last Bus to Woodstock,” published in 1975, introduced Morse, a curmudgeonly detective with a love of classical music and crosswords — and for a long time, no first name, at least not one revealed to readers.

The character was played by John Thaw in a successful TV series that ran from 1987 to 2000.