Don't you think I know that???
Posted on 05/30/2015 10:36:56 AM PDT by EveningStar
Harlan Ellison is still an angry young man, except he'll be 81 on May 27. He has used this anger, fueled by childhood anti-Semitism, throughout his extraordinary career as a writer of speculative fiction. This year saw the publication of his 116th and 117th (so far) books: The Top of the Volcano, a collection of his awardwinning short stories, and a graphic novelization of his original script for "The City on the Edge of Forever," widely considered the best Star Trek episode ever written.
Although Ellison's hundreds of published stories contain a wealth of Jewish characters, his most complex creation is Ellison himself. Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio in 1934 and raised in nearby Painesville, "We were not very Jewish," he said of his family. "I was a Shabbos Jew. We were Jewish when it came to the High Holy Days. The rest of the time, the only time Jewishness was brought up was when somebody called somebody a kike and there had been a fight. And that was usually me."
(Excerpt) Read more at thejewishadvocate.com ...
ping
Thanks EveningStar.
City was excellent
my favorite, though was the Doomsday Machine.
Was Ellison burned up about the two lead characters in Star Trek being portrayed by Jewish actors?
Why would he?
The Doomsday Machine was written by another outstanding Sci Fi author, Norman Spinrad.
I’ve met Ellison several times at signings down thru the years, and he has always been a very gracious gentleman...nothing you would expect after reading his essays. I always roll out his ‘F*** Christmas’ piece when the holidays roll around...as usual, he nails it.
As a kid, I always used to get Ellison mixed up with Harry Harrison. Two very different sorts, though they did (IIRC) explore similar themes in some of their stories.
The article was not well-written. Without reading more, you can get the impression Ellison was anti-semitic instead of being exposed to anti-semitism on the receiving end.
yup...just looked it up. I like some of Dorothy Fontana’s work too.
I was 17 when the first episode appeared...watched each week religiously. loved it. still do. love the new alternate reality movies too. loved the sequel series, all but voyager....except I loved Jeri Ryann in that.
Yep I liked the Doomsday Machine also. William Windom as the commodore of the USS Constellation turned in a great performance.
lived in an Irish Italian RC area...in NYC. the Italian Kids ranked out the Irish and vice versa. Had there been Jewish kids...they would have gotten their share. the only jewish people I knew owned the candy store and they liked me because I was their BEST comic book customer. other kids they told to buy it or get out...me, they knew I would read, then buy.
I actually met him once and was almost flattened by his ego. OTOH, Ray Bradbury and Jerry Pournelle (a bit loud) were pretty good guys. Bradbury was very old but still pretty sharp.
If you read the story about HOW the actual script came to be for The City on the Edge of Forever, you will find out who REALLY wrote the screenplay. But the way that the rules in Hollywood work, Ellison “wrote” the show.
Don't you think I know that???
That’s the impression I got. Self hatred is not uncommon, after all.
I do have to wonder how much of what he perceived as anti-semitism in childhood was instead kids being their usual nasty selves and picking on anyone who was the slightest bit different.
I was the same kid at McSoley’s pharmacy in 1970.
Ellison also wrote two of the best Outer Limits episodes. “Demon with a Glass Hand”, with Robert Culp, and “Quarlo”( I think that was the title) with Michael Ansara.
In the “City” episode, don’t forget that Joan Collins was in it. She was really beautiful. And the darnedest thing is that she is STILL. I believe that she may actually have a deal with the Devil.
When Voyager was on, I would refer to Jeri Ryan as “11 of 10”. And she wasn’t a spring chicken THEN.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.