Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American Fantasy, science fiction, horror and mystery fiction author. He is best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953). In 1931, at the age of eleven, young Ray began writing his own stories. The country was going through the Great Depression and sometimes Bradbury wrote on butcher paper. The Bradbury family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1934. In Beverly Hills, he often visited the science fiction writer Bob Olsen for mentorship as well as friendship while Bradbury was a teenager. They shared ideas and would keep in contact. When the Bradbury family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1934, Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. Bradbury often roller-skated through Hollywood in hopes of meeting celebrities. Among the creative and talented people Bradbury met this way were special effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen and radio star George Burns. Bradbury's first pay as a writer was at the age of fourteen, when Burns hired him to write for the Burns and Allen show. Bradbury died in Los Angeles, California, on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, after a lengthy illness. |