I've yet to read any of his writing, but I have a distinct memory of his work. In 8th grade we had to write an eerie story around Halloween and read it to the class. There was one story that was genuinely good and everyone enjoyed it...until someone realized they had stolen Button Button and claimed it as their own. I wonder what grade they got...
Lauded Sci-fi Author Richard Matheson dies at 87
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 On 06/25/2013 at 10:55 AM by daftman See More From This User » |
1926-2013
Richard Matheson died at his home in L.A. on Sunday at the age of 87. I don't know how many people even recognize his name today, which is very sad, but he definitely left an indelible mark on our culture. He is probably best known for two things.
First is his contribution to the Twilight Zone. Of the sixteen episodes he penned for the show, the most well known is undoubtedly "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" which starred William Shatner as the man that saw the monster on the wing of a long plane ride. Horror up to that point had mostly stayed in cemeteries and haunted houses, crypts and old world Europe. Matheson excelled at bringing horror to everyday life, whether that was a plane or an apartment or the city where you lived. He also had a deft hand at the lighter side of life, as seen in the Twilight Zone episode "Once Upon a Time" which starred a disgruntled janitor from 1890, a time period portrayed as a silent movie complete with saloon-style piano, who accidentally travels through time to busy and very noisy modern day 1960. The comedic results speak for themselves.
Matheson also penned my favorite episode of the 1980s incarnation of the Twilight Zone, "Button Button." As a couple descends into abject poverty, they receive a box with a button on top and instructions that if they push the button they will receive $200,000 and someone they do not know will die. Watching their dilemma leading up to the surprise ending is superb television. (This story was also made into a movie in 2009 starring Cameron Diaz but I've never watched it because, well, it looks like they ruined it and I'd rather not bother.)
Matheson's greatest work is arguably his 1954 novel I Am Legend. The story follows Robert Neville, seemingly the sole survivor of a plague that turned the world's population to vampires. Often hailed as the first modern vampire novel, Matheson took the creature of supernatural evil epitomized by Bram Stoker and turned into real life menace with logical and scientific origins. This vision of a worldwide vampire apocalypse deeply influenced many up and coming writers of the time, like Stephen King, who said it was one of the books that inspired him. Of even greater influence was its effect on the zombie genre. George Romero readily admitted that his story for Night of the Living Dead ripped off I Am Legend. In fact, the story itself has been adapted as a movie four separate times: The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), I Am Legend (2007), and I Am Omega (2007 direct-to-video release). That our culture continues to be enthralled with the scenario Matheson put forward nearly 60 years ago is a testament to the vision he had and the way in which he shared it. I Am Legend features vampires but is not about vampires. It's about one man's lonely struggle in a world turned completely hostile, and if there's one thing people can always relate to it's, it's other people. So I expect I Am Legend will continue to live on, in one form or another, for a long time to come.
Let me touch briefly on the 2007 movie starring Will Smith, since I assume most of you have seen it. As a fan of the book long before that particular adaption became a reality, I enjoyed it as a suspenseful movie, though it makes some significant departures from the novel. First of all it drops the whole vampire thing in favor of more generic monsters with some vampiric traits. Neville is also actively looking for a cure the entire time, rather than just trying to survive before becoming more proactive. A lot of other things of varying degrees of importance were changed, like moving the setting from L.A. to New York (not important) and how his family died (pretty significant) but the kicker is the ending. I won't spoil anything but the ending of the movie ruins the title. It just doesn't quite make sense. Even disregarding all the other changes, I'd prefer the novel even if the ending was the only difference. Like I said, it's not a bad movie by any means...but the book is better and you should definitely check it out if this at all interests you.
Richard Matheson will be missed. His reach goes far beyond what has been covered here, though if you're unfamiliar with his work, those listed above are a good place to start. At 87 it's hard to say we lost him too soon, but on the other hand, a voice like his can never be replaced, so I suppose any time is too soon.
Rest in peace, Mr. Matheson.
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