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Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of I Am Legend, a 1954 science fiction horror novel that has been adapted for the screen three times.
- Dracula (1931) Inspired Richard Matheson to Write I Am Legend.
- He Served During World War II.
- Matheson’s Writing Career Began with Short Stories.
- Many of His Works Were Adapted Into Films.
- Matheson Was Disappointed with The Movies Based on I Am Legend.
- He Was A Prolific Television and Screenwriter, Notably For The Twilight Zone.
- I Am Legend Inspired Stephen King, Anne Rice, and George A. Romero.
- Three of Matheson’s Four Children Became Writers.
Matheson, who was born in 1926, saw Bela Lugosi as Bram Stoker’s infamous blood-sucker when he was a teenager. In a 2012 speech accepting the Vampire Novel of the Century Award, he remembered that “the thought occurred to me: if one vampire is scary, what if the whole world were full of vampires?” But, he said, “at least 10 years” passed before he ...
Matheson joined the army after graduating high school in 1943. “During basic training,” he later recalled, “I would go down to the latrine at night while other soldiers were sleeping, and I would sit there reading Dracula … never knowing I was gonna write a book about vampires.” His experience of fighting in Europe during WWII served as the basis f...
A year after graduating with a journalism degree from the University of Missouri, Matheson’s first short story was published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. “Born of Man and Woman” (1950) is told from the perspective of a monstrous child chained to the basement wall by its equally monstrous parents, who routinely beat the child when...
Matheson wrote screenplays for many movies based on his works, including The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Duel (1971), and The Legend of Hell House (1973), an adaptation of his 1971 novel Hell House. Adaptations made without his involvement include What Dreams May Come (1998) and Stir of Echoes (1999). The latter he thoughtwas “marvelous”; the ...
Matheson felt that The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), and I Am Legend (2007) all failed to capture his novel. Matheson co-wrote the screenplay for the first adaptation, but thought Vincent Price was miscast and that “the direction was kind of poor”; he used the pseudonym Logan Swanson in the credits to avoid being associated with i...
Matheson wrote 16 episodes of Rod Sterling’s The Twilight Zone, including “The Invaders” and “Nick of Time.” “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” one of the show’s most famous episodes, was based on Matheson’s short story from the anthology Alone by Night (1961). “Button, Button” (from the ‘80s Twilight Zone revival) and “Steel” were also based on his short...
King of horror Stephen King said that Matheson was “the author who influenced me the most as a writer,” while Anne Rice, author of Interview with the Vampire (1976), stated thathe had “been an inspiration to me and to so many.” George A. Romero, father of the modern-day zombie genre, confirmed that I Am Legend was the inspiration for his hugely inf...
Chris Matheson is renowned for creating the Bill & Ted movies with Ed Solomon. Ali Matheson penned ‘90s episodes of Rugrats and co-wrote Halloweentown (1998). Richard Christian Matheson followed most closely in his father’s footsteps, writing horror fiction and screenplays, including an Amazing Stories episode. He collaborated with his father on Lo...
Since 1950, Matheson has been writing fiction (both novels and short stories), original film scripts, and adaptations. His first short story, “Born of Man and Woman,” is considered a classic ...
A lifelong reader of fantasy tales, he made his professional writing bow in 1950 when his short story "Born of Man and Woman"? appeared in "The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction"; Matheson turned out a number of highly regarded horror, fantasy and mystery stories throughout that decade.
- February 20, 1926
- June 23, 2013
May 7, 2000 · Richard Matheson (1926–2013): The Wizard of What-If? Elevating everyday events into nightmare terrors, the fantasy writer scared three generations of kids
Richard Matheson described the writing of his novel The Shrinking Man in this new introduction, written for a limited edition published in 2001. The Novelist Goes to Hollywood: Three Letters on The Shrinking Man (1955–56)
Jun 27, 2013 · He began writing at a very early age; when he was eight his stories were appearing in the Brooklyn Eagle. When he was around 16 Bela Lugosi's incarnation of Dracula gave him the idea for I Am...
