Remembering Ray Bradbury: ‘The essence of life is love’

The New York Times writes:

In 1934 the family moved to Los Angeles, where Mr. Bradbury became a movie buff, sneaking into theaters as often as nine times a week. Encouraged by a high school English teacher and the professional writers he met at the Los Angeles chapter of the Science Fiction League, he began a lifelong routine of turning out at least a thousand words a day on his typewriter.

While known as a Science Fiction author, Bradbury didn’t think of himself that way. The Los Angeles Times writes:

“I’m not a science fiction writer,” he was frequently quoted as saying. “I’ve written only one book of science fiction [“Fahrenheit 451”]. All the others are fantasy. Fantasies are things that can’t happen, and science fiction is about things that can happen.”

Actor Joe Mantegna played on stage in Bradbury’s “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit,” ultimately starring in the movie that was released in 1998. The two were friends over the course of 40 years. He talked to KCRW’s Steve Chiotakis about his memories of Bradbury.

Organizer of 2010’s Ray Bradbury Week and a good friend of the author, Steven Paul Leiva, remembers him as “the most generous of people I’ve ever met in my life… and the mind was always sharp.” Listen below:

Below, Warren Olney talks to official Bradbury biographer and friend Sam Weller. Weller says “I love him and he’s changed my life in incalculable ways… he was very grateful to be given life.”

Though none of his titles received a Pulitzer Prize, the author received a special citation from the board in 2007. Video below shows him celebrating the prize here at “Mystery and Imagination Bookstore” in Glendale.

talked to the author back in 2002.

LA Observed rediscovered this video, where, on his 90th birthday, Bradbury says “the essence of life is love… ”

Many are taking to Twitter to remember the writer: