Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has died at age 90. Mr. Collins was part of the three-member crew on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission in 1969 that Ray Bradbury so strongly celebrated when it occurred. However, unlike Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, Mr. Collins did not walk on the moon. Rather, he piloted the command module as it circled above. Rest in peace, Mr. Collins.
Actor and director Norman Lloyd has died at the age of 106. Mr. Lloyd is perhaps best known for his role in Alfred Hitchcock's SABATEUR, in which he played a villainous spy who, at the end of the film, dangled from the top of the Statue of Liberty. However, Ray Bradbury fans will remember him best for directing the ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR presentation of Ray's short story "The Jar", which remains my favorite episode of that show. He also directed "The Jail", which was scripted by Ray Bradbury and produced by Mr. Hitchcock for the series ALCOA PREMIERE. For details of Mr. Lloyd's career and passing, just click on the link below:
A Truly Amazing Life! "106!" From the link Richard presented: "In 2014, in recognition of his 82 years in show business, and reaching the age of 100, the Los Angeles City Council proclaimed that his birthday of Nov. 8, would be honored as “Norman Lloyd Day.”
I am sure Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Bradbury, and Green Town's Colonel Freeleigh will soon meet up to enjoy a lemonade and talk over old times together. Peace!
Posts: 2823 | Location: Basement of a NNY Library | Registered: 07 April 2005
If you have collected science fiction, fantasy or horror books, there is a decent chance you bought a book from Bob Brown, who operated an antiquarian book store in Seattle and was one of the leaders in the field. Bob Brown died on June 2, 2021 at the age of 78. Bob was often in the dealer's room of the Windy City Pulp Convention here in the Chicago area. However, my favorite memory is being in Seattle on business on a Friday, with several hours to wait until the departure of my red-eye flight back to Chicago. I therefore took a cab to Bob Brown and Associates, and spent several hours that evening browsing in Bob's fantastic book store. It so happened that it was my birthday (don't ask me which one...this was a while ago), and I used that as an excuse to buy myself a birthday present: a beautiful copy of the Grosset & Dunlop photoplay edition of Mary Shelly's FRANKENSTEIN, illustrated with photos from the classic 1931 Boris Karloff film. It's a book I still proudly own. RIP, Bob.
douglasSP, truly sad news. William Nolan was a fine writer and genuinely nice person, and the last surviving member of "The Group", California-based writers who would meet for friendship and to assist each other in their writing endeavors. It also included Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and George Clayton Johnson. Bill Nolan's presence always lit up the annual Glendale (formerly Mission Hills) Paperback Book Show in California. He will be sorely missed. For more about his life and career, click on the links below:
What a great friend to Ray Bradbury. Now and Forever and Long After Midnight are two works, I'm sure there are more, that Mr. Nolan helped Bradbury bring out.
Thinking more about William F. Nolan...He was not only a fine writer and one of Ray Bradbury's best friends, but at one point Mr. Nolan had a truly amazing collection of Ray Bradbury's works. The link below will take you to a photo of a massive two volume set entitled "William F. Nolan Biographical Collection of Works By and About Ray Bradbury, Part I and Part II." This was an extremely detailed catalog of Bill Nolan's collection of Ray Bradbury books, manuscripts, book and magazine appearances of stories, and critical works up to about 1981. The catalog also includes descriptions and personal background notes for many of the items. The most amazing item in the collection was the original manuscript for FAHRENHEIT 451 (!), which Ray Bradbury gave to Bill Nolan after his publisher was through with it. The catalog was printed to facilitate the sale of the collection, which ended up being acquired by Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio, where Mr. Nolan briefly taught. Items in the collection cannot be taken out, but are available for research purposes.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Richard,
Very sorry to hear about William F. Nolan! My sister and I met him in 2010 and he was very nice. He has also been gracious in his correspondence with me.
Posts: 7334 | Location: Dayton, Washington, USA | Registered: 03 December 2001
Sad news. Publisher, editor, bookseller, fan, and Ray Bradbury friend Erle Korshak died August 25, 2021, at the age of 97. Mr. Korshak was perhaps best known as an early World Science Fiction Convention organizer and co-founder of Shasta Publishers, one of the earliest hardcover science fiction small presses. Mr. Korshak was inducted into the First Fandom Hall of Fame in 1996. He had been scheduled to be a Guest of Honor at Chicon 8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention, to be held in Chicago from September 1-5, 2022. For more information about Mr. Korshak's life and passing, click on the link below.
The link below will take you to a photo which has appeared on this site before, but it remains one of my very favorites and is worth re-posting. It was taken on Coney Island during the very first World Science Fiction Convention, held in New York City in 1939. A very tan, 18-year-old Ray Bradbury appears in the back row at the far right. In that same back row, directly to Ray's left, is 15-year-old Erle Korshak. Rest in peace, Mr. Korshak.
Continuing with the post above about the passing of Erle Korshak, anyone with an interest in the history of early science fiction fandom might enjoy an interview with Mr. Korshak that took place in April of 2021 in which he discusses his involvement in science fiction, fandom and publishing in detail. The interview, which was posted in two parts, was conducted by the sci-fi fandom group FANAC and lasts about two hours. Mr. Korshak briefly mentions Ray Bradbury at about the 22:30 point in the first segment. And on the website of ChiCon 8, the 2022 World Science Fiction Convention, the Convention has announced that it plans to celebrate Mr. Korshak's life and his contributions to science fiction fandom at next year's convention:
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This message has been edited. Last edited by: dandelion, 