Matheson, Richard 1926–

(Josh Rogan, Logan Swanson)

PERSONAL

Full name, Richard Burton Matheson; born February 20, 1926, in Allendale, NJ; son of Bertolf (a tile floor installer) and Fanny (maiden name, Mathieson) Matheson; married Ruth Ann Woodson, July 1, 1952; children: Richard Christian (a writer, actor, and producer), Alison, Bettina. Education: University of Missouri, B.A., 1949. Avocational Interests: Musical composition, theatre, amateur acting.

Addresses: Agent—William Morris Agency, 1 William Morris Pl., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Manager—Andrew Deane, Industry Entertainment, 955 South Carrillo Dr., 3rd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90048.

Career: Writer. Horror Hall of Fame, member of board of directors. Military service: U.S. Army, 1944–45.

Member: Writers Guild West, Dramatists Guild, World Science Fiction Association.

Awards, Honors: World Science Fiction Convention, Hugo Award, best motion picture, 1958, for The Incredible Shrinking Man, and guest of honor, 1958 and 1976; Television Award nomination, best television movie, Writers Guild of America, 1971, for Duel; Television Award, best adaptation, Writers Guild of America, 1972, and Edgar Allan Poe Award, best television feature or miniseries, Mystery Writers of America, 1973, both for The Night Stalker; World Fantasy Award, best novel, 1976, for Bid Time Return.

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

Astonished man in hallway, Somewhere in Time, Universal, 1980.

Film Work:

Associate producer, The Comedy of Terrors (also known as The Graveside Story), American International Pictures, 1964.

Television Appearances:

President Garfield, Captains and the Kings (miniseries), 1976.

The Horror Hall of Fame II (special), 1991.

"Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval" (special), American Masters, PBS, 1995.

Television Work:

Associate producer, The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver (movie), NBC, 1977.

RECORDINGS

Video Appearances:

100 Years of Horror: Giants and Dinosaurs, Passport video, 1996.

100 Years of Horror: The Evil Unseeable, Passport Video, 1996.

100 Years of Horror: The Aristocrats of Evil, Passport Video, 1996.

100 Years of Horror: Sorcerers, Passport Video, 1996.

Back to "Somewhere in Time," Universal Studios Home Video, 2000.

Richard Matheson: The Writing of "Duel," Universal Studios Home Video, 2004.

Shadows in the Dark: The Val Lewton Legacy, New Wave Entertainment, 2005.

Twilight Zone: The Definitive Edition Interviews, Image Entertainment, 2005.

WRITINGS

Screenplays:

Ransom, 1955.

The Incredible Shrinking Man (based on his novel The Shrinking Man), Universal, 1957.

(With Louis Metzer) The Beat Generation (also known as This Rebel Age), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1959.

House of Usher (also known as The Fall of the House of Usher; based on the novel by Edgar Allan Poe), American International Pictures, 1960.

Master of the World (based on Jules Verne's novels Master of the World and Robur, the Conqueror), American International Pictures, 1961.

The Pit and the Pendulum (based on short story by Poe), American International Pictures, 1961.

Tales of Terror (also known as Edgar Allan Poe's Tales of Terror and Poe's Tales of Terror; based on stories "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," "Morella," "The Black Cat," and "The Cask of Amontillado"), American International Pictures, 1962.

(With Charles Beaumont and George Bax) Burn, Witch, Burn (also known as Night of the Eagle; based on Fritz Lieber's novel Conjure Wife), American International Pictures, 1962.

The Raven (adapted from the poem by Poe), American International Pictures, 1963.

The Comedy of Terrors (also known as The Graveside Story), American International Pictures, 1964.

(As Logan Swanson; with William P. Leicester) The Last Man on Earth (also known as Naked Terror, The Night Creatures, Night People, Wind of Death, L'ultimo uomo della terra, and Vento di morte; based on his novel I Am Legend), American International Pictures, 1964.

Die! Die! My Darling! (also known as Fanatic; based on Anne Blaisdell's novel Nightmare), Columbia, 1965.

The Young Warriors (also known as Eagle Warriors; based on his novel The Beardless Warriors), Universal, 1968.

The Devil's Bride (also known as The Devil Rides Out; based on the novel by Dennis Wheatley), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1968.

De Sade (also known as Das Ausschweifende Leben des Marquis de Sade and Die Liebesabenteuer des Marquis S), American International Pictures, 1969.

The Legend of Hell House (based on his novel Hell House), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1973.

Somewhere in Time (based on his novel Bid Time Return), Universal, 1980.

"Kick the Can" (as Josh Rogan; with George Clayton Johnson and Melissa Mathison), "It's a Good Life," and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" (based on his story of the same name), Twilight Zone—The Movie, Warner Bros., 1983.

(With Carl Gottlieb) Jaws 3-D (also known as Jaws 3), Universal, 1983.

(With son Richard Christian Matheson) Loose Cannons, TriStar, 1990.

Television Series:

The Twilight Zone, CBS, multiple episodes, between 1959 and 1961.

The Incredible Hulk, 1978.

Enos, 1980.

Knight Rider, 1982.

The Powers of Matthew Star, 1982.

The A-Team, 1983.

Television Movies:

Duel (based on Matheson's story of the same name), ABC, 1971.

The Night Stalker (based on Jeff Price's story "The Kolchak Papers"), ABC, 1972.

The Night Strangler, ABC, 1973.

Dying Room Only (based on story by Matheson), ABC, 1973.

The Morning After, ABC, 1974.

Scream of the Wolf, ABC, 1974.

Dracula (also known as Bram Stoker's "Dracula"), CBS, 1974.

The Stranger Within (also known as Trespass; also based on a story by Matheson), ABC, 1974.

"Amelia" (based on Matheson's story "Prey"), in Trilogy of Terror, ABC, 1975.

