Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Science Fiction Writer Harlan Ellison Dies At 84 (variety.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the rest-in-peace dept.

Slashdot readers chill and mrflash818 have shared the news of Harlan Ellison's passing. Variety reports: Speculative-fiction writer Harlan Ellison, who penned short stories, novellas and criticism, contributed to TV series including "The Outer Limits," "Star Trek" and "Babylon 5" and won a notable copyright infringement suit against ABC and Paramount and a settlement in a similar suit over "The Terminator," has died. He was 84. Christine Valada tweeted that Ellison's wife, Susan, had asked her to announce that he died in his sleep Thursday.

6 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Lucky guy by Kokuyo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dying at 84 in your sleep seems like an absolute win in my book. Now one can only hope that his life was a happy one.

    1. Re:Lucky guy by Wizardess · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Pray tell how well did you know him or know of him? He woke up angry and went to bed angry, or so his reputation goes. He suffered fools less gracefully than the Ubuntu mailing lists. But, for friends he was always there. And his friends were there for him. He's probably somewhere akin to Heaven giving them Hell and having a grand old time doing so.

      A toast to a grand master!
      {^_^}

    2. Re:Lucky guy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Not really:

      In 1994, he suffered a heart attack and was hospitalized for quadruple coronary artery bypass surgery.[102] From 2010 ("the worst, the lowest point in [his] life"), he received treatment for clinical depression.[103] On about October 10, 2014, Ellison suffered a stroke.[104][105] Although his speech and cognition were unimpaired, he suffered paralysis on his right side, for which he was expected to spend several weeks in physical therapy before being released from the hospital.[106][107]

      Seems to me that he suffered all the ravages of the standard western diet already 2 decades before. I can't imagine how much better his life would have been without all that bullshit.

      Stories about Harlan Ellison shrink in the retelling. My story is no exception.

      I was at ICON 1997, in the autograph line for Harlan Ellison. Someone well ahead of me apparently asked Ellison about his stroke and bypass surgery. Ellison showed the surgery scar -- the one on his thigh from which they took a vein. Yes, Ellison dropped his pants in front of a crowd. No, he showed not the slightest hint of giving a fsck().

      So I think he lived his life just the way he wanted to: Making just about everybody uncomfortable, disturbed, and/or freaked out.

  2. Childhood Memories by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 5, Interesting

    One of the first sci-fi books I ever read as a kid was his collection Paingod, And Other Delusions. This included the title story as well as "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman". I also had the issue of IF magazine containing the first publication of "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream".

    And it would be a crime not to mention "The City On The Edge of Forever", which was quite possibly the very best Star Trek episode, ever.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  3. Last Dangerous Visions by sheramil · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, what happens to the legendary box with the stories? The one he'd been sitting on since 1973? The stories for the collection where a significant portion of the contributors had died of old age waiting for it to come out?

    I guess we'll never see it.

  4. My memory of him will be tainted by by mykepredko · · Score: 5, Informative

    "Harlan Ellison's The City on the Edge of Forever: The Original Teleplay that Became the Classic Star Trek Episode" (https://www.amazon.com/HARLAN-ELLISONS-CITY-EDGE-FOREVER/dp/B001MT932O).

    If you liked Ellison's work, make sure you DON'T read this book.

    He was one angry dude when he wrote it and I don't believe it was justified. His anger is centred on Roddenberry's temerity in changing what was submitted AND his (irrational) belief that he should get a acknowledgement/royalty of all time-travelling stories (including "The Terminator"). Included in the book is the script he originally submitted and, I think to his chagrin, what ended up being broadcast was superior. If you find a copy of the book, definitely read the original script but skip over everything else, he comes across as unreasonably bitter and entitled.

    Ellison had quite an interesting life, produced some excellent science fiction and viciously attacked those he felt denigrated or didn't appreciate this genius - this book is a great example of the latter.

    --
    Mimetics Inc. Twitter