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Robert Sheckley
Born July 16, 1928(1928-07-16)
New York City
Died December 9, 2005 (aged 77)
Poughkeepsie, New York
Occupation Author
Nationality American
Genres Science fiction
Official website

Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American author. Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Poughkeepsie (pəˈkɪpsiː is a City in New York, USA and serves as the County seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the First published in the science fiction magazines of the 1950s, his numerous quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, absurdist and broadly comical. Absurdism is a Philosophy stating that the efforts of humanity to find meaning in the Universe ultimately fail (and hence are absurd because no such

Sheckley was given the Author Emeritus honor by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America in 2001. Author Emeritus award is an honorary title bestowed by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Inc Science Fiction Writers of America, or SFWA (ˈsɪfwə or /ˈsɛfwə/ was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight. There are those who were shocked he was not given the Grand Master Award instead. The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award is an Award given by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Commented one scholar, "Kingsley Amis's critical overview of Science Fiction named Sheckley as our field's brightest light. Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE ( April 16, 1922 &ndash October 22, 1995) was an English Novelist, But Sheckley was a humorist, and nowadays this is how our Mark Twains are treated. "

Contents

Biography

Robert Sheckley was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Maplewood, New Jersey. PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. He was in the U.S. Army from 1946 to 1948 and served in Korea. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries a civilization and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. He then attended New York University. New York University ( NYU) is a private, Nonsectarian, Coeducational Research University in New York City. [1] In 1951 he began to sell stories to science-fiction magazines, eventually producing several hundred short stories and novels. He also wrote episodes of the TV series Captain Video.

In the 1970s he lived on the Spanish island of Ibiza. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Ibiza (Eivissa is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea about 80 km off the coast of Spain He then returned to New York City as fiction editor of OMNI Magazine. The City of New York OMNI was a Science magazine and Science fiction magazine published in the USA. After leaving OMNI in 1981 he lived and wrote in the Florida Everglades, Manhattan again, Paris, France, Ibiza again, Connecticut, Portland, Oregon and Red Hook, New York.

Until his death in 2005, Robert Sheckley continued to write at his home in Red Hook, New York. Red Hook is a Town in Dutchess County, New York, United States. His early pen names included Phillips Barbee and Finn O'Donnevan. A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a Pseudonym adopted by an Author or their publishers to conceal their identity Sheckley's first four marriages (to Barbara Scadron, Ziva Kwitney, Abby Schulman and writer Jay Rothbell Sheckley) ended in divorce. At the time of his death, he was separated from his fifth wife, Gail Dana. He has four children. His son Jason is from his first marriage. His daughter, novelist Alisa Kwitney is from his second. Alisa Kwitney is an American author. Kwitney was born in New York City. His daughter Anya and his son Jed are from his third marriage.

In mid-2004 he participated as Guest of Honour in Eurocon 2004, in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

During a 2005 visit to Ukraine for the Ukrainian Sci-Fi Computer Week, an international event for science fiction writers, Sheckley fell ill and had to be hospitalized in Kiev on April 27, 2005. Ukraine (Україна Ukrayina, /ukrɑˈjinɑ/ is a country in Eastern Europe. Kiev, also known as Kyiv ( Ukrainian:, Kyiv, ˈkɪjiw Russian:, Kiyev; see also Cities' alternative names) is the Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [2] His condition was very serious for one week, but he appeared to be slowly recovering. Russian news sources referred to him as "The unkillable Robert Sheckley". Sheckley's official website ran a fundraising campaign to help cover Sheckley's treatment and his return to the United States. However, only a large donation from a Ukrainian businessman allowed him to pay the hospital bill and return home. In New York he also underwent open heart surgery.

Robert Sheckley had vowed he would write fiction until slumped dead over the typewriter. Indeed, he was still writing the last day he was conscious.

