Richard Matheson

Richard Burton Matheson was born on February 20, 1926, in Allendale, New Jersey, and died on June 23, 2013, in Calabasas, California. An American author and screenwriter, he is best known for his 1954 science fiction horror novel *I Am Legend*, which has been adapted into three films. Matheson co-wrote the first adaptation, *The Last Man on Earth* (1964), starring Vincent Price. He wrote 16 episodes of *The Twilight Zone*, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet," "Little Girl Lost," and "Steel." For Roger Corman, he adapted several Edgar Allan Poe stories into films such as *House of Usher* and *The Pit and the Pendulum*. His 1971 short story "Duel" was adapted into a television film directed by Steven Spielberg. Many of his works have been adapted for the screen, including *The Shrinking Man* (filmed as *The Incredible Shrinking Man*), *What Dreams May Come*, and *Somewhere in Time*. In comics, his work appears in titles such as *I Am Legend*, *The Shrinking Man*, and *Kolchak the Night Strangler*. Matheson's writing, marked by psychological depth and genre-blending, influenced generations of creators. He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement and the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.