Controversial and prolific science fiction author Harlan Ellison dead at 84

harlan ellison

Science fiction author Harlan Ellison, known for his television work, short stories and screenplays, including the short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream," has died at age 84.


Ellison was born in Ohio in 1934 and began writing for science fiction magazines during the 1950s. During that same decade, he moved to New York to focus on his writing career. He is known for hundreds of short stories, according to The Verge.

In 1962, he moved to California and began to write for television, penning episodes for Star Trek, The Outer Limits, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 

According to Variety, Ellison won a 1980 copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount over the film Future Cop and a short story of his and Ben Bova's titled "Brillo," claiming the film was based on the story.

Ellison was known for his abrasive personality, and it colored his work and life in several instances. According to Variety, in 1977 when he wrote a screenplay for Issac Asimov's short story "I, Robot. In a meeting with executive Robert Shapiro, Ellison surmised that Shapiro hadn't even read the screenplay, and allegedly claimed he had "the intellectual capacity of an artichoke."

Ellison married five times and is survived by his wife Susan.

 

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