Harlan Ellison Biography (1934-)

Full name, Harlan Jay Ellison; born May 27, 1934, in Cleveland, OH; son of Louis Laverne (a dentist and jeweler) and Serita (maiden name, Rosenthal) Ellison; married Charlotte B. Stein, February 19, 1956 (divorced, 1960); married Billie Joyce Sanders, November 13, c. 1960 (divorced, c. 1963); married Lory Patrick, January 30, c. 1966 (divorced, c. 1966); married Lori Horwitz, June 5, c. 1976 (divorced, c. 1977); married Susan Anne Toth, 1986. Addresses: Office: Kilimanjaro Corp., 3484 Coy Dr., Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.; Agent: Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., 171 East 74th St., New York, NY 10021; and Martin Shapiro, Shapiro-Lichtman, Inc., 8827 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048.; Contact: Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, P.O. Box 55548, Sherman Oaks, CA 91413-0548.

Nationality: American
Gender: Male
Occupation: Writer
Birth Details: May 27, 1934; Cleveland, Ohio, United States

Famous Works

CREDITS
Television Work
Series
Script supervisor, The Sixth Sense, ABC, c. 1972
(As Cordwainer Bird) Creator, The Starlost, NBC, 1973
(With Ben Bova) Creator, Brillo, ABC, 1974
Creative consultant, The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1984-85
(With Larry Brody) Creator, The Dark Forces, NBC, 1986
Conceptual consultant, Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, beginning in 1994
Movies
(Uncredited) Consultant, Babylon 5: The Gathering (also known as B5 and Babylon 5), TNT, 1993
Conceptual consultant, Babylon 5: In the Beginning (also known asIn the Beginning), TNT and syndicated, 1998
Conceptual consultant, Babylon 5: Thirdspace (also known as Thirdspace and Thirdspace: A Babylon 5 Adventure), TNT, 1998
Conceptual consultant, Babylon 5: The River of Souls (also known as The River of Souls), TNT, 1998
Conceptual consultant, Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (also known as A Call to Arms), TNT, 1999
Television Director
Episodic
The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1984-85
Cutter's World, 1987-88
Sometimes credited as Cordwainer Bird, reportedly associated with creative differences during production.
Television Appearances
Series
Host, Sci-Fi Buzz, Sci-Fi Channel, 1993-98
Episodic
Voice, Mother Goose and Grimm, CBS, c. 1992
Voice of Cordwainer Bird, "A Boy and His Cat," Phantom 2040, syndicated, c. 1994
Voice of Sparky the computer, "Ceremonies of Light and Dark," Babylon5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1996
Psi cop, "The Face of the Enemy," Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1997
Voice of Zooty, "Day of the Dead," Babylon 5 (also known as B5), syndicated, 1998
Grifter, "The Observer Effect," Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal, syndicated, c. 1998
Also provided voices for Pirates of Darkwater and Space Cases.
Film Appearances
Godson, Boxoffice International Pictures, 1971
Radio Appearances
Series
Host, Beyond 2000, National Public Radio, 2000-
RECORDINGS
Albums
Short Story Collections
Harlan! Harlan Ellison Reads Harlan Ellison, Alternate World Recordings, 1976
Blood! The Life and Future Times of Jack the Ripper, Alternate World Recordings, 1977
Harlan Ellison Reads Jeffry Is Five, Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, 1982
Prince Myshkin, and Hold the Relish, Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, 1982
Loving Reminiscences of the Dying Gasp of the Pulp Era, Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, 1982
I'm Looking for Kadak, Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, 1982
On the Road with Ellison, H. Ellison, 1983
The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World, Harlan Ellison Recording Collection, 1983
On the Downhill Side, H. Ellison, 1984
City of Darkness, c. 1999
Video Games
Voice, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, MGM Interactive, 1995
Other Spoken Word Recordings
(Contributor) The Titanic Disaster Hearings: The Official Transcript of the 1912 Senatorial Investigation by Tom Kuntz, c. 1999
WRITINGS
Screenplays
(With Russell Rouse and Clarence Greene) The Oscar (based on the novel by Richard Sale), Embassy, 1966
Harlan Ellison's Movie: An Original Screenplay, Twentieth Century-Fox, published by Mirage Press, 1990
Also associated with the screenplays for Best by Far; Blind Voices; Bug Jack Barron, Universal, c. 1983; The Dream Merchants, Paramount; Khadim, Paramount; Nick the Greek; None of the Above; Rumble, American International Pictures; Seven Worlds,Seven Warriors, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group; Stranglehold,Twentieth Century-Fox; Swing Low, Sweet Harriet, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer;and Would You Do It for a Penny?, Playboy Productions.
Television Episodes

