Richard Matheson, writer, dies

SF/horror/fantasy author Richard Matheson dies at the age of 87. His novels and short stories have been fodder for Hollywood for over half a century, including I Am Legend (which, in addition to the Will Smith adaptation, had also been translated into The Last Man On Earth and The Omega Man, and is often credited as a primary influence in zombie fiction), What Dreams May Come, Somewhere In Time (inspired by the story “Bid Time Return”), A Stir Of Echoes and Duel (which inspired a TV movie which was Steven Spielberg’s first major directorial effort). Matheson also wrote episodes of The Twilight Zone (including Nightmare At 20,000 Feet, which was remade for Twilight Zone: The Movie), Star Trek (The Enemy Within), Amazing Stories, The Outer Limits and The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler (the pilot movies for what became the series Kolchak: The Night Stalker). Other movies inspired by his work included Trilogy Of Terror and The Box.