Mr Lime
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
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RIP Harlan Ellison.
Proof that there is no God.
Donald Trump is still with us and one of the greatest spirits on the planet has been taken from us today! This is one I've been dreading recently, but having seen the gradual decline in his health over the past few years, it was painfully inevitable. Still a shock though, as I thought (hoped) this guy was Superman.
One of the greatest writers ever to sit in front of a typewriter. Norman Mailer and Steven King both called him the world's greatest living writer and an incredible list of literary awards more than back up that claim. Outside of his literary works Ellison was well known as a media personality in the USA and particularly in France where he was practically a deity. In the UK, outside of the SF community, Ellison is primarily known for having written what are widely regarded as the best episodes of 'Star Trek', 'The Outer Limits', 'The Man From UNCLE', 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hour' and virtually any other TV show he wrote for.
Despite his critical and commercial success on television, he had a love/hate relationship with the medium (mostly hate), eventually abandoning it as a lost cause in the 1970s, only to be tempted back in the 1980s as creative consultant and screenwriter for the revival of 'The Twilight Zone' and then for 'Babylon 5'. The producers for each of those shows have described his contributions as "incalculable'.
In the mid 1980s he also successfully sued James Cameron, who ripped off some of Ellison's work for 'The Terminator' and then was stupid enough to boast about it to a journalist. This is why on the fade-out of the final scene in that film, you will see the words "Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison', which was a key part of Ellison's legal settlement and much more important to him than any financial settlement as he has always been renowned as a ferocious champion of authors' rights.
But it is for his incredible body of literature that he will be remembered, primarily short-stories which was the medium he preferred to work in. The man was one of the most influential people in my life; one of the greatest minds I have ever encountered, possessing a personal integrity I never thought human beings were capable of, and the person single-handedly responsible for my discovery and love of good literature.
So tonight, it's 'A Boy And His Dog' on the Blu Ray player and a couple of his short stories at bedtime and a glass of the good stuff (which he as a teetotaler never touched) raised to Unca Harlan!
Deepest sympathy to his wife and my dear friend Susan. Wish I could be there to give you a big hug Susie! XXX
Proof that there is no God.
Donald Trump is still with us and one of the greatest spirits on the planet has been taken from us today! This is one I've been dreading recently, but having seen the gradual decline in his health over the past few years, it was painfully inevitable. Still a shock though, as I thought (hoped) this guy was Superman.
One of the greatest writers ever to sit in front of a typewriter. Norman Mailer and Steven King both called him the world's greatest living writer and an incredible list of literary awards more than back up that claim. Outside of his literary works Ellison was well known as a media personality in the USA and particularly in France where he was practically a deity. In the UK, outside of the SF community, Ellison is primarily known for having written what are widely regarded as the best episodes of 'Star Trek', 'The Outer Limits', 'The Man From UNCLE', 'The Alfred Hitchcock Hour' and virtually any other TV show he wrote for.
Despite his critical and commercial success on television, he had a love/hate relationship with the medium (mostly hate), eventually abandoning it as a lost cause in the 1970s, only to be tempted back in the 1980s as creative consultant and screenwriter for the revival of 'The Twilight Zone' and then for 'Babylon 5'. The producers for each of those shows have described his contributions as "incalculable'.
In the mid 1980s he also successfully sued James Cameron, who ripped off some of Ellison's work for 'The Terminator' and then was stupid enough to boast about it to a journalist. This is why on the fade-out of the final scene in that film, you will see the words "Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison', which was a key part of Ellison's legal settlement and much more important to him than any financial settlement as he has always been renowned as a ferocious champion of authors' rights.
But it is for his incredible body of literature that he will be remembered, primarily short-stories which was the medium he preferred to work in. The man was one of the most influential people in my life; one of the greatest minds I have ever encountered, possessing a personal integrity I never thought human beings were capable of, and the person single-handedly responsible for my discovery and love of good literature.
So tonight, it's 'A Boy And His Dog' on the Blu Ray player and a couple of his short stories at bedtime and a glass of the good stuff (which he as a teetotaler never touched) raised to Unca Harlan!
Deepest sympathy to his wife and my dear friend Susan. Wish I could be there to give you a big hug Susie! XXX
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