"Phoenix without Ashes," The Starlost, syndicated, 1973
Brillo, ABC, 1974
The Dark Forces, NBC, 1986
"Paladin of the Lost Hour," The Twilight Zone, CBS, 1986
"The City on the Edge of Forever," Star Trek, NBC, 1994, publishedby Borderlands Press, 1995
(With Naren Shankar) "The Human Operators" (based on a story by A. E. vanVogt), The Outer Limits, Showtime and syndicated, c. 2000
Author of "Memo from Purgatory," Alfred Hitchcock Presents, CBS; "Who Killed 1/2 of Glory Lee?" Burke's Law (also known as Amos Burke--Secret Agent), ABC; "Knife in the Darkness," Cimarron Strip,CBS; "The Pieces of Fate Affair" and "The Sort of Do-It-Yourself Dreadful Affair," The Man from U.N.C.L.E., NBC; "Demon with a Glass Hand" and "Soldier," The Outer Limits, Showtime and syndicated; "Where Do ElephantsGo to Die?" Ripcord, syndicated; "A Gift for a Warrior," Route 66, ABC; and "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs," The Young Lawyers; also wrote episodes of Babylon 5, Batman, Circle of Fear, Dark Room, Empire, The Great Adventure, Logan's Run, Manhunter, The Name of the Game, Rat Patrol, and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
Other Television Scripts
The Tigers Are Loose (special), NBC, 1974
Other television scripts include Astra/Ella, Astral Man, Bring 'em Back Alive, The Contender, Cutter's World, Dark Destroyer, Heavy Metal, Man without Time, Mystery Show, The Other Place, Our Man Flint, Postmark: JimAdam, Project 120, The Sniper, The Spirit, and Tired Old Man.
Plays
The City on the Edge of Forever (based on his television script),published in Six Science Fiction Plays, edited by Roger Elwood, PocketBooks (New York City), 1976
Short Story Collections
The Deadly Streets, Ace Books (New York City), 1958
(Under pseudonym Paul Merchant) Sex Gang, Nightstand, 1959
A Touch of Infinity, Ace Books, published as Earthman, Go Home, 1964
Children of the Streets (also published as The Juvies), AceBooks, 1961
Gentleman Junkie, and Other Stories of the Hung-up Generation, Regency Books (Chicago, IL), 1961
Ellison Wonderland, Paperback Library, 1962
Paingod, and Other Delusions (includes "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"), Pyramid Books, 1965
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Pyramid Books, 1967
From the Land of Fear, Belmont, 1967
Love Ain't Nothing but Sex Misspelled, Trident, 1968
The Beast That Shouted Love at the Heart of the World, Avon (New York City), 1969
Over the Edge: Stories from Somewhere Else, Belmont, 1970
Alone against Tomorrow: Stories of Alienation in Speculative Fiction, Macmillan (New York City), 1971, abridged editions published as All the Sounds of Fear, Panther (England), 1973, and The Time of the Eye, Panther (England), 1974
(Coauthor) Partners in Wonder: Science Fiction Collaborations with Fourteen Other Wild Talents, Walker and Co. (New York City), 1971
De Helden van de Highway (published only in Dutch), 1973
Approaching Oblivion: Road Signs on the Treadmill toward Tomorrow,Walker and Co., 1974
Deathbird Stories: A Pantheon of Modern Gods (includes "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs"), Harper (New York City), 1975
No Doors, No Windows, Pyramid Books, 1975
Strange Wine: Fifteen New Stories from the Nightside of the World,Harper, 1978
The Illustrated Harlan Ellison, edited by Byron Preiss, Baronet, 1978
The Fantasies of Harlan Ellison, Gregg (Boston, MA), 1979
Shatterday, Houghton (Boston), 1980
Stalking the Nightmare, Phantasia Press (Huntington Woods, MI), 1982
An Edge in My Voice, Donning (Norfolk, VA), 2nd edition, 1986
The Essential Ellison: A Thirty-five Year Retrospective, edited byTerry Dowling, Richard Delap, and Gil Lamont, Nemo Press, 1986
Angry Candy, Houghton, 1988
Dreams with Sharp Teeth (includes revised versions of I Have NoMouth, and I Must Scream, Deathbird Stories, and Shatterday), Book-of-the-Month Club, 1991
Spider Kiss, Armchair Detective Library, 1991
Mind Fields: The Art of Jacek Yerka, the Fiction of Harlan Ellison, illustrated by Yerka, Morpheus International (Beverly Hills, CA), 1994
Slippage, Houghton, 1994, published as Slippage: Precariously Poised, Previously Uncollected Stories, Mark V. Zeising Books, 1997
(Author of preface and contributor of story) Mel Odom, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream: The Official Strategy Guide, Prima Publishing (Rocklin, CA), 1995
Jokes without Punchlines, 1995
Rough Beasts, 1995
Edgeworks: The Collected Ellison, White Wolf Publishing, Volumes 1-2, 1996, Volumes 3-4, 1997
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman: The Classic Story, illustrated by Rick Berry, Underwood Books, 1997
(Coauthor) The Outer Limits: Armageddon Dreams, Quadrillion Media,2000
Novels
Rumble, Pyramid Books, 1958, published as Web of the City,1975
The Man with Nine Lives [and] A Touch of Infinity (stories), Ace Books, 1960
