Ray Bradbury

As one of the most influential science fiction/fantasy novelists of all time, Ray Bradbury had the distinction for also being one of the most prolific. Not only did he write novels and short stories, Bradbury had his hand in film, television, poetry, stage plays and even opera. After spending the better part of a decade publishing short stories in various science fiction anthologies, the author broke through with his groundbreaking collection of stories, The Martian Chronicles, thanks to his vibrant literary approach to a genre that was often mired in techno-jargon. But it was his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 that raised Bradbury from the world of science fiction and placed him among the century's great literary novelists. Meanwhile, he began writing for the screen, most notably an adaptation of Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" (1956) for the hard-driving and often cruel director, John Huston. His fertile period continued with Dandelion Wine (1957) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962), both of which were adapted into various incarnations. He even became the star of his own show, "The Ray Bradbury Theater" (HBO/USA, 1987-1992), which each week featured an episode based on one of his works. Whether he was consulting NASA astronauts, helping to design Disney's Epcot Center or serving as the unwitting inspiration for Michael Moore's hard-hitting documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" (2004), Bradbury's immense presence and influence was felt far and wide throughout the generations.