Richard Bateson

Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter whose work primarily appeared in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres.

He is best known as the author of *I Am Legend*, a 1954 science fiction horror novel that has been adapted for the screen three times, the first of which, *The Last Man on Earth*, was co-scripted by him and starred Vincent Price. (The other two adaptations are *The Omega Man* with Charlton Heston and *I Am Legend* with Will Smith.) Matheson also wrote 16 television episodes of *The Twilight Zone*, including "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" and "Steel", as well as several adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for Roger Corman and American International Pictures – *House of Usher*, *The Pit and the Pendulum*, *Tales of Terror* and *The Raven*. He adapted his 1971 short story "Duel" as a screenplay directed by Steven Spielberg for the television film *Duel* that year.

In addition to *I Am Legend* and *Duel*, nine more of his novels and short stories have been adapted as motion pictures: *The Shrinking Man* (filmed as *The Incredible Shrinking Man*), *Hell House* (filmed as *The Legend of Hell House*), *What Dreams May Come*, *Bid Time Return* (filmed as *Somewhere in Time*), *A Stir of Echoes*, *Steel* (filmed as *Real Steel*), and *Button, Button* (filmed as *The Box*). The movie *Cold Sweat* was based on his novel *Riding the Nightmare*, and *Les seins de glace* ("Icy Breasts") was based on his novel *Someone is Bleeding*. Both *Steel* and *Button, Button* had previously been episodes of *The Twilight Zone*.