The Sound of a Scythe (originally published as The Man with Nine Lives), Ace Books, 1960
Spider Kiss (also published as Rockabilly), Fawcett (New York City), 1961
Doomsman (bound with Telepower by Lee Hoffman), Belmont, 1967, published (bound with The Thief of Thoth by Lin Carter), 1972
(With Edward Bryant) The Starlost 1: Phoenix without Ashes, Fawcett, 1975
All the Lies That Are My Life, Underwood/Miller (San Francisco, CA), 1980
Footsteps, illustrated by Ken Snyder, Footsteps (Hobbs, NM), 1989
Run for the Stars (bound with Echoes of Thunder by Jack Dann and Jack C. Halderman II), Tor Books (New York City), 1991
Mefisto in Onyx (novelette), Zeising Books, 1993
Essay Collections
Memos from Purgatory: Two Journeys of Our Times, Regency Books, 1961
The Glass Teat: Essays of Opinion on the Subject of Television, Ace Books, 1970
The Other Glass Teat: Further Essays of Opinion on Television, Pyramid Books, 1975
The Book of Ellison, edited by Andrew Porter, Algol Press (New York City), 1978
Sleepless Nights in the Procrustean Bed, edited by Marty Clark, Borgo, 1984
An Edge in My Voice, Donning, 1985
Harlan Ellison's Watching, Underwood/Miller, 1989
The Harlan Ellison Hornbook (autobiographical essays), Penzler Books, 1990
Editor
Dangerous Visions: 33 Original Stories, Doubleday (New York City),1967
Nightshade and Damnations: The Finest Stories of Gerald Kersh, Fawcett, 1968
Again, Dangerous Visions: 46 Original Stories, Doubleday, 1972
"Discovery" Series of First Novels
James Sutherland, Stormtrack, Pyramid Books, 1974
Marta Randall, Islands, Pyramid Books, 1976
Terry Carr, The Light at the End of the Universe, Pyramid Books, 1976
Arthur Byron Cones, Autumn Angels, Pyramid Books, 1976
Bruce Sterling, Involution Ocean, Pyramid Books, 1977
Other
Contributor, Faster than Light, edited by Jack Dann and George Zebrowski, Harper, 1976
Coeditor and contributor, Medea: Harlan's World (includes "With Virgil Oddum at the East Pole"), Bantam (New York City), 1985
Author, Demon with a Glass Hand (graphic novel), illustrated by Marshall Rogers, D.C. Comics, 1986
Author, Night and the Enemy (graphic novel), illustrated by Ken Steacy, Comico, 1987
Author, Vic and Blood: The Chronicles of a Boy and His Dog (graphic novel; based on his novella "A Boy and His Dog"), illustrated by Richard Corben, St. Martin's (New York City), 1989
(With Isaac Asimov) Coauthor, I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay(based on the story cycle by Asimov), Warner Books (New York City), 1994
Author, Harlan Ellison's Dream Corridor Special (includes thestory "Chatting with Anubis"), 1995
Author of books on juvenile delinquency. Past author of columns, including "The Glass Teat" and "Harlan Ellison Hornbook," both in Los Angeles FreePress, "An Edge in My Voice," in Los Angeles Weekly, and "Watching," a syndicated film review column; book critic, Los Angeles Times,1969-82. Work represented in anthologies, including The Best American ShortStories,1993. Contributor of more than 1,000 short stories, essays, and articles to periodicals, including Analog, Ariel, Cosmopolitan, Datamation, Ellery Queen's Mystery, Galaxy, Heavy Metal, Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Omni, and Twilight Zone. Some work appears under various pseudonyms, including Lee Archer, Phil "Cheech" Beldone, Cordwainer Bird, Jay Charby, RobertCourtney, Price Curtis, Wallace Edmondson, Landon Ellis, Sley Harson, Ellis Hart, Al Maddern, Alan Maddern, Paul Merchant, Nabrah Nosille, Bert Parker, Jay Solo, and Derry Tiger. Ellison's works have been translated into more than twenty-five languages, including French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. 1993-82

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

The film A Boy and His Dog, 1999.released by Aquarius Releasing in1975, is based on a novella by Ellison; the 1978 film Jackpot is based on one of his stories; the film Mefisto in Onyx, released by Miramaxin 2001, is based on his novelette. Ellison's television episodes "Demonwith a Glass Hand" and "Soldier," both broadcast on The Outer Limits,have been cited as the inspiration for the film The Terminator, released by Orion in 1984. Several of Ellison's short stories have been adapted for television, including "The Human Factor," an episode of The Outer Limits. The video game I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is based on Ellison's story of the same title.

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Authors and Artists for Young Adults, Volume 29, Gale,
Porter, Andrew, editor, The Book of Ellison, 1978. Algol Press,
Slusser, George Edgar, Harlan Ellison: Unrepentant Harlequin, 1977. Borgo,
Swigart, Leslie Kay, Harlan Ellison: A Bibliographical Checklist,1973. Williams Publishing (Dallas, TX),

Electronic

Harlan Ellison Web Site, http://www.harlanellison.com/.

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