Breaking news that Richard Matheson has, sadly, passed away at
the age of 87… His daughter Ali has written “My beloved father passed away
yesterday at home surrounded by the people and things he loved...he was funny,
brilliant, loving, generous, kind, creative, and the most wonderful father
ever...I miss you and love you forever Pop and I know you are now happy and
healthy in a beautiful place full of love and joy you always knew was there...”
Matheson was the only twentieth century author whose seminal
novel is so important to the vampire genre it received a permanent link on the
blog front page menu as a piece of Classic Literature. That novel was, of
course, I am Legend, which has spawned several film adaptations (the Last Man on Earth being the best and, ironically, one that he distanced himself from,
changing his name in the credits to Logan Swanson) and also was a main
inspiration to George Romero and thus helped shape the zombie genre also.
Matheson also worked on several vampire films including, but
not limited to The Night Stalker, Dracula and Dead of Night. A genre icon, his
presence will be sorely missed.
1 comment:
Very sad indeed. I was late to I am Legend but I was blown away by just how good it was after only being exposed to the Will Smiths film. It was also one of the main influences as to why I started my own blog and as you say plays a fascinating and extremely important role in shaping the vampire and zombie as we know them today. RIP.
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