Dead of Night, NBC, 1977.

The Strange Possession of Mrs. Oliver, NBC, 1977.

The Dreamer of Oz (also known as The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story; based on story by Matheson), CBS, 1990.

"The Theatre," Twilight Zone: Rod Serling's Lost Classics, Sci-Fi Channel, 1994.

"Bobby," Trilogy of Terror II (also known as Tales of Terror and Terror of the Doll; also based on story by Matheson), USA Network, 1996.

Television Episodes:

"The Return of Andrew Bentley," Thriller (also known as Boris Karloff's "Thriller"), NBC, 1962.

(As Logan Swanson) "Forgotten Front," Combat!, 1962.

"Ride the Nightmare" (also based on novel by Matheson), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, 1962.

"The Enemy Within," Star Trek (also known as Star Trek: TOS), NBC, 1966.

"Time of Flight," Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (also known as The Chrysler Theatre and Universal Star Time), 1966.

"No Such Thing as a Vampire," Late Night Horror, 1968.

"The New House," Ghost Story (also known as Circle of Dear), NBC, 1972.

"L'esame," I racconti de fantascienza di Blasetti, 1979.

"The Doll," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories"), 1986.

"One for the Books," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories"), 1986.

"Miss Stardust," Amazing Stories (also known as Steven Spielberg's "Amazing Stories"), 1987.

"First Anniversary" (also based on story by Matheson), The Outer Limits (also known as The New Outer Limits), Showtime and syndicated, 1995.

Also wrote scripts for episodes of The Girl from U.N.C.L.E, NBC; Have Gun Will Travel, CBS; Lawman; The Night Gallery, NBC; and Wanted: Dead or Alive, CBS.

Television Miniseries:

The Martian Chronicles, NBC, 1980.

Novels:

Fury on Sunday, Lion Books, 1953.

Someone Is Bleeding, Lion Books, 1954.

I Am Legend, Fawcett, 1954, published as The Omega Man: I Am Legend, Berkley Publishing, 1971.

The Shrinking Man, Fawcett, 1956.

A Stir of Echoes, Lippincott, 1958.

Ride the Nightmare, Ballantine, 1959.

The Beardless Warriors, Little, Brown, 1960.

Hell House, Viking, 1971.

Bid Time Return, Viking, 1975, published as Somewhere in Time, Tor Books, 1980.

What Dreams May Come, Putnam, 1978.

Journal of the Gun Years: Being Choice Selections from the Authentic, Never-before-Printed Diary of the Famous Gunfighter-Lawman Clay Halser! Whose Deeds of Daring Made His Name a By-word of Terror in the Southwest between the Years of 1866 and 1876, M. Evans, 1991.

Seven Steps to Midnight, Forge, 1992.

The Gun Fight, M. Evans, 1993.

Earthbound, Tor Books, 1994.

Shadow on the Sun, M. Evans, 1994.

Hunger and Thirst, Gauntlet Press, 2000.

Passion Play, Cemetery Dance, 2000.

Short Story Collections:

Born of Man and Woman: Tales of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Chamberlain Press, 1954, abridged edition published as Third from the Sun, Bantam, 1970.

The Shores of Space, Bantam, 1957.

Shock!: Thirteen Tales to Thrill and Terrify, Dell, 1961, published as Shock I, Berkley Publishing, 1979.

Shock II, Dell, 1964.

Shock III, Dell, 1966.

Shock Waves, Dell, 1970.

(Editor and contributor) Twilight Zone: The Original Stories, Avon, 1985.

Richard Matheson: Collected Stories, 1989.

By the Gun: Six from Richard Matheson, M. Evans, 1993.

Other:

The Path: Metaphysics for the '90s (nonfiction), Capra Press, 1993.

Now You See It …, Tor Books, 1995.

Robert Bloch: Appreciations of the Master, Tor Books, 1995.

The Memoirs of Wild Bill Hickok, Jove, 1995.

Mediums Rare (nonfiction), Cemetery Dance, 2000.

Contributor to books, including afterword, Magic Man and Other Science—Fantasy Stories, Fawcett, 1965. Contributor of stories and poems to Brooklyn Eagle and to magazines, including Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.

ADAPTATIONS

The novel I Am Legend was adapted as Soy Leyenda, released in 1967, and as The Omega Man, released in 1971; the story "Being" was adapted as It's Alive!, released in 1969; Ride the Nightmare was adapted as De la part des copains (also known as Cold Sweat, L'uomo dalle due ombre, and De Vrienden Laten Groeten), released in 1970; Someone Is Bleeding was adapted as Les Seins de Glace (also known as Icy Breasts, Icy Flesh, and Esecutore oltre la legge), released in 1972; the film The Incredible Shrinking Woman, released in 1981, was based on the novel The Shrinking Man; What Dreams May Come was adapted for film by Ron Bass and released by PolyGram Filmed Entertainment in 1998; A Stir of Echoes, released by Artisan Entertainment in 1999, was adapted by David Koepp from the novel of the same title; the short film Blood Son, released by Buffalonickel Films in 2006, was based on a short story by Matheson. Young Couples Only, a 1955 television broadcast, was based on a story by Matheson; the 1968 television series Journey to the Unknown (also known as Out of the Unknown) was based on a story by Matheson; "Dance of the Dead," an episode of Masters of Horror broadcast by Showtime in 2005, was based on a short story by Matheson.

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

Rathbun, Mark, and Graeme Flanagan, compilers, Richard Matheson: He Is Legend, 1984.

Periodicals:

Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998, p. 8.

Fangoria, December, 1989, pp. 14-19; February, 1990, pp. 14-18.

Starlog, February, 1990, pp. 41-45; June, 1994, p. 32; November, 1998.