(Cross posted from my Tumblr)
I just saw confirmation on Twitter that Richard Matheson passed away. More than simply influential to me, Matheson helped shape virtually all of scifi/horror. I am Legend is THE urban post-apocalypse novel. Hell House is one of the best ghost stories ever. He wrote the two Kolchak the Night Stalker TV movies, Spielberg’s first major film (Duel), adapted Poe for Corman, and on The Twilight Zone gave us all second thoughts about choosing the window seat on a plane.
I can’t say enough about how much Matheson will be missed, but although he is gone his influence on genre literature, TV, & film will be felt for years to come.
Trey is currently working on a PhD in English Renaissance Drama at the University of South Carolina. He earned an MA in Cinema Studies from NYU in 2010, and he completed his BA in English, with minors in Theatre and Film Studies, from the University of South Carolina Honors College in 2008. His current interests include (but are not restricted to) Early Modern English literature, classical Hollywood cinema, cult/genre films, and genre theory.
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