US sci-fi and fantasy writer Richard Matheson, who
wrote the 1954 vampire novel I Am Legend, has died aged 87.
A spokesman for
the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films said Matheson died on
Sunday in Los Angeles, but no other details were provided.
In a career
spanning some 60 years, many of the author's works were adapted for both the
big and small screens.
I Am Legend was
his most successful, inspiring three film adaptations - most recently in 2007
starring Will Smith.
The novel was
considered a landmark work in the genre, ushering in apocalyptic themes to
post-WWII America.
Vincent Price
starred in the first adaptation in 1964, titled as The Last Man on Earth.
Charlton Heston
later starred in the 1971 adaptation, Omega Man.
The 2007
version saw Smith star as Robert Neville - the seemingly last human on Earth -
trying to find a cure for a genetically-engineered virus that has turned the
population into mutant vampiric creatures.
Born in
Allendale, New Jersey, in 1926 and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Matheson first
began publishing science-fiction and horror stories in the 1950s.
His earlier
works adapted into films included 1953 novel Hell House, 1956's The Shrinking
Man and 1958's A Stir of Echoes.
The 1978 novel
What Dreams May Come was also adapted into a big screen version in 1998
starring Robin Williams, which won an Oscar for best visual effects.
Steven
Spielberg's first feature-length film, Duel, was also based on Matheson's short
story of the same name.
Spielberg tribute
"Richard
Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction
stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay
for Duel," Spielberg said in a statement.
"His
Twilight Zones were among my favourites, and he recently worked with us on Real
Steel. For me, he is in the same category as [Ray] Bradbury and [Isaac]
Asimov."
Matheson also
worked as a writer for numerous TV shows including The Twilight Zone, The
Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Martian Chronicles and Amazing Stories.
He penned the
teleplay Nightmare at 20,000 Feet in 1963 for The Twilight Zone, which starred
William Shatner and featured the famous shot of a gremlin peering into the
window of an aeroplane from its wing.
He was also
responsible for writing The Twilight Zone episode Steel, which inspired the
2011 Hugh Jackman film, Reel Steel.
Matheson is
credited with influencing several generations of storytellers including Stephen
King, who dedicated his 2006 novel, Cell, to him.
Matheson had
been due to receive the visionary award at the Academy of Science Fiction,
Horror and Fantasy Films' Saturn Awards on Wednesday.
The
organisation said the award would be presented posthumously and ceremony would
be dedicated to the author.
Source: BBC
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