Legendary writer George Clayton Johnson passes away at age 86.
After an initial false report about his passing earlier this week, it was confirmed today that legendary American science fiction and fantasy writer George Clayton Johnson died today at the age of 86 after a battle with cancer.
Johnson was a member of the mythical group of California fantasy writers whose ranks included the late Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont and Ray Bradbury as well as William F. Nolan, whom Johnson would go on to co-write the novel LOGAN’S RUN with, which was later adapted into a popular feature film and short-lived TV series.
Though he also wrote an episode of the original STAR TREK series (“The Man Trap”), for genre fans, his efforts penning 7 episodes of Rod Serling‘s landmark television series THE TWILIGHT ZONE are of the greatest historical heft. Johnson’s work on TZ offered some of the most melancholy and moving of the entire run; the underlying themes of humanity, aging and identity aligned closely with Serling’s own.
Who could forget such unforgettable Johnson-penned entries in THE TWILIGHT ZONE like “Execution”, starring Russell Johnson as a scientist whose time machine accidentally drags back a psychopath on the verge of hanging; “Kick the Can”, a heart-breaking, whimsical allegory about the elderly residents of a retirement home granted the chance to become children again (this gem was later re-filmed by Steven Spielberg for 1983’s TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE); “The Four of Us are Dying”, in which a thug with the ability to chang his face at will, slimes his way through the underbelly of the city, grifting as he goes and, of course, the masterful “Nothing in the Dark” in which a young Robert Redford seeks refuge with an old lady who is terrified of letting in “Mr. Death”.
And while it is terribly sad to see yet another living legend from dark fantasy’s Golden Age leave us, Johnson lived his life as a rebel, an outsider; he lived a full, long life and he lived it his way, by his rules and managed to make some historically vital works of intelligent, sophisticated fiction along the way.
He will be missed but his words and ideas will endure long after all of us have joined him.
Rest in peace, Mr. Johnson….
“You see. No shock. No engulfment. No tearing asunder. What you feared would come like an explosion is like a whisper. What you thought was the end is the beginning.”
