RICHARD MATHESON
Richard Matheson was born to Norwegian immigrants in New Jersey in 1926 and grew up in Brooklyn. His interest in writing and reading began at an early age: his first published work, a poem, appeared when he was eight, and as a teen he read voraciously. After graduating from high school, Matheson served in the army during World War II, an experience that would form the basis for his novel The Beardless Warriors (1960). Following his military service, Matheson studied journalism at the University of Missouri and began to devote himself to writing.
Matheson first gained widespread exposure and notice with a story published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950, “Born of Man and Woman,” about a husband and wife who give birth to a monster which they keep hidden in a cellar. It would go on to become the title story of his first collection, which appeared in 1954 during a period of extraordinary creative fertility that also produced several classic novels, I Am Legend (1954), The Shrinking Man (1956), and A Stir of Echoes (1958). Over the course of his long career, Matheson would go on to publish some two-dozen novels and numerous short stories in a variety of genres, including horror, fantasy, suspense, paranormal, science fiction and, later in life, westerns, including Journal of the Gun Years, winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel.
Matheson was also a prolific screenwriter for television and film. His television credits include many of the best-loved episodes of The Twilight Zone, as well as popular series like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Star Trek, and The Night Stalker (1972), the highest-rated television film of its time. His film scripts include a number of classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, as well as screenplays based on his own novels and stories for such films as Duel (1971, directed by Steven Spielberg), The Legend of Hell House (1973), and Somewhere in Time (1980). More recently, Matheson’s works have provided the basis for numerous films, including What Dreams May Come (1998), Stir of Echoes (1999), and I Am Legend (2007).
In addition to his fiction, Matheson was a professional songwriter and also published works on matters of the spiritual and metaphysical, including The Path (1993) and A Primer of Reality (2002).
His many awards include both the World Fantasy and Bram Stoker awards for lifetime achievement, the Edgar Award and multiple Writers Guild Awards, and he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. He died in 2013.
Matheson first gained widespread exposure and notice with a story published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in 1950, “Born of Man and Woman,” about a husband and wife who give birth to a monster which they keep hidden in a cellar. It would go on to become the title story of his first collection, which appeared in 1954 during a period of extraordinary creative fertility that also produced several classic novels, I Am Legend (1954), The Shrinking Man (1956), and A Stir of Echoes (1958). Over the course of his long career, Matheson would go on to publish some two-dozen novels and numerous short stories in a variety of genres, including horror, fantasy, suspense, paranormal, science fiction and, later in life, westerns, including Journal of the Gun Years, winner of the Spur Award for Best Western Novel.
Matheson was also a prolific screenwriter for television and film. His television credits include many of the best-loved episodes of The Twilight Zone, as well as popular series like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and Star Trek, and The Night Stalker (1972), the highest-rated television film of its time. His film scripts include a number of classic Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, as well as screenplays based on his own novels and stories for such films as Duel (1971, directed by Steven Spielberg), The Legend of Hell House (1973), and Somewhere in Time (1980). More recently, Matheson’s works have provided the basis for numerous films, including What Dreams May Come (1998), Stir of Echoes (1999), and I Am Legend (2007).
In addition to his fiction, Matheson was a professional songwriter and also published works on matters of the spiritual and metaphysical, including The Path (1993) and A Primer of Reality (2002).
His many awards include both the World Fantasy and Bram Stoker awards for lifetime achievement, the Edgar Award and multiple Writers Guild Awards, and he was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010. He died in 2013.
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