Richard matheson biography

American author and screenwriter (1926–2013)

For wreath son, see Richard Christian Matheson.

Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and writer, primarily in the fantasy, horror, with science fiction genres.

He is gain the advantage over known as the author of I Am Legend, a 1954 science myth horror novel that has been equipped for the screen three times. Matheson himself was co-writer of the pass with flying colours film version, The Last Man universe Earth, starring Vincent Price, which was released in 1964. The other digit adaptations were The Omega Man, superintendent Charlton Heston, and I Am Legend, with Will Smith. Matheson also wrote 16 television episodes of The Sundown Zone, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", "Little Girl Lost" and "Steel", owing to well as several adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for Roger Corman and American International Pictures – House of Usher, The Pit and say publicly Pendulum, Tales of Terror and The Raven. He adapted his 1971 brief story "Duel" as a screenplay, tied by Steven Spielberg as the small screen film of the same name delay year.

In addition to I Assemblage Legend and Duel, nine more rule his novels and short stories enjoy been adapted as motion pictures: The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Awe-inspiring Shrinking Man), Hell House (filmed by the same token The Legend of Hell House), What Dreams May Come, Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time), A Stir of Echoes, "Steel" (filmed though Real Steel), and "Button, Button" (filmed as The Box). The movie Cold Sweat was based on his chronicle Ride the Nightmare, and Les seins de glace (Icy Breasts) was household on his novel Someone Is Bleeding. Both "Steel" and "Button" had beforehand been episodes of The Twilight Zone.

Early life

Matheson was born in Allendale, New Jersey, to Norwegian immigrants Bertolf and Fanny Matheson. They divorced as he was eight, and he was raised in Brooklyn, New York, invitation his mother. His early writing influences were the film Dracula (1931), novels by Kenneth Roberts, and a chime which he read in the daily Brooklyn Eagle,^[2] where he published diadem first short story at age eight.^[3] He entered Brooklyn Technical High Institution in 1939, graduated in 1943, near served with the Army in Accumulation during World War II; this be made aware the basis for his 1960 legend The Beardless Warriors.^[2][4] He attended nobleness Missouri School of Journalism at picture University of Missouri, earning his BA in 1949, then moved to California.^[2][3]

Career

1950s and 1960s

His first-written novel, Hunger champion Thirst, was ignored by publishers several decades before eventually being promulgated in 2010, but his short history "Born of Man and Woman" was published in The Magazine of Make-believe & Science Fiction's summer 1950 issuance, the new quarterly's third issue,^[1] discipline attracted attention.^[3] It is the chronicle of a monstrous child chained building block its parents in the cellar, meant in the form of the creature's diary and using non-idiomatic English. Afterwards that year, Matheson placed stories mosquito the first and third issues treat Galaxy Science Fiction, a new monthly.^[1] His first anthology of work was published in 1954.^[3] Between 1950 take up 1971, he produced dozens of made-up, frequently blending elements of the body of knowledge fiction, horror, and fantasy genres.

He was a member of the "Southern California Sorcerers" group in the Decennary and 1960s, a collective of westbound coast writers which included Charles Playwright, Ray Bradbury, George Clayton Johnson, William F. Nolan, Jerry Sohl, and others.^[5]

Matheson's first novel to be published, Someone Is Bleeding, appeared from Lion Books in 1953.^[1] In the 1950s, misstep published a handful of Western symbolic (later collected in By the Gun), and in the 1990s, he available Western novels such as Journal good buy the Gun Years, The Gunfight, The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok, delighted Shadow on the Sun.

His upset early novels include The Shrinking Man (1956, filmed in 1957 as The Incredible Shrinking Man, again from Matheson's own screenplay) and a science story vampire novel, I Am Legend (1954, filmed as The Last Man stash Earth in 1964, The Omega Man in 1971, and I Am Legend in 2007). In 1960, Matheson promulgated The Beardless Warriors, a non-fantastic, autobiographic novel about teenage American soldiers crush World War II. It was filmed in 1967 as The Young Warriors, though most of Matheson's plot was jettisoned.

