The scattered thoughts of short story writer Sandra Seamans
Monday, June 24, 2013
RIP Richard Matheson
Richard Matheson has passed away. I only discovered his work last year and was blown away by his mastery of the short story. "I Am Legend" is a masterpiece novella with an ending that no movie version has ever had the nerve to use.
Matheson is a long-time favorite and one of my guideposts. While best known for his science fiction, fantasy, and horror, he also wrote crime and a war novel.
One of the greats. "I Am Legend" is the root of every zombie movie made since 1968. (I think George Romero was profoundly influenced by the 1964 Vincent Price movie "The Last Man on Earth", a pretty faithful adaptation of Matheson's 1958 novel.)
His novel "The Shrinking Man" became one of the best sf movies of the '50s, dealing intelligently with important themes. (Deserves a serious remake.)
He also was responsible for many of the best episodes and movies on tv, including "Duel" and one of my favorites, "The Night Stalker".
4 comments:
Hey Sandra,
Matheson is a long-time favorite and one of my guideposts. While best known for his science fiction, fantasy, and horror, he also wrote crime and a war novel.
My tribute story is ready to go.
Stephen
Can't wait to read it, Stephen!
One of the greats. "I Am Legend" is the root of every zombie movie made since 1968. (I think George Romero was profoundly influenced by the 1964 Vincent Price movie "The Last Man on Earth", a pretty faithful adaptation of Matheson's 1958 novel.)
His novel "The Shrinking Man" became one of the best sf movies of the '50s, dealing intelligently with important themes. (Deserves a serious remake.)
He also was responsible for many of the best episodes and movies on tv, including "Duel" and one of my favorites, "The Night Stalker".
Total pro.
Yep, when I was reading his short stories, I remembered those episode of Twilight zone I'd seen :)
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