31 Facts About Alfred Bester

Alfred Bester was an American science fiction author, TV and radio screenwriter, magazine editor and scriptwriter for comics.

Alfred Bester is best remembered for his science fiction, including The Demolished Man, winner of the inaugural Hugo Award in 1953.

Alfred Bester was born in Middletown, New York City, on December 18,1913.

Alfred Bester's father, James J Bester, owned a shoe store and was a first-generation American whose parents were both Austrian Jews.

Alfred Bester's mother, Belle, was born in Russia and spoke Yiddish as her first language before coming to America as a youth.

Alfred Bester was James and Belle's second and final child, and only son.

Alfred Bester attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the Philomathean Society.

Rolly Alfred Bester was a Broadway, radio and television actress, the first to play the role of Lois Lane, which she did on the radio program The Adventures of Superman.

Alfred Bester was very nearly a lifelong New Yorker, although he lived in Europe for a little over a year in the mid-1950s and moved to exurban Pennsylvania with Rolly in the early 1980s.

Alfred Bester's first published short story was "The Broken Axiom", which appeared in the April 1939 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories after winning an amateur story competition.

Years later, Alfred Bester interviewed Heinlein for Publishers Weekly and the latter told of changing his mind for Astounding.

In 1942, two of his science fiction editors got work at DC Comics, and invited Alfred Bester to contribute to various DC titles.

Consequently, Alfred Bester left the field of short story writing and began working for DC Comics as a writer, including, and, under the editorship of Julius Schwartz, Green Lantern, among other titles.

Alfred Bester created super-villain Solomon Grundy and the version of the Green Lantern Oath that begins "In brightest day, In blackest night".

Alfred Bester was the writer for Lee Falk's comic strips The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician while their creator served in World War II.

One theory claims that Alfred Bester was responsible for giving the Phantom his surname, "Walker".

Alfred Bester later wrote for The CBS Radio Mystery Theater.

In early 1950, after eight years away from the field, Alfred Bester resumed writing science fiction short stories.

Alfred Bester creates a harshly capitalistic, hierarchical and competitive social world that exists without deceit: a society in which the right person with some skill and curiosity can access your memories, secrets, fears and past misdeeds more swiftly than even you.

Alfred Bester received a substantial sum of money from a movie studio for the film option to the book.

Alfred Bester published three short stories each in 1958 and 1959, including 1958's "The Men Who Murdered Mohammed" and 1959's "The Pi Man", both of which were nominated for Hugo Awards.

In 1959, Alfred Bester adapted his 1954 story "Fondly Fahrenheit" to television as Murder and the Android.

Alfred Bester returned to Sunday Showcase March 5,1960, with an original teleplay, Turn the Key Deftly.

Still, as senior editor of Holiday, Alfred Bester was able to introduce occasional science fiction elements into the non-fiction magazine.

Alfred Bester's eyesight began failing in the mid-1970s, making writing increasingly difficult, and another layoff from published writing took place between early 1975 and early 1979.

Alfred Bester arrived attired in well-worn high-top sneakers, jeans whose major characteristic was that they looked comfortable, and a sports coat whose better days had been years before.

Alfred Bester carried what must have been the world's largest jock bag, crammed with newly-purchased bottles of wine that did not quite fit into the zippered closing.

Alfred Bester sat down behind a long table with the other writers and managed to behave conventionally for about half the discussion.

Alfred Bester published two short stories in 1979 and rang in the 1980s with the publication of two new novels: Golem, and The Deceivers.

In 1985, it was announced that Alfred Bester would be a Guest of Honor at the 1987 Worldcon, to be held in Brighton, England.

Alfred Bester died less than a month after the convention from complications related to his broken hip.