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Horror and SF Legend Richard Matheson Passes Away

Jun 25, 2013

Long time horror and science fiction author Richard Matheson has passed away at the age of 87 according to his son, Richard Christian Matheson. In a career spanning over 60 years Matheson wrote such classics as I am Legend, The Shrinking Man, Hell House, Bid Time Return, A Stir of Echoes, and What Dreams May Come among his 25 novels and over 100 short stories. Matheson also penned the Star Trek episode “The Enemy Within” and fourteen Twilight Zone scripts including “Nightmare at 20,000 feet.” Fans of the old ABC Kolchak the Night Stalker can thank Matheson for bringing that property to television as well.

He was also the recipient of a World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement, the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement, and inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2010.

As someone who relished to opportunity to discover Matheson’s work about fifteen years ago, today is certainly a sad one after learning of Mr. Matheson’s death this past Sunday following a long illness. For my money no one has ever come close to capturing the essence of the classic I am Legend – although Vincent Price’s lead turn in Last Man on Earth probably comes closest, sorry Will Smith – in it’s portrayal of not only the final human survivor of a vampire plague but also of the nature of the loneliness of mankind.

So a tip of the cap and a fond farewell to a literary great who entertained and inspired legions of storytellers (Stephen King, Anne Rice, and George Romero included) and millions of fans worldwide.

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Jeff McAleer

Founder/Editor-in-chief of The Gaming Gang website and host of The Gaming Gang Dispatch and other TGG media, Jeff tackles any and all sorts of games but has a special fondness for strategy, conflict sims, and roleplaying games. Plus, he's certainly never at a loss for an opinion...