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Background:
“I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the
reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I
find that I cannot horrify, I’ll go for the gross-out. I’m not proud.” Stephen
King
Although primarily known for his horror stories, author Stephen King also proved
his non-horror writing skill through the essay collection “Danse Macabre” (1981,
won a Hugo Award) and the drama The Shawshank Redemption (1994), a big screen
adaptation of his short story “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” that won
a USC Scripter Award. First creating a name for himself as a horror writer with
the novel “Carrie” (1973, was revived on the silver screen in 1976), King was
then applauded for his writing in the novel “Cujo” (won a British Fantasy Award,
also the title of the 1983 movie), the short story “Do the Dead Sing” (1983, won
a World Fantasy Award), the screenplay for Sleepwalkers (1992, received a
Fantafestival Award), the Emmy-nominated miniseries “The Stand” (1994, wrote the
book and screenplay), the short story “The Man in the Black Suit” (won an O.
Henry Award), the Emmy-nominated miniseries “The Shining” (1997, wrote the book
and screenplay) and the novel “The Green Mile” (earned a USC Scripter
nomination, also the title of the 1999 movie). He was also handed the 1981
British Fantasy Award and the 2003 National Book Lifetime Achievement Award for
contributions to his field.
Outside his penning career, in June 1999, King had a traffic accident while
walking on a Maine road. He suffered a broken leg, a bruised lung and lacerated
his head. He also once had surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his
lungs from a bout of pneumonia, as well as battled with life-threatening drug
and alcohol addiction in the 1980s. In 2000, the author published his
autobiography titled “On Writing.”
As for his married life, King now lives in Bangor, Maine, with wife Tabitha
Spruce. They also own a house in the Western Lakes District of Maine and an
oceanfront mansion in Sarasota, Florida. The couple has three kids.
Richard Bachman
Childhood and Family:
On September 21, 1947, Stephen Edwin King was born in Portland, Maine. Several
years later, his father, Donald King, went out for a pack of cigarettes and
never returned home. With mother Nellie Ruth King (died of cancer in 1973) and
older brother David, Stephen moved around the country before settling down in
Durham, Maine.
A student of a grammar school in Durham and later Lisbon Falls High School,
Stephen began writing short stories at age 7. He studied English at the
University of Maine, where he contributed to the university’s newspaper. After
finishing his education, Stephen briefly worked as a laborer in an industrial
laundry plant and a teacher at Hampden Academy before pursuing a full-time
career as a writer. After his writing career took off, he aroused fans’
curiosity by using the pseudonym “Richard Bachman” in some of his books.
Stephen first met his wife, Tabitha Spruce (novelist), at the university’s
library. They were married in 1971 and now have three children: Naomi Rachel
(born in 1972), and novelists Joseph Hillstrom (born in 1974, has penname Joe
Hill) and Owen Phillip (born in 1979).
Carrie
Career:
Stephen King was hooked on the fantasy and horror genre after reading his
father’s books, which he discovered in 1959. Six years later, he submitted his
short story titled “I Was a Teenage Grave Robber” to the comic book fanzine
“Comics Review.” Although his first full-length novel, “The Long Walk,” was
rejected by publisher Bennett Cerf/Random House, King made a $35-sale with the
short story “The Glass Floor” (1967).
While still teaching, King wrote the novel “Carrie” and submitted it to
publisher Doubleday, in 1973, which soon sold its paperback rights to the New
American Library for $400,000, half of which went to him. Hitting the jackpot,
the novel was made into a movie with the same name by director Brian De Palma,
in 1976. It was soon followed by “Salem’s Lot” (1976), the basis of Tobe
Hooper’s Emmy-nominated film Salem’s Lot (1979). A year later, Stanley Kubrick
worked on King’s “The Shining,” which chronicled a family haunted by an evil
spirit.
King was handed a British Fantasy award for his contribution to the field in
1981. Also in 1981, the horror writer published the collection of essays titled
“Danse Macabre” and explained the writing process was a kind of author’s
“dance.” The essay brought him a Hugo award for Nonfiction two years later at
the World Science Fiction Convention. King next worked with director George A.
Romero by appearing as a Hoagie Man in the movie Knightriders and re-teamed with
Romero in Creepshow (1982, also wrote the screenplay and acted), which was based
on his two short stories, “The Crate” and “Weeds.”
The novel “Cujo” (also the title of the 1983 movie), which was about a
rabies-infected dog who traps a mother and her young son in a car, won the
author a British Fantasy award in 1983. The same year, King took home a World
Fantasy award for his short story “Do the Dead Sing.” Other screen adaptations
of King’s writings included Firestarter (1984) and Silver Bullet (1985, from the
novella “Cycle of the Werewolf”).
In 1986, King worked on Maximum Overdrive, in which he took on the task of
screenwriter and made his first and last directing attempt. Receiving mixed
reviews, he earned a Fantasporto International Fantasy Film nomination for Best
Film and a Razzie nomination for Worst Director. Yet, King moved on with the
silver screen adaptation of his stories The Running Man (1987, wrote the novel
under the name Richard Bachman), Pet Sematary (1989, also wrote the screenplay)
and Graveyard Shift (1990).
King, who in 1989 had a four-book deal with Viking Press, created and executive
produced the sci-fi series “Stephen King’s Golden Years” (1991) before netting a
Fantafestival award for Best Screenplay for his self-written Sleepwalkers
(1992). After the 1993’s adaptation of his “Needful Things,” King scored success
in the drama genre with The Shawshank Redemption (1994, from his short story
“Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption”), which won a USC Scripter award. The
author was also praised for the Emmy-nominated miniseries “The Stand” (1994,
wrote the book and screenplay), Taylor Hackford’s adaptation Dolores Claiborne
(1995), the short story “The Man in the Black Suit” (won an 1996 O. Henry award
for Best Short Story) and the Emmy-nominated, novel/screenplay effort in the
miniseries “The Shining” (1997, also appeared as Gage Creed).
Following his three-book contract with Simon & Schuster, in 1997, and the 1998
revival of his “Apt Pupil,” King’s fame continued to rise with Frank Darabont’s
version of his novel, The Green Mile (1999, earned a USC Scripter nomination).
Although in 1999 he had a serious accident, the author still penned several
blockbuster stories, like Paranoid (a 2000 film from the poem “Paranoid: A
Chant”), Hearts in Atlantis (2001) and the miniseries “Rose Red” (2002, wrote
the script).
King, who in 2002 announced his retirement as a novelist, developed the
characters for the TV film The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003), executive
produced the 2004 screen revival of his “Riding the Bullet” and wrote the script
of Sorry, Right Number (2005). Recently, the recipient of the 2003 National Book
Lifetime Achievement award had a short story collection adapted into the
miniseries “Nightmares and Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King”
(2006).
In 2007, King’s short story “1408” and his novels “Cell” and “From a Buick 8”
will be brought to the big screen. There will also be the forthcoming remake of
Creepshow (2008), the adaptation of his novel Black House (2008) and the
re-working of Vadim Perelman’s unfinished project The Talisman (2008, from
King’s novel).
Awards:
- National Book: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003
- O. Henry: Best Short Story, “The Man in the Black Suit,” 1996
- USC Scripter, The Shawshank Redemption, 1995
- Fantafestival: Best Screenplay, Sleepwalkers, 1992
- World Fantasy: Short Story, “Do the Dead Sing?,” 1983
- Hugo: Nonfiction, “Danse Macabre,” awarded at the World Science Fiction
Convention, 1983
- British Fantasy: Novel, “Cujo,” 1983
- British Fantasy: Award for Contribution to the Field, 1981
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