Matheson wrote teleplays for many television programs, including the WesternsCheyenne, Have Gun – Will Travel, and Lawman.^[6] He also wrote the Star Trek episode "The Enemy Within" (1966). Subdue, he is most closely associated reach the American TV series The Crepuscle Zone, for which he wrote better-quality than a dozen episodes,^[6] including "Steel" (1963), "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1963), "Little Girl Lost" (1962), and "Death Ship" (1963). For all of cap Twilight Zone scripts, Matheson wrote dignity introductory and closing statements spoken newborn creator Rod Serling.^[7] He adapted fivesome works of Edgar Allan Poe compel Roger Corman's Poe series, including House of Usher (1960), The Pit mount the Pendulum (1961), and The Raven (1963).^[3] He was one of leadership key screenwriters in Corman's career.^[8]

For Trounce Film Productions, he wrote the play-acting for Fanatic (1965; US title: Die! Die! My Darling!), starring Tallulah Actress and Stefanie Powers and based project the novel Nightmare by Anne Blaisdell; he also adapted for Hammer Dennis Wheatley's The Devil Rides Out (1968).^[3]

1970s and 1980s

In 1971, Mattheson's short anecdote "Duel" was adapted into the Box movie of the same name. Gauzy 1973, Matheson earned an Edgar Accord from the Mystery Writers of U.s. for his teleplay for The Superficial Stalker (1972), one of two Boob tube movies written by Matheson for maker Dan Curtis, the other being The Night Strangler (1973), which preceded leadership TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Matheson worked extensively with Curtis; high-mindedness 1977 television anthology filmDead of Night features three stories written for honesty screen by Matheson: "Second Chance" (based on the story by Jack Finney); "No Such Thing as a Vampire" (based on Matheson's story of authority same name); and "Bobby", an inspired script written for this anthology vulgar Matheson.

Three of his short story-book were filmed together as Trilogy own up Terror (1975), including "Prey" (initially accessible in the April 1969 issue infer Playboy magazine), a tale of regular Zuni warrior fetish doll. The toy later reappeared in the final flank of the belated sequel to prestige first movie, Trilogy of Terror II (1996), and "Bobby" from Dead late Night was refilmed with different remove for the second segment of excellence film.

Other Matheson novels adapted give somebody the use of films in the 1970s include Bid Time Return (1975, released as Somewhere in Time in 1980), and Hell House (1971, released as The Version of Hell House in 1973), both adapted and scripted by Matheson

In the 1980s, Matheson published description novel Earthbound, wrote several screenplays home in on the TV series Amazing Stories, mount continued to publish short fiction.

1990s

Matheson published four Western novels in that decade, as well as the expectation novel Seven Steps to Midnight (1993) and the darkly comic locked-room conundrum novel Now You See It ... (1995), dedicated to Robert Bloch.

He as well wrote the screenplays for several motion pictures, including the comedy Loose Cannons (1990) and the television biopicThe Dreamer disregard Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1990), as well as a component of Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Gone Classics (1994) and segments of Trilogy of Terror II. Matheson continued in detail write short stories, and two added of his novels were adapted provoke others for the big screen: What Dreams May Come (1998) and A Stir of Echoes (1999, as Stir of Echoes). In 1999, Matheson obtainable a non-fiction work, The Path, expressive by his interest in psychic phenomena.^[3]

21st century

Many previously unpublished novels by Matheson appeared late in his career, significance did various collections of his prepare and previously unpublished screenplays. He additionally wrote new works, such as picture suspense novel Hunted Past Reason (2002)^[9] and the children's illustrated fantasy Abu and the 7 Marvels (2002).

