Ray Bradbury

By: Kayla Price

Early Life• Between 1926 and 1933, the Bradbury family moved back and forth

between Waukegan and Tucson, Arizona

• As a teenager, Bradbury often roller-skated through Hollywood, trying to spot celebrities. He befriended other talented and creative people

• Bradbury's family moved to Arizona briefly before settling in Los Angeles, California, in 1934. Bradbury continued to write and also spent a great deal of time reading in libraries and going to the movies.

• His father was a lineman for the electric company. He was greatly influenced by his Aunt Neva, a costume designer and dressmaker, who took him to plays and encouraged him to use his imagination.

Early Career

• After graduating from high school in 1938, Bradbury was turned down for military service because of bad eyesight. He earned a living selling newspapers while working on his writing.

• Dark Carnival (1947) is a collection of Bradbury's early stories of fantasy.

• He sold his first story in 1943, and others were published in such magazines as Black Mask, Amazing Stories, and Weird Tales.

• The publication of The Martian Chronicles (1950), an account of man's colonization of Mars, established Bradbury's reputation as an author of quality science fiction.

Marriage• In 1946, he met his future wife, Marguerite "Maggie" McClure. A graduate

of George Washington High School (1941) and UCLA, Maggie was working as a clerk in a book shop when they met.

• Ray and Maggie were married in the Church of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal in Los Angeles on September 27, 1947. Ray Harryhausen served as the best man.

• The first of the Bradbury's four daughters, Susan, was born in 1949. Susan's sisters, Ramona, Bettina and Alexandra were born in 1951, 1955 and 1958, respectively

What Influenced Him?

• A magician called Mr. Electrico who commanded him to "Live forever!" The 12-year-old Bradbury, intrigued at the concept of eternal life, revisited Mr. Electrico, who spurred his passion for life by heralding him as the reincarnation of a friend lost in World War I. After that memorable day, Bradbury began writing nonstop.

• Having been influenced by science fiction heroes like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, Bradbury began to publish science fiction stories in fanzines in 1938.

• Two of his teachers recognized a greater talent in Bradbury, and encouraged his development as a writer. Snow Longley Housh taught him about poetry and Jeannet Johnson taught him to write short stories.

Writing Style• Science Fiction• Fantasies• Crime

• Mysteries• Supernatural

• Bradbury emphasizes basic human values and cautions against unthinking acceptance of technological progress.

• Bradbury has published numerous short story collections, earning a reputation as an authority of fantasy literature in the process.

Novels He Is Known For• Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and for the

science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951).

• Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th and 21st century American writers of speculative fiction. Many of Bradbury's works have been adapted into television shows or films.

Honors• In 2010, on occasion of his 90th birthday, Bradbury received Pulsar Award

from Sarajevo SF Club PulSar.• In 2007, Bradbury received the French Commandeur Ordre des Arts et des

Lettres medal.• For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Ray Bradbury was given

a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6644 Hollywood Blvd.• An asteroid is named in his honor, "9766 Bradbury", along with a crater on

the moon called "Dandelion Crater" (named after his novel, Dandelion Wine).

• Ray Bradbury Park was dedicated in Waukegan, Illinois in 1990. The author was present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park contains locations described in "Dandelion Wine", most notably the "113 steps" stairs. In 2009 an interpretive panel designed by artist Michael Pavelich was added to the park detailing the history of Ray Bradbury and Ray Bradbury Park.

The Veldt

• It is about a couple of parents who become concerned when their children use a virtual nursery to recreate an all-too-realistic African veldt. The wife thought that one of the lions was going to attack her. The nursery caught the telepathic emanations of the children's minds and created life to fill their every desire. The children thought lions, and there were lions. The children thought zebras, and there were zebras. Sun -sun. Giraffes - giraffes. Death and death. The kids changed the African life into something different.