Harlan Ellison

Harlan Jay Ellison (born May 27, 1934) is a prolific writer of short stories, novellas, essays and criticism. His literary and television work has received many awards. He wrote for the original series of ', edited the award-winning short story anthology series Dangerous Visions and served as creative consultant to the science fiction TV series The Twilight Zone (1980s version) and Babylon 5.

Biography

Ellison was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on May 27, 1934. His Jewish-American family subsequently moved to Painesville, Ohio, but returned to Cleveland in 1949 following the death of Ellison's father. Ellison frequently ran away from home, taking odd jobs — including, by his own account, "a tuna fisherman off the coast of Galveston, itinerant crop-picker down in New Orleans, hired gun for a wealthy neurotic, dynamite truck driver in North Carolina, short order cook, cab driver, lithographer, book salesman, floorwalker in a department store, door-to-door brush salesman, and spent ten years as an actor (off and on) with the Cleveland Play House" by the time he was eighteen.

Related Topics:
Cleveland, Ohio - United States - May 27 - 1934 - Jewish-American - Painesville, Ohio - 1949 - Cleveland Play House

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Ellison briefly attended Ohio State University before dropping out. In 1955, Ellison moved to New York City to pursue a writing career, primarily in science fiction. Over the next two years, Ellison published more than 100 short stories and articles.

Related Topics:
Ohio State University - 1955 - New York City

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In 1957, Ellison decided to write about youth gangs. To research the issue, he joined a street gang in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, under the name "Cheech Beldone". His subsequent writings on the subject include the novel Web of the City/Rumble, the collection The Deadly Streets, and comprise part of his nonfiction memoir Memos from Purgatory.

Related Topics:
1957 - Youth gangs - Red Hook - Brooklyn - Novel - Web of the City/Rumble - The Deadly Streets - Nonfiction - Memoir - Memos from Purgatory

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Ellison was drafted into the army and served from 1957 to 1959. Afterwards, living in Chicago, Illinois, Ellison edited Rogue magazine. As a book editor at Regency Books, Ellison published novels and anthologies by such writers as B. Traven, Kurt Vonnegut, Robert Bloch and Philip José Farmer.

Related Topics:
Army - 1957 - 1959 - Chicago, Illinois - Regency Books - B. Traven - Kurt Vonnegut - Robert Bloch - Philip José Farmer

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He moved to California in 1962, and subsequently began to sell scripts to such television shows as Burke's Law, Route 66, The Outer Limits, Star Trek and Cimarron Strip. His novella Memos from Purgatory was adapted into an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Ellison's scripts "Demon with a Glass Hand" (for The Outer Limits) and "The City on the Edge of Forever" (for Star Trek) won Best Original Teleplay awards from the Writer's Guild of America.

Related Topics:
California - 1962 - Burke's Law - Route 66 - The Outer Limits - Star Trek - Cimarron Strip - Memos from Purgatory - Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Writer's Guild of America

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During the late 1960s, Ellison wrote a column about television for the Los Angeles Free Press. Titled The Glass Teat, the column addressed political and social issues and their portrayal on television at the time. The columns have been reprinted in two collections, The Glass Teat and The Other Glass Teat.

Related Topics:
1960s - Los Angeles Free Press - The Glass Teat - The Other Glass Teat

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He continued to publish short pieces, fiction and nonfiction, in various publications, and some of his most famous stories were written in this period. "'Repent, Harlequin!' said the Ticktockman" is a celebration of civil disobedience against repressive authority. "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" is an allegory of Hell, where five humans are tormented by an all-knowing computer throughout eternity. "A Boy and his Dog" examines the nature of friendship and love in a violent, post-Apocalypse world.

Related Topics:
Civil disobedience - I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream - Hell - Computer - Post-Apocalypse

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"A Boy and His Dog" was made into a film in 1975 starring Don Johnson.