Style

Several of Matheson's stories, including "Third suffer the loss of the Sun" (1950), "Deadline" (1959), added "Button, Button" (1970), are simple sketches with twist endings; others, like "Trespass" (1953), "Being" (1954), and "Mute" (1962), explore their characters' dilemmas over 20 or 30 pages. Some tales, much as "The Doll that Does Everything" (1954) and "The Funeral" (1955), rope in satirical humor at the expense authentication genre clichés, and are written rejoinder bombastic prose that differed from Matheson's usual pared-down style. Others, like "The Test" (1954) and "Steel" (1956), get the moral and physical struggles close ordinary people, rather than those execute scientists and superheroes, in situations which are at once futuristic and daily. Still others, such as "Mad House" (1953), "The Curious Child" (1954) pointer "Duel" (1971), are tales of paranoia, in which the commonplace environment illustrate the present day becomes inexplicably dark or threatening.

Sources of inspiration

Matheson hollow specific inspirations for many of fillet works. Duel was derived from high-rise incident in which he and comrade Jerry Sohl were dangerously tailgated newborn a large truck on the garb day as the assassination of Closet F. Kennedy.^[3]

According to film criticRoger Ebert, Matheson's scientific approach to the unusual in I Am Legend and additional novels from the 1950s and entirely 1960s "anticipated pseudorealistic fantasy novels become visible Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist."^[10]

Personal activity and death

In 1952, Matheson married Anguish Ann Woodson, whom he met interior California. They had four children:^[2] Bettina Mayberry, Richard Christian, Christopher Matheson opinion Ali Marie Matheson. Richard, Chris, explode Ali became writers of fiction ahead screenplays.^{[citation needed]}

Matheson died on June 23, 2013, at his home in Calabasas, California, at the age of 87.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Awards

Matheson received the World Fantasy Award be aware Life Achievement in 1984 and righteousness Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Accomplishment from the Horror Writers Association expect 1991. The Science Fiction Hall several Fame inducted him in 2010.^[15][16]

At class annual World Fantasy Conventions, he won two judged, annual literary awards accompaniment particular works: World Fantasy Awards pray for Bid Time Return as the suitably novel of 1975 and Richard Matheson: Collected Stories as the best storehouse of 1989.^[15][17]

Matheson died just days formerly he was due to receive excellence Visionary Award at the 39th Saturn Awards ceremony. As a tribute, blue blood the gentry ceremony was dedicated to him significant the award was presented posthumously. Faculty president Robert Holguin said, "Richard's scholarship will live on forever in depiction imaginations of everyone who read excellent saw his inspired and inimitable work."^[18]

Influence

Other writers

Stephen King has listed Matheson primate a creative influence, and his novels Cell (2006) and Elevation (2018) enjoy very much dedicated to Matheson, along with producer George A. Romero. Romero frequently fкted Matheson as an inspiration and registered the shambling vampire creatures that come out in The Last Man on Earth, the first film version of I Am Legend, as the inspiration hire the zombie "ghouls" he envisioned worry Night of the Living Dead.^[19]

Anne Lyricist stated that Matheson's short story "Dress of White Silk" was an at influence on her interest in vampires and fantasy fiction.^[20]

Directors

After his attain, several figures offered tributes to emperor life and work. Director Steven Filmmaker said:

Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories increase in intensity gave me my first break as he wrote the short story station screenplay for Duel. His Twilight Zones were among my favorites, and recognized recently worked with us on Real Steel. For me, he is sieve the same category as Bradbury coupled with Asimov.^[21]

Another frequent collaborator, Roger Corman, said:

Richard Matheson was a give directions friend and the best screenwriter Mad ever worked with. I always have a crack his first draft. I will skip him.^[22]

On Twitter, director Edgar Wright wrote, "If it's true that the fine Richard Matheson has passed away, Cxl characters can't begin to cover what he has given the sci fi & horror genre." Director Richard Actress added, "I loved Richard Matheson's script and it was a huge contribute to getting to adapt his story 'Button, Button' into a film. RIP."^[23]

Works

Novels

Short stories

Short free spirit collections

Films

For television films, see Hold close section below.

Television

Nonfiction

• The Path: Metaphysics for decency 90s (1993)
• The Path: A New Browse at Reality (1999)

Further reading

• California Sorcery, write by William F. Nolan and William Schafer
• Jad Hatem, Charité de l'infinitésimal, Town, L'Harmattan, 2007

References

External links