Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Richard Matheson 1926-2013


We have truly lost one of the legends of the writing game. Celebrated multiple award-winning author Richard Matheson passed away this weekend, surrounded by family and friends. He was 87.

Even if you didn't know his name (shame on you!), you know his work. Here is just a sampler - the following movies are all based on his work - The Incredible Shrinking Man, Somewhere in Time, What Dreams May Come, Real Steel, Trilogy of Terror, The Box, Loose Cannons, The Legend of Hell House Burn Witch Burn, Jaws 3-D (hey, a paycheck is a paycheck), and the these last three, all based on the same novel, The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man, and I Am Legend.

That's not all, all of the good "Twilight Zone" episodes that weren't written by Rod Serling, they're all Matheson too. He wrote hundreds of short stories and books, and countless hours of television in many different genres, including episodes for "Star Trek," "Combat!," "Have Gun Will Travel," "Thriller," and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour." Other than "The Twilight Zone," possibly his two greatest contributions to television were the Steven Spielberg-directed Duel and The Night Stalker, which became a fondly remembered cult TV series.

We have lost another legend.

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