I was listening to The Writers’ Almanac for February 20, and Garrison Keillor noted it was the birthday of Richard Matheson. He passed away in June 2013.

Matheson is a writer I’ve known and admired for many years, but the show caused me to dig into his work a little.

I soon discovered he was involved in just about all of my favorite sci-fi stuff.

Ever.

The first exposure I remember to his work was the 50’s sci fi movie classic, “The Incredible Shrinking Man.”

I later read “I am Legend,” far superior to any of the three, count ’em THREE movies based on the novel. (Personally, I am partial to the one with Charleton Heston.)

And that’s just the beginning. Here a FEW of his other credits:

• The Twilight Zone:  Not only did he write “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,” but he also wrote Rod Serling’s opening and closing narration!
• Star Trek: Wrote “The Enemy Within.” (which also earns him a “Six Degrees of Shatner” notation.)
• Bid Time Return: Filmed as the classic time-travel romance “Somewhere in Time.”
• Duel: Steven Spielberg shot to stardom after directing a TV movie version of this story.
• Anne Rice and Stephen King cite him as influences.

And there’s more. Check out his article on wikipedia.

What is your favorite project of his? And did you know it was him?