William Clark Brinkley, Author Of `Don't Go Near The Water'

McALLEN, Texas - Author William Clark Brinkley, whose book "Don't Go Near the Water" was made into a movie, has committed suicide. He was 76.

Mr. Brinkley had been suffering from clinical depression and killed himself Monday with an overdose of barbiturates, said his wife, Jean Brinkley.

Mr. Brinkley wrote books from 1948 to 1988, including "Quicksand," "The Deliverance of Sister Cecilia," "The Fun House," "The Ninety and Nine," "The Two Susans," "Breakpoint," "Peeper" and "The Last Ship."

The movie "Don't Go Near the Water," a comedy about the sailors serving in the South Pacific during World War II, was released in 1957 and starred Glenn Ford.

Mr. Brinkley was a reporter for The Washington Post in 1941 and 1942 and from 1949 to 1951. He was an assistant editor and staff writer for Life magazine from 1951 to 1958.

A native of Custer, Okla., he was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Oklahoma. He served in the Navy from 1942 to 1946 and studied at the Yale Drama School in 1961 and 1962. He was a member of the National Press Club.

Mr. Brinkley moved to McAllen in 1971.

In addition to his wife, survivors include a stepson, David Shelander of Pensacola, Fla.; brother, Paul Brinkley of Auburn, Ala.; and sister, Virginia McCabe of Garden Grove, Calif.