Tho Rod Serling created the Twilight Zone my favourite writers from the show are Charles Beaumont and Richard Matheson.
Beamont started out as a cartoonist and worked at MGM animation for a bit as well as doing gag cartoons but gave it up and pursued writing. Initially he worked at Whitman publication and wrote and co-edited comics, working on Bugs, Mickey Mouse and Andy Panda comics before his short story and screen writing career took off. Along with the Twilight Zone and other TV series he was a screenwriter at American International and worked on Roger Corman Poe films like the Masque of the Red Death and The Haunted Palace.
His short stories appeared in the "slicks" as well as genre magazines.
Tragically in 1963, he was diagnosed with Alzeheimers at 34 and degenerated and aged rapidly and died 4 years later.
The first image is his first novel, written under a pseudonym and the other 3 are short story collections.
3 comments:
Terrible to lose such genius, and I'd heard he got Alzeheimers from drinking Bromo-Seltzer. Back then it had aluminum as an ingredient...
Love those covers. Are there reprints of Beaumont stories in newer books or does one have to hunt the old stuff down in order to enjoy it? :)
j.
That looks like the handiwork of Ralph Steadman on the bottom right.
Is this the case?
Hey J
I think he started taking the bromo more for headaches when his illness started which wouldn't have helped. His was a rare case to be so extreme and so young so who knows
what could have triggered it but a definite loss. they still make movies of Mathesons stories and he's still a great writer so I'm sure the same would have been with Beaumont.
There was a great collection put out by Dark Harvest in the late eighties but I don't know whats available now.
Hey Elliot. nope its not Steadman but another genius of the pen, Henrich Kley.
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