Ray Douglas Bradbury was born in Waukegan, Illinois, on August 22, 1920. He was
given the middle name "Douglas," after the actor, Douglas Fairbanks.
In 1934, the Bradbury family moved to Los Angeles, California. Ray Bradbury often roller-skated through Hollywood, trying to spot celebrities. He befriended other talented and creative people, like special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen and radio star George Burns. It was George Burns who gave Ray Bradbury his first pay as a writer -- for contributing a joke to the Burns & Allen Show.
Two of his teachers recognized a great talent in Ray Bradbury, and encouraged his
development as a writer. Snow Longley Housh taught him about poetry and Jeannet
Johnson taught him to write short stories. Over 60 years later, Bradbury's work bears
the indelible impressions left by these two women.
In 1946, he met his future wife, Marguerite "Maggie" McClure. Maggie was working
as a clerk in a bookshop when they met. Ray and Maggie were married in the Church
of the Good Shepherd, Episcopal in Los Angeles on September 27, 1947.
Ray Harryhausen served as the best man. They had four daughters, Susan, Ramona, Bettina and Alexandra.
Ray Bradbury's work has won innumerable honors and awards, including the O. Henry Memorial Award, the Benjamin Franklin Award (1954), the Aviation-Space Writer's Association Award for Best Space Article in an American Magazine (1967), the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement, and the Grand Master Award from the Science Fiction Writers of America. His work was also included in the Best American Short Stories collections for 1946, 1948 and 1952. Ray Bradbury's most unusual honor came from the Apollo astronaut who named Dandelion Crater after Bradbury's novel, Dandelion Wine.
Today, Ray and Maggie Bradbury live in Los Angeles. They have eight grandchildren and four cats. |
