Celebrity Biographies
Harlan Ellison
He was one of the representatives of the so-called New Wave of science fiction, along with Philip K. Dick or Roger Zelazny, in the late 50s and early 60s. Harlan Ellison, who wrote key chapters of “Star Trek”, “ The Outer Limits” and “Alfred Hitchcock Presents”, passed away at the age of 84, on June 28, 2018, at his residence in Los Angeles. According to Susan Ellison, his wife, death occurred while he was sleeping.
Born in Cleveland on May 27, 1934, Harlan Ellison began publishing short stories in various magazines in 1956. After serving two years in the Army, he moved to California, where he was recruited into the television industry. Two of his chapters for Más allá del límite made a good impression , Soldier, with a premise similar to Terminator (years later he would sue James Cameron ), and Demon With A Glass Hand , which had an apocryphal remake by the Spanish Chicho Ibáñez Serrador in his series Stories to not sleep (this time the author should not have found out because he did not go to court).
Although he worked for other series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents , he is mostly reminded of the trekkies, for writing The City on the Edge of Eternity , the penultimate episode of the original Star Trek series . But he always reneged on this story of temporal paradoxes, because it was modified by producer Gene Roddenberry , who removed his anti-war message and his references to drugs. Known for his irate character, Ellison was at odds with Roddenberry for years, and with the protagonist, William Shatner , and in 2009 he was still angry, as he sued those responsible for the franchise for non-payment of royalties.
In the 1990s he worked as a consultant on the cult fan series Babylon 5 . He signed the scripts for two of the chapters. Author of numerous novels and stories now considered classics, such as “Repent, Harlequin! Said Mr. Tic-Tac”, or “I have no mouth and I must scream”, his work has not given much play on the screen. He himself penned the screenplay adapted from his short story “A Boy and His Dog,” which led to 2024: Nuclear Apocalypse , the infamous spin-off starring Don Johnson .
Harlan Ellison was especially known for his quick temper, and because he was always late, his books were kept waiting. “If there is another life, Harlan will already be in it, looking for a fight,” he declared upon learning of Stephen King ‘s death .