The Author - Ray Douglas Bradbury born 1920

The author was born in Waukegan, Illinois on 22^nd August 1920.  He is one of America’s most distinguished writers whose long career spans from his early teens to the present day, where he lives in Los Angeles.

He is known for his short stories and poetry, and he has also written for TV and Radio.

Many of his books have been transferred to the motion picture medium, and Bradbury has tried his hand at screenplay writing, in particular ‘It Came from Outer Space’, and ‘Moby Dick’. 

In his early years he was interested in magic, and would often attend traveling circuses whenever they appeared in Illinois. One of his early influences was one of these traveling magicians, Mr. Electrico. 

He was encouraged by his family to be expressive, and he helped organize the family’s Halloween Parties. 

His Aunt Neva was also a great influence on the young Bradbury, introducing him to heroes such as Flash Gordon, Tarzan, and even the works of Edgar Allan Poe.

When he was 14, the Bradbury family moved to Los Angeles, and he started to write using a toy typewriter he had received as a gift.

In 1937 he became a member of the Los Angeles Science Fiction League, and he helped produce their own magazine ‘Futuria Fantasia’. His first work to be published was a short story entitled ‘Pendulum’, which appeared in Super Science Stories, published in 1941.

Much of Bradbury’s early work was based on his childhood experiences such as ‘The Jar’ published in 1944, and ‘Homecoming’ published in 1946.

The exuberant Halloween Parties enjoyed by the Bradbury family inspired the writing of ‘Uncle Einar’ published in 1947.  This work was coupled with other short stories under the title of ‘Dark Carnival’.

His first really inspirational work was ‘The Martian Chronicles’ published in 1950.

This book, ‘Fahrenheit 451’ was published in 1954.

Bradbury has continued to be a prolific writer right through to the latter part of the 20^th century. 

Much of his writing has gone on to be the basis of work for motion pictures, television and radio, e.g. ‘The Martian Chronicles’, this book - ‘Fahrenheit 451’, ‘The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms’, ‘It Came from Outer Space’, and ‘The Illustrated Man’.

His other main works include ‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ published in 1962, ‘The April Witch’ published in 1987, ‘Graveyard for Lunatics’ published in 1990, and ‘Journey to Far Metaphor’ published in 1994.

Ray Bradbury is more than just a writer; he is one of America’s foremost dreamers with a vivid imagination. His services were requested by Disney world when providing the basic format for the interior of Spaceship Earth. He also helped design a 21^st century city on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Another one of Bradbury’s novels ‘Dandelion Wine’ has obtained immortality as one of the moon’s craters has been named ‘Dandelion Crater’ in honor of Bradbury.

‘Fahrenheit 451’ was made into a film in 1966 directed by Francois Truffaut.

Bradbury has an extensive family, having four daughters and numerous grandchildren. He enjoys painting and collecting Mexican artifacts.