On November 20 he had surgery for a brain aneurysm. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, A cerebral aneurysm or brain aneurysm is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral Artery or Vein He died in a Poughkeepsie hospital on December 9, 2005. Poughkeepsie (pəˈkɪpsiː is a City in New York, USA and serves as the County seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Works and influence

Typical Sheckley stories include "Bad Medicine" (in which a man is mistakenly treated by a psychotherapy machine intended for Martians), "Protection" (whose protagonist is warned of deadly danger unless he avoids an act that is never explained to him), and "The Accountant" (in which a family of wizards learns that their son has been taken from them by a more sinister trade). In many stories Sheckley speculates about alternative (and usually sinister) social orders, of which a good example is the story "A Ticket to Tranai" (that tells of a sort of Utopia adapted for the human nature as it is, rather than the human nature as some idealists believe it should be). Utopia is a name for an ideal community taken from the title of a book written in 1516 by Sir Thomas More describing a fictional Island in the

One of his early works, the 1953 Galaxy short story "Seventh Victim," was the basis for the film The 10th Victim, also known by the original Italian title, La Decima Vittima. Galaxy Science Fiction was a digest-size Science fiction magazine, the creation of noted editor H The 10th Victim ( Italian title La decima vittima) is an Italian cult Science fiction film directed by The film starred Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (September 28 1924 &ndash December 19 1996 was an Italian film actor Ursula Andress (born March 19, 1936) is a Golden Globe award-winning Swiss actress and a major Sex symbol of the 1960s A novelization of the film, also written by Sheckley, was published in 1966. The year 1966 in literature involved some significant events and new books The story is an inspiration for the role-playing game Assassin. Assassin (also Gotcha, Assassins, Juggernaut, Battle Royale, Paranoia, Killer, Tag, Elimination

Another novel, Immortality, Inc. — about a world in which the afterlife could be obtained via a scientific process — was very loosely adapted into a film, the 1992 Freejack, starring Mick Jagger, Emilio Estevez, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins. Immortality Inc is a 1958 science fiction novella by Robert Sheckley, about a fictional process whereby a human's consciousness may be transferred into a Brain-dead Freejack is a 1992 Science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy. Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger, Kt (born 26 July 1943 is a Golden Globe -winning and two-time Grammy -winning English rock Emilio Estévez (born May 12, 1962) is a Golden Globe - and Screen Actors Guild (SAG Award -nominated American Actor Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954) is an American Film Actress and former fashion model Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born 31 December 1937 is a Welsh Film, stage and Television Actor.

His 1954 story Ghost V and 1955 story The Lifeboat Mutiny were adapted in two episodes of the USSR science fiction TV series This Fantastic World. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 [3]

His 1958 short story "The Prize of Peril" was adapted in 1970 as the German TV movie Das Millionenspiel,[4] and again in 1983 as the French movie Le Prix du Danger. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Le Prix du Danger is a 1983 French - Serbian Science fiction movie directed by Yves Boisset. Written about a man who goes on a TV show in which he must evade people out to kill him for a week in order to win a large cash prize, it is perhaps the first-ever published work predicting the advent of reality television. Reality television is a genre of Television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations documents actual events and usually features ordinary

A number of Sheckley's works, both as Sheckley and as Finn O'Donnevan, were also adapted for the radio show X Minus One in the late 1950s, including the above-mentioned "Seventh Victim", "Bad Medicine" and "Protection". X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots The radio show Tales of Tomorrow also in the late 1950s did a version of "Watchbird" and South Africa radio did their version of "Watchbird" on the series SF68. Tales of Tomorrow is an American anthology Science fiction series that aired live on ABC from 1951 to

In the 1990s, Sheckley wrote a well-received series of three mystery novels featuring detective Hob Draconian, as well as novels set in the worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Alien. Alien is a 1979 science fiction / Horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver. Before his death, Sheckley had been commissioned to write an original novel based upon the TV series The Prisoner for Powys Media but died before completing the manuscript. The Prisoner is an allegorical British 1960s Science fiction television series starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan.

