American writer Larry Collins, whose passion for history spawned a string of international best sellers including Is Paris Burning?, died on Monday in southern France, his literary partner said. He was 75.

Collins died of a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, Dominique Lapierre said. The attack occurred at Collins' home in the small Riviera town of Ramatuelle. He was taken to the hospital in nearby Frejus where he died, Lapierre said.

Lapierre and Collins met while the American was serving in the U.S. Army, based at the Allied Headquarters in Paris, from 1953-1955.