Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Richard Matheson (1926-2013)

If it wasn't for Richard Matheson...
...zombies would not be rampaging across movie and TV screens today!

His novel, I am Legend, and the first movie adaptation, The Last Man on Earth, were the inspiration for George Romero's Night of the Living Dead....
...which redefined "zombies" in pop culture.
In addition, Matheson was one of the three major contributors to the original Twilight Zone (along with creator Rod Serling and Charles Beaumont) with his most famous story, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" filmed twice.
When the leads of the two versions met up in Third Rock from the Sun, they commented on their airline troubles...

Add to that a plethora of novels and short stories, most of which were adapted into tv episodes and movies, plus his own screenplay adaptations of other authors' works (including Edgar Allan Poe), and his own original scripts for shows like Star Trek...
 ...and you have an amazing, creative, talent who will be missed.

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