Harlan Ellison
Posted: June 29th, 2018, 12:34 am
The news spread today that Harlan Ellison has passed away. Normally, I wouldn't make note of such here unless I could note a magic connection. But he was such an important writer that I'll do it anyway.
He's known for writing what many consider to be the best Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever" (the one where Kirk kills Alexis Carrington on the streets of Mayberry). But he also wrote what is my favorite Twilight Zone episode, from the 1985 revival: "Paladin of the Lost Hour", with Danny Kaye.
He started writing Science Fiction at the tail end of the pulp era, and may have been the last living writer from the classic EC Comics. He joined a gang for a while, and used the experience to write a novel about juvenile delinquents. He moved to Hollywood and wrote for TV, but chafed at the collaborative process. There's a great story about him a script conference, and during the meeting, he takes out a pistol and disassembles and cleans it, but never says a word about what he's doing, just to keep the producer off balance. He wrote two excellent volumes of TV criticism (The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat).
But what he was best at was short speculative fiction. He won 4 Hugos for Best Short Story (no one else has more than 3). He also has won Edgar Awards (from the Mystery Writers of America, co-founded by Clayton Rawson), Nebulas, World Fantasy Awards, and Writers Guild awards. He wrote more than 1700 stories. Not all of them noteworthy, but more than a few were amazing.
I've been reading his stories for more than 40 years. It's sad to know there won't be any more.
He's known for writing what many consider to be the best Star Trek episode, "City on the Edge of Forever" (the one where Kirk kills Alexis Carrington on the streets of Mayberry). But he also wrote what is my favorite Twilight Zone episode, from the 1985 revival: "Paladin of the Lost Hour", with Danny Kaye.
He started writing Science Fiction at the tail end of the pulp era, and may have been the last living writer from the classic EC Comics. He joined a gang for a while, and used the experience to write a novel about juvenile delinquents. He moved to Hollywood and wrote for TV, but chafed at the collaborative process. There's a great story about him a script conference, and during the meeting, he takes out a pistol and disassembles and cleans it, but never says a word about what he's doing, just to keep the producer off balance. He wrote two excellent volumes of TV criticism (The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat).
But what he was best at was short speculative fiction. He won 4 Hugos for Best Short Story (no one else has more than 3). He also has won Edgar Awards (from the Mystery Writers of America, co-founded by Clayton Rawson), Nebulas, World Fantasy Awards, and Writers Guild awards. He wrote more than 1700 stories. Not all of them noteworthy, but more than a few were amazing.
I've been reading his stories for more than 40 years. It's sad to know there won't be any more.