Ray Bradbury

Born in 1920, Ray Bradbury is one of the greats of the Golden Age of science fiction. But science fiction isn't his only purview. Bradbury is a novelist, poet, essayist, editor, playwright, screenwriter, and lecturer.

Bradbury's first writing paycheck came from George Burns-Bradbury submitted a joke to the Burns and Allen show while he was a teenager. Bradbury originally planned to be an actor, a career nurtured by his parents who had given him a middle name after the actor Douglas Fairbanks. His high school teachers, however, recognized his writing talent and taught him to write poetry and short stories.

A man who is recognized as one of the great creative geniuses of our age, Bradbury had no formal schooling beyond high school. He sold newspapers during the day while writing at night. At 22 he sold his first short story and a year later became a full-time writer.

Bradbury's works have received numerous honors, and he was named a Science Fiction Writers of America Grand Master. In 2004, he was presented with a National Medal of the Arts (pictured above) by President George W. Bush.

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