Description
Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.
He is best known as the author of I Am Legend , a 1954 science fiction horror novel that has been adapted for the screen three times. Matheson himself was co-writer of the first film version, The Last Man on Earth , starring Vincent Price, which was released in 1964. The other two adaptations were The Omega Man , starring Charlton Heston, and I Am Legend , with Will Smith. Matheson also wrote 16 television episodes of The Twilight Zone , including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel", as well as several adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for Roger Corman and American International Pictures – House of Usher , The Pit and the Pendulum , Tales of Terror and The Raven. He adapted his 1971 short story "Duel" as a screenplay, directed by Steven Spielberg for the television film of the same name that year.
In addition to I Am Legend and Duel , nine more of his novels and short stories have been adapted as motion pictures: The Shrinking Man (filmed as The Incredible Shrinking Man ), Hell House (filmed as The Legend of Hell House ), What Dreams May Come , Bid Time Return (filmed as Somewhere in Time ), A Stir of Echoes , Steel (filmed as Real Steel ), and Button, Button (filmed as The Box ). The movie Cold Sweat was based on his novel Ride the Nightmare , and Les seins de glace ( Icy Breasts ) was based on his novel Someone Is Bleeding. Both Steel and Button had previously been episodes of The Twilight Zone.
