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.

4 comments:

Stephen D. Rogers said...

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

sandra seamans said...

Can't wait to read it, Stephen!

Manuel Royal said...

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.

sandra seamans said...

Yep, when I was reading his short stories, I remembered those episode of Twilight zone I'd seen :)