Ray, one of the greatest writers ever, would have been 95 tomorrow. To celebrate, here are 10 interesting facts about my main man.
1. Ray's wife held down a full time job so Ray could write full time. In the 40s, that was crazy talk!
2. Ray was good friends with Walt Disney.
3. Ray hoped that fans would leave dandelions on his grave (a nod to his book Dandelion Wine)
4. Ray never learned to drive a car. He witnessed a horrifying fatal car accident as a teenager and it scarred him for life.
5. Ray has the following named after him/for his works: a comet, a crater on the moon and a Starfleet ship. (They mention the Bradbury in one of the recent Star Trek movies and I was like WHAT?! I want that tshirt!)
6. "In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury was the first to predict the invention of flat-screen TVs, televised surveillance footage, ear-bud headphones, and ATMs — in the space of the nine days he spent writing the novel."
7.Considering all the great technological things he predicted, Ray didn't ride in an airplane until he was 62!
8. Truman Capote was one of the first people to recognize Ray's talent.
9. Ray was a vocal opponent of the hunt for Communists in Hollywood. A ballsy move considering he did a lot of work in Hollywood and it scared a lot of people to even talk about it.
10. Some of his books were set in rural Illinois, based on the area where he was born.
Thanks for being awesome Ray!
Sources: Mental Floss Flavorwire The FW
Ooooo!! Yay for fun facts!! Especially since I didn't know any off them!!
ReplyDeleteI feel like Ray is just one of those endlessly interesting people. But you'd have to be to write those types of books!
DeleteSuch a great post! I've never read any of Bradbury's work and now am just double intrigued!
ReplyDeleteHe's got a lot of short story collections if you want to dip your toe in without committing to a whole novel. I'm biased but I love all his formats :)
Delete