His novel Dimension of Miracles is often cited as an influence on Douglas Adams, although in an interview for Neil Gaiman's book Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion, Adams claimed not to have read it until after writing The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 &ndash 11 May 2001 was an English author comic Radio dramatist Neil Richard Gaiman (ˈgeɪmən (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of Science fiction and Fantasy short stories and Don't Panic The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Companion is a book by Neil Gaiman about Douglas Adams and The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy series

Opinions on Sheckley's work

"I had no idea the competition was so terrifyingly good. " — Douglas Adams[5]
"Sheckley at his best is Voltaire and Soda. Douglas Noël Adams (11 March 1952 &ndash 11 May 2001 was an English author comic Radio dramatist François-Marie Arouet ( 21 November 1694 30 May 1778) better known by the Pen name Voltaire, was a French " — Brian W. Aldiss[6]
"Always he crackles with ideas. Brian Wilson Aldiss, '''OBE''', (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk, England) is a prolific English " —Kingsley Amis[7]
"[Robert Sheckley is] witty and ingenious. Sir Kingsley William Amis, CBE ( April 16, 1922 &ndash October 22, 1995) was an English Novelist, . . a draught of pure Voltaire and tonic. " —J. G. Ballard[7]
"If the Marx Brothers had been literary rather than thespic fantasists . James Graham Ballard (born 15 November in the International Settlement in Shanghai, China) is a British Novelist and Short The Marx Brothers were a popular team of sibling Comedians who appeared in Vaudeville, stage plays film and television . . they would have been Robert Sheckley. " — Harlan Ellison[7]

Bibliography

Science fiction and fantasy novels

Millennial Contest series (with Roger Zelazny)

Mystery and espionage novels

Stephen Dain series

Hob Draconian series

Other works

Short story collections

Books as editor

References

  1. ^ Jonas, Gerald. Untouched by Human Hands is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Citizen in Space is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Pilgrimage to Earth is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Notions Unlimited is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Store of Infinity is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Shards of Space is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. The People Trap (full title The People Trap and other Pitfalls Snares Devices and Delusions as Well as Two Sniggles and a Contrivance) is a collection of Science Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley, published in December 1971 by Doubleday The Robot Who Looked Like Me is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Is THAT What People Do? is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. Uncanny Tales is a collection of Science fiction short stories by Robert Sheckley. "Robert Sheckley, 77, Writer of Satirical Science Fiction, Is Dead", The New York Times, December 10, 2005. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Accessed November 20, 2007. Events 284 - Diocletian was chosen as Roman Emperor. 762 - Bögü Khan of the Uyghurs, Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. "Born in Brooklyn and raised in Maplewood, N. J. , Robert Sheckley joined the Army in 1946 after graduating from high school, and served in Korea. "
  2. ^ Mosnews.com
  3. ^ State Fund of Television and Radio Programs (Russian)
  4. ^ Millionenspiel, Das (1970) (TV)
  5. ^ On the cover of Hunter/Victim.
  6. ^ Aldiss, Brian; Wingrove, David (1986). Brian Wilson Aldiss, '''OBE''', (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk, England) is a prolific English David Wingrove (born September 1954 in North Battersea, London) is a British Science fiction writer Trillion Year Spree. London: Paladin. ISBN 0586086846. p. 411
  7. ^ a b c fantasticfiction.co.uk - blurbs for The Alternative Detective

External links

Persondata
NAME Sheckley, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION American author
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH December 9, 2005
PLACE OF DEATH Poughkeepsie, New York
Roberto Quaglia (born 1962) is an Italian author His first novel Butter Bread and paradoxine, was prefaced by American Science fiction legend Robert An author is defined both as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created Events 622 - The beginning of the Islamic calendar. 1054 - Three Roman legates fractured relations between the Western and Year 1928 ( MCMXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York Events 536 - Byzantine General Belisarius enters Rome while the Ostrogothic garrison peacefully leaves the city Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Poughkeepsie (pəˈkɪpsiː is a City in New York, USA and serves as the County seat of Dutchess County, located in the Hudson
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