Harlan was a writing God, who passed away in 2018. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_Ellison
He wrote edgy crazy stories, and don’t ever call it science fiction where he could hear you. I’d put a list here, but it would be too long. But your favorite TOS or Outer Limits story was probably by Harlan. And your favorite movie was ripped off from a Harlan story.
I’m reading his biography, and came upon this:
And when, in October 1973, he delivered a paid guest lecture at OSU, he savored the irony as well as the closure. “The lecture bureau called me and I was on the road in Ohio and they said, ‘Ohio State wants you.’ And I said, ‘They pay double,’ and they did. The first two hours, I spent running down Ohio State on what an anti-Semitic place it was, what a stupid place it was, and how you could not get an education there. I went on and then it was as if a bird had flown carrying that huge stone free from my body, and I was free. I did two more hours—a four-hour talk—and they got their money’s worth.””
— A Lit Fuse: The Provocative Life of Harlan Ellison by Nat Segaloff
I have come to the conclusion that Harlan may not be totally honest in his autobiographical recollections. I know this only because I was there. He didn’t do four hours; he didn’t run down OSU – much. He was profane and insulting, of course, but… Harlan.
I had to go to the bathroom. I mean, I really had to go to the bathroom. I had drunk a few 3.2% beers. But every time someone stood up and left (and it was usually a couple), he Harlaned them. ‘Hey, where are you going? What the hell is wrong with you? Is it something I said? Come back here!’.
Eventually, biology won. I stood up and started out, and sure enough – Harlan. So I turned around and said ‘Harlan, I’ve got to take a piss!’. Mershon Auditorium all laughed, and as I was walking out I heard ‘Well, at least I’ve got the audience relaxed’.
RIP to one of the great ones. What am I saying. Harlan will never R in P; he’s suing somebody somewhere right now.
