Robert Sheckley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Sheckley
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Sheckley in the mid-1990s
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| Born | July 16, 1928 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 2005 (aged 77) Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | American |
| Period | 1952–2005 |
| Genre | Science fiction, fantasy, mystery |
| Notable works | Immortality, Inc., Seventh Victim |
Robert Sheckley (born July 16, 1928 – died December 9, 2005) was an American writer. He became famous for his many clever and funny stories. His works were often surprising and a bit silly, especially his science fiction novels and short stories.
Sheckley was nominated for the Hugo Award and Nebula Award. These are two of the biggest awards in science fiction. In 2001, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him an Author Emeritus. This is a special honor for writers who have made a big impact.
Contents
About Robert Sheckley
Early Life and Army Service
Robert Sheckley was born in Brooklyn, New York City, in 1928. When he was three, his family moved to Maplewood, New Jersey. He went to Columbia High School where he first discovered science fiction books.
After graduating in 1946, Sheckley traveled to California. He tried many different jobs, like gardening and selling pretzels. Later that year, he joined the U.S. Army. He was sent to Korea. In the army, he worked as a guard, an editor for the army newspaper, and even played guitar in the Army Band. He left the army in 1948.
Starting His Writing Career
Sheckley went to New York University and earned an arts degree in 1951. That same year, he got married for the first time to Barbara Scadron. They had a son named Jason.
He worked in an aircraft factory for a short time. But soon, he sold his first story, "Final Examination," to Imagination magazine in late 1951. This was a big moment for him! He quickly became a well-known writer. His stories appeared in popular science fiction magazines like Imagination and Galaxy.
In the 1950s, Sheckley published his first four books. These included short story collections like Untouched by Human Hands (1954) and Pilgrimage to Earth (1957). He also wrote a novel called Immortality, Inc. (1958).
Later Life and More Books
In 1957, Sheckley married journalist Ziva Kwitney. They lived in Greenwich Village, a famous neighborhood in New York City. Their daughter, Alisa Kwitney, was born in 1964 and also became a successful writer.
Sheckley's funny and clever stories were very popular. He started writing suspense stories in the 1960s, in addition to his science fiction. Many more books came out during this time. A movie called The 10th Victim was made in 1965. It was based on one of his early stories.
Sheckley lived in Ibiza, Spain, for much of the 1970s. He later returned to the United States in 1980. He became an editor for OMNI magazine, which was new at the time. Sheckley kept writing many science fiction and mystery stories. He also worked with other famous writers like Roger Zelazny and Harry Harrison.
Final Years
In April 2005, Sheckley visited Ukraine for a science fiction event. He became very sick and had to go to the hospital in Kyiv. His fans helped raise money for his treatment and to help him return to the United States.
He moved to Red Hook, New York, to be close to his daughters. On November 20, he had surgery for a brain aneurysm. Robert Sheckley passed away in a Poughkeepsie hospital on December 9, 2005.
Robert Sheckley's Works
Sheckley was a very busy and creative writer. He wrote many different kinds of stories and books. He wrote original short stories and novels. He also wrote episodes for TV shows like Captain Video and His Video Rangers. He even wrote books based on movies, like Babylon 5: A Call to Arms.
He was most famous for his hundreds of short stories. These stories were published in books and magazines. Sheckley's stories often explored strange ideas. For example, in "Bad Medicine," a man gets treated by a machine meant for Martians by mistake. In "The Accountant," a family of wizards finds out their son wants to be an accountant, which they think is a very strange job!
Sheckley often imagined different kinds of societies. One example is his story "A Ticket to Tranai". It's about a perfect world designed for how humans really are. But it turns out to have some terrible problems.
Sheckley also wrote a series of detective stories in the 1990s. These stories featured a detective named Hob Draconian. He also wrote novels set in the worlds of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Alien. Before he died, he was working on a novel based on the TV series The Prisoner.
His novel Dimension of Miracles is often said to have influenced Douglas Adams's famous book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. However, Douglas Adams said he didn't read Sheckley's book until after he wrote his own.
Movies, TV, and Radio Based on His Stories
Many of Robert Sheckley's stories have been turned into movies, TV shows, and radio plays.
Movies
- His 1953 short story "Seventh Victim" was made into the film The 10th Victim in 1965. This movie starred famous actors Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress. Sheckley also wrote a book based on the movie.
- Sheckley's novel Immortality, Inc. was made into a movie called Freejack in 1992. It starred Mick Jagger and Anthony Hopkins. The story was also adapted for a British TV series called Out of the Unknown. Sadly, that episode is now lost.
- The 1958 short story "The Prize of Peril" was made into a German TV movie in 1970. It was also made into a French movie in 1983. This story was about a man who goes on a TV show where people try to kill him for a week to win money. Many people think this story was one of the first to predict reality television.
- The 1965 story "The Game of X" was loosely adapted into the 1981 Disney film, Condorman.
- His 1962 novel, The Man in the Water, was also made into a film.
- The 2023 movie Robots, starring Shailene Woodley, is based on his short story "The Robot That Looked Like Me".
TV Shows and Radio
- His stories "Ghost V" (1954) and "The Lifeboat Mutiny" (1955) were adapted for a science fiction TV series in the USSR. "Ghost V" was also staged by Estonian TV in 1997.
- The short story "Watchbird" was adapted for the TV series Masters of Science Fiction. It first aired in the US in 2012.
- Many of Sheckley's works were adapted for the radio show X Minus One in the late 1950s. These included "Seventh Victim," "Bad Medicine," and "Protection."
- In 2007, a radio show called "The Laxian Key" was created based on Sheckley's short stories. It was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra.
Images for kids
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Robert Sheckley around 1954
See also
In Spanish: Robert Sheckley para niños
