WRITER

Richard Matheson

1926 - 2013

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Icon of person Richard Matheson

Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of I Am Legend, a 1954 science fiction horror novel that has been adapted for the screen three times. Matheson himself was co-writer of the first film version, The Last Man on Earth, starring Vincent Price, which was released in 1964. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Richard Matheson has received more than 1,887,826 page views. His biography is available in 51 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). Richard Matheson is the 987th most popular writer (down from 961st in 2019), the 1,135th most popular biography from United States (down from 1,129th in 2019) and the 110th most popular American Writer.

Richard Matheson is most famous for his horror novel "I Am Legend" which was adapted into a film starring Will Smith.

Memorability Metrics

  • 1.9M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 61.79

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 51

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 5.08

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.39

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

A stir of echoes
1958
The Path
Body, Mind & Spirit
Richard Matheson's bestselling novel, What Dreams May Come, the basis for the hit movie starring Robin Williams, touched numerous readers with its convincing portrait of life after death, based on years of research and personal reflection. Like that earlier book, The Path is a work of inspirational fiction that comes straight from Matheson's own deeply held beliefs about spirituality and true nature of existence. The story of one man's encounter with an enigmatic stranger who imparts to him ten lessons about the true realityof the soul; The Path is not so much a novel as a philosophical dialogue about life and the afterlife. Everyone who read What Dreams May Come and wants to know more about Matheson's personal philosophy should take a walk along . . . The Path.
19934 / 5
The Twilight Zone
Performing Arts
Three space travelers investigate a strange reflection only to discover their own crashed ship.
1985
Somewhere in Time
1975

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Richard Matheson ranks 987 out of 7,302. Before him are Khachatur Abovian, Will Durant, David Grossman, Aristarchus of Samothrace, Prudentius, and Jean de Joinville. After him are Christoph Martin Wieland, Aron Nimzowitsch, Assia Djebar, Pierre-Jean de Béranger, Waris Dirie, and Corinna.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1926, Richard Matheson ranks 67. Before him are Vasily Arkhipov, Sergio Corbucci, Hilary Putnam, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Margot Frank, and Abdoulaye Wade. After him are John Fowles, Steve Reeves, Noah Gordon, César Pelli, Konstantinos Stephanopoulos, and Gyula Grosics. Among people deceased in 2013, Richard Matheson ranks 49. Before him are Jesús Franco, James Gandolfini, Lawrence Klein, John Cornforth, James M. Buchanan, and Nagisa Oshima. After him are Ed Lauter, Chinua Achebe, Viktor Kulikov, Manfred Rommel, Ovadia Yosef, and Tadeusz Mazowiecki.

Others Born in 1926

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Others Deceased in 2013

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Richard Matheson ranks 1,135 out of 20,380. Before him are Richard S. Castellano (1933), Ike Turner (1931), Stanley Miller (1930), Willie Nelson (1933), Will Durant (1885), and Hugh David Politzer (1949). After him are Gordon Parks (1912), James Cagney (1899), William Styron (1925), Charles Cooley (1864), George H. Hitchings (1905), and Jean Webster (1876).

Others born in United States

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Among WRITERS In United States

Among writers born in United States, Richard Matheson ranks 110. Before him are James Jones (1921), L. Frank Baum (1856), Virginia Satir (1916), Stephen Covey (1932), Donna Leon (1942), and Will Durant (1885). After him are William Styron (1925), Jean Webster (1876), Edith Wharton (1862), Noah Gordon (1926), William Gibson (1948), and Mary Higgins Clark (1927).

American born Writers

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