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The Surprising Life of Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury looked for a way to “live forever.” Explore his writing and other more surprising influences on our history and daily lives to decide for yourself if he achieved his goal.

  • Ray's Early Writing
    Inextinguishable
  • Influencing Our Lives
    Inextinguishable
  • Humanity at the Heart
    Inextinguishable

“There is so much joy and poetry in Mr. Bradbury’s stories, joy for the universe, the love of language. Whether time is being altered through the crushing of a butterfly or an astronaut is burning up as he enters the atmosphere so as to become our shooting star, even here in these dark moments there is somehow joy. It is irresistible.”

Frank Black, founder of the Pixies

Ray Bradbury’s early life was filled with both magic and heartbreak. Ray loved fantasy authors such as Jules Verne and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as movies and carnival magic.

Ray also understood the finality of death. His grandfather and sister passed away when he was young. Ray’s early experiences with death led him to escape deeper into magic and fantasy. He also looked for a way to “Live Forever”: a phrase that is often found in his writing.

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Ray Bradbury in 1923 in Waukegan, Illinois Photo credit: Joshua Odell Editions / Capra Press

Buck Rogers Figurine by IUPUI University Library on Sketchfab

3D Model of Ray Bradbury’s Buck Rogers Figurine
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

At nine years old, Ray Bradbury was an avid collector of Buck Rogers memorabilia. After his friends made fun of his collection, Ray destroyed it, but later set out to build it once again.

Buck Rogers sparked Bradbury’s love of life and science fiction.

the_grapes_of_wrath_1939_1st_ed_cover

Ray had many literary influences, including Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne. He particularly loved The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

Ray met Steinbeck in a hotel lobby in California when he was a young man, and introduced himself as a fan. He was too tongue-tied and nervous to introduce himself as a fellow writer!

Tarot Deck by IUPUI University Library on Sketchfab

3D Model of Ray Bradbury’s Tarot Deck
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

In Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury explores the concepts of death and immortality in a peculiar way. The main characters receive a blank fortune-telling card from a mechanical Tarot Witch at the arcade; they believe this means they will perish soon.

It turns out the Tarot Witch just ran out of ink!

“Ray Bradbury’s most significant contribution to our culture is showing us that the imagination has no foreseeable boundaries.”

Steven Spielberg, director

Ray Bradbury began writing science fiction at a young age. He worked as a newspaper salesman in his 20’s, and wrote short stories in his spare time.

Futuria Fantasia (1939-1940)

Ray Bradbury began publishing this fanzine when he was 18 years old. There were four issues that featured many soon-to-be famous science fiction writers. This cover is from Volume 1, Issue 1 and was illustrated by Hannes Bok, who would later become a renowned science fiction pulp illustrator.

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Futuria Fantasia Hardcover reprint featuring original artwork from Volume 1, 2007
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1941 Retrospective Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

1941 Retrospective Hugo Award for Best Fan Writer
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

Futuria Fantasia won a Retro-Hugo award in 2016 for Best Fan Writer of 1940. The Hugo Awards are among the most important awards in science fiction. They were not held until 1953, and skipped 1954, which is why Ray did not receive any Hugo Awards that were not retrospective.

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Photo credit: The Saturday Evening Post, June 23, 1951

Saturday Evening Post, June 