Related Topics:
1975 - Don Johnson

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He has won the Hugo Award eight and a half times; the Nebula Award three times; the Bram Stoker Award, presented by the Horror Writers Association, five times (including the Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996); the Edgar Allen Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America twice; the Georges Melies fantasy film award twice; and was awarded the Silver Pen for Journalism by International PEN, the international writers' union. He was presented with the first Living Legend Award by the International Horror Guild at the 1995 World Horror Convention. He is also the only author in Hollywood ever to win the Writers' Guild of America Award for Most Outstanding Teleplay (solo work) four times, most recently for "Paladin of the Lost Hour" in 1987. In March 1998, the National Women's Committee of Brandeis University honored him with their 1998 Words, Wit, Wisdom award. In 1990, Ellison was honored by International PEN for continuing commitment to artistic freedom and the battle against censorship.

Related Topics:
Hugo Award - Nebula Award - Bram Stoker Award - Horror Writers Association - Edgar Allen Poe Award - Mystery Writers of America - Georges Melies - Silver Pen - International PEN - International Horror Guild - World Horror Convention - 1987 - 1998 - National Women's Committee - Brandeis University

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A rather famous and popular film can also be credited to Ellison, though he had to go to court for it. Some aspects of the story for "The Terminator" were sufficiently similar to two episodes of the TV series The Outer Limits — both episodes written by Harlan Ellison — that Ellison sued James Cameron. James Cameron admitted in an interview that Ellison's work inspired the movie. Cameron settled out of court and acknowledged Ellison's work in the film's credits with the end credit stating simply: "Acknowledgement to the works of Harlan Ellison." The episodes in question were called "Soldier" and "Demon With A Glass Hand".

Related Topics:
Film - The Terminator - James Cameron

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"I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" was turned into a computer game with Ellison providing the voice of the of the god-computer AM.

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He also edited the extremely influential science fiction anthology Dangerous Visions (1967), which collected stories commissioned by Ellison, accompanied by his commentary-laden biographical sketches of the authors. He challenged the authors to write stories at the edge of the genre, and Dangerous Visions is widely considered the greatest and most influential SF anthology of all time. Many of the stories went beyond the traditional boundaries of science fiction pioneered by respected old school editors such as John W. Campbell, Jr. As an editor, Ellison was influenced and inspired by experimentation in the popular literature of the time, such as the beats. A sequel, Again Dangerous Visions, was published in 1972. A third volume, The Last Dangerous Visions, has yet to see print, and the delay has created some controversy (see below).

Related Topics:
Dangerous Visions - 1967 - John W. Campbell, Jr. - Beats - 1972

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The screenplay for his projected television series The Starlost was also given a Writers Guild Award, though the actual series was so altered by the producers that Ellison had his name removed from the credits. Ellison was the first writer to win this award three times.

Related Topics:
The Starlost - Writers Guild Award

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Ellison served as creative consultant to the science fiction TV series The Twilight Zone (1980s version) and Babylon 5. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), he has voiceover credits for shows including Pirates of Darkwater, Mother Goose and Grimm, Space Cases, Phantom 2040, and Babylon 5, as well as making an onscreen appearance in the Babylon 5 episode "The Face of the Enemy" (Episode: #4.17).

Related Topics:
The Twilight Zone - Babylon 5 - Screen Actors Guild - Pirates of Darkwater - Mother Goose and Grimm - Space Cases - Phantom 2040

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For two years beginning in 1986, Ellison took over as host of the radio program Hour 25 on KPFK after the death of Mike Hodel, the show's founder and original host. It has been reported that his inadverdant use of an expletive on air caused his departure from the show.

Related Topics:
1986 - Radio - Hour 25 - KPFK - Mike Hodel

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Ellison's 1992 novelette "The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore" was selected for inclusion in the 1993 edition of The Best American Short Stories.

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He was hired and worked very briefly as a writer for Walt Disney Studios, but was fired on his first day after being overheard by Roy O. Disney in the studio commissary joking about making a pornographic animated film featuring Disney characters. He recounted this incident in his book Stalking the Nightmare, as part 3 of a section entitled "The 3 Most Important Things in Life".

Related Topics:
Walt Disney Studios - Roy O. Disney - Pornographic - Stalking the Nightmare

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He does all his writing on portable, manual Olympic typewriter.

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He is currently married to Susan—his fifth wife—and they live in Los Angeles, California.

Related Topics:
Los Angeles - California

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In 1994 he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized where he had quadruple bypass surgery.

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