Perhaps the most immediate thing one would note about Richard is that no one label fits him. Which is all to the good. Whether he is writing the weird, the horror, the science-fiction or the fantasy tale, all are more than each label implies. He is, in sum, a mainstream writer. Take my word for it and forget all the malarkey that the New York snob critics publish about all of us.
I would go on at greater length but Matheson doesn't need me to explain him to you. He, himself, is the best explainer.
Richard Matheson is worth our time, attention and great affection.
So said Ray Bradbury in the forward to the collection DUEL: TERROR STORIES BY RICHARD MATHESON, and so shall I obey. Two years ago, I had the great honor of visiting Richard Matheson at his home in Calabasas, California. We were scheduled for a half-hour interview to help promote REAL STEEL, but, before I knew it, an hour had elapsed, and we had discussed a great deal of his career. I could give you a greatest hits of Matheson's work in print, television and film, or I could let the great author explain it himself. Mr. Matheson, you have the floor and our everlasting gratitude for the last sixty years of wonderment.
