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mae
06-25-2013, 09:48 AM
http://www.stephenking.com/news_archive/article399.html

Tribute to Richard Matheson
June 25th, 2013 12:26:18 pm

We've lost one of the giants of the fantasy and horror genres. From THE BEARDLESS WARRIORS, his brilliant (and largely unread) World War II novel, to THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and all the wonderful TWILIGHT ZONE scripts and stories, Matheson fired the imaginations of three generations of writers. Without his I AM LEGEND, there would have been no NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD; without NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, there would have been no WALKING DEAD, 28 DAYS LATER, or WORLD WAR Z. Matheson wrote the script for Steven Spielberg's extraordinary film, DUEL, and created one of the most brain-freezingly frightening haunted house novels of the 20th century in HELL HOUSE. He fired my imagination by placing his horrors not in European castles and Lovecraftian universes, but in American scenes I knew and could relate to. "I want to do that," I thought. "I must do that." Matheson showed the way. In addition to that, he was a gentleman who was always willing to give a young writer a hand up. I will miss his kindness and erudition. He lived a full life, raised a fine family, and gave us unforgettable stories, novels, TV shows, and movies. That's good. Nevertheless, I mourn his loss. A uniquely American voice has been silenced.

Stephen King

mikeC
06-25-2013, 10:26 AM
Well said Steve, I was surprised this wasn't bigger news. He was an incredible writer, one I consider the darker side of the story coin with Ray Bardbury.
Nightmare At 20,000 Feet is an amazing collection of stories.

Dan
06-25-2013, 10:38 AM
I spoke with Barry at Gauntlet Press today. He worked closely with Matheson for years and had nothing but good things to say. He has many stories. He shared one with me about how Richard sent him an 800 page manuscript early in their work relationship. They sent it back to Richard to try and shorten. Richard removed exactly one paragraph and returned it. Barry said Richard was a great man and very easy to work with.

jon10g
06-25-2013, 10:40 AM
A great writer. Hell House is the best haunted house story ever written. Whatever genre he wrote in he was excellent. He never got the recognition he deserved.

herbertwest
06-25-2013, 10:42 AM
Well said Steve, I was surprised this wasn't bigger news.
It was everywhere!

mikeC
06-26-2013, 06:00 AM
Well said Steve, I was surprised this wasn't bigger news.
It was everywhere!

He died at 730pm on monday and I didn't see anything until the next day.

Bev Vincent
06-26-2013, 06:36 AM
It wasn't announced anywhere until the next day.

TwistedNadine
06-26-2013, 06:39 AM
Well said Steve, I was surprised this wasn't bigger news. He was an incredible writer, one I consider the darker side of the story coin with Ray Bardbury.
Nightmare At 20,000 Feet is an amazing collection of stories.

Agree completely.
Thank you Pablo for posting this. Can always count on you to keep us up to date with these articles, very much appreciate it.

mae
06-26-2013, 07:00 AM
TwistedNadine, likewise.

Is there any edition out there of Matheson's complete short stories?

Bev Vincent
06-26-2013, 07:16 AM
TwistedNadine, likewise.

Is there any edition out there of Matheson's complete short stories?

Stanley Wiater (co-author of The Stephen King Universe) is editor of a three-volume collection of Matheson's stories that reprint a Dreampress limited edition from 1989. The collection is complete up to Duel in 1971. There are two or three collections of uncollected stories, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson#Short_story_collections

mae
06-26-2013, 07:33 AM
Any plans for an updated series of volumes maybe?

Bev Vincent
06-26-2013, 07:50 AM
Sounds like a project for Centipede Press, assuming the rights can be acquired.

wahlers
06-26-2013, 08:38 AM
TwistedNadine, likewise.

Is there any edition out there of Matheson's complete short stories?

Stanley Wiater (co-author of The Stephen King Universe) is editor of a three-volume collection of Matheson's stories that reprint a Dreampress limited edition from 1989. The collection is complete up to Duel in 1971. There are two or three collections of uncollected stories, too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Matheson#Short_story_collections

Just FYI, for anyone looking at the short story list on Wikipedia, volume III of the referenced collection also includes these three stories (all listed later than "Duel" in 1971):

"Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (1984)
"Buried Talents" (1987)
"The Near Departed" (1987)