Alfred Bester (December 18, 1913 – September 30, 1987) was an American science fiction author, TV and radio scriptwriter, magazine editor and scripter for comic strips and comic books. Though successful in all these fields, he is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953.Science fiction author Harry Harrison wrote, "Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction."Shortly before his death, the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) named Bester its ninth Grand Master, presented posthumously in 1988. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 2001.
I'm a great believer in people, and their untapped potential. It's obvious we can't all be a Gully Foyle, but most of us energize at such a low level, so far short of our real capabilities, we could all be more, do more. Today, in America, I think everyone needs a good kick in the ass, to get them doing things. [Interview with Charles Platt in New Worlds Quarterly, 1972]
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Most science fiction quite frankly is silly nonsense.
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I'm not much interested in extrapolating science and technology; I merely use extrapolation as a means of putting people into new quandaries which produce colorful pressures and conflicts.
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Fact
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Adaptations of the novel "The Stars My Destination" have been frequently rumored. Charlie Jane Anders wrote in 2010, "According to Hughes' Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made, Richard Gere owned the rights to this novel right after his success with Pretty Woman (1990), and wanted to star in it. Later, NeverEnding Story (The NeverEnding Story (1984)) producer Bernd Eichinger had the rights and hired Neal Adams to do concept art. Still later, Paul W.S. Anderson was set to direct it, but wound up doing Event Horizon (1997) instead. Since then, a number of scripts have been written, but the film's gotten no closer to happening.".
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Bester's short fiction sometimes features stories of nostalgia, and most of those are among his most highly-rated among fans and editors. He shares this theme of longing for the past with Ray Bradbury and Jack Finney. Bradbury and Finney had stories adapted for 'Twilight Zone (1959-1964)', as their stories were more easily adapted, whereas Bester did not, perhaps because he was prone to write stories that were more violent or that would have cost too much in the way of special effects.
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Walter Koenig played a character named Alfred Bester in the TV series Babylon 5 (1994). The Bester character was a telepath, as were the main characters in Bester's 1953 novel "The Demolished Man".
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Jackie Gleason acquired film rights to his 1953 novel, "Who He?", a satire about the television industry, but although Gleason was interested in acting as the main character, he never followed it up.
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He was a fencer while at college. The February 25, 1934, New York Times reports that the Princeton University fencing team beat the University of Pennsylvania team in a match that day, but that "Captain Alfred Bester of New York gained two epee victories for the Red and Blue."
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His first novel, "The Demolished Man" (1953), received the first Hugo Award ever given for Best Novel. The joke among fans is that the book was so great that the World Science Fiction Society had to create an award just to acknowledge it and bestow on it an unforgettable place in science fiction history.
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He was engaged to be Guest of Honor at the World Science Fiction Convention held in Brighton, England, 27 August-1 September, 1987; but he broke his hip shortly beforehand and could not attend (tragically, he died at the end of that September from complications). He did, however, live long enough to learn that he would be awarded the Science Fiction Writers of America's Grand Master Award for Lifetime Achievement.
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Attended the University of Pennsylvania, studying the humanities and psychology, and received his BA in 1935.
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He is frequently credited with having written the original Green Lantern oath, though he denied this. He did, however, create the villains Solomon Grundy and Vandal Savage, who fight the Green Lantern.
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Juliet
author announced
Batman: Return to Arkham
2016
Video Game character: Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy - uncredited
Justice League vs. Teen Titans
2016
Video character: Solomon Grundy - uncredited
Batman: Arkham Origins - Blackgate
2013
Video Game character: Solomon Grundy - uncredited
Justice League: Doom
2012
Video characters: Vandal Savage, Blood Tribe - uncredited
Batman: Arkham City
2011
Video Game character: Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy - uncredited
Justice League Unlimited
2004
TV Series character: Solomon Grundy - 1 episode
Gankutsu-ô
2004
TV Series novel "The Stars My Destination": story source - uncredited
Justice League
TV Series character: Vandal Savage - 6 episodes, 2002 - 2003 character: Solomon Grundy - 6 episodes, 2002 - 2003
Alcoa Premiere
TV Series story - 1 episode, 1962 teleplay - 1 episode, 1962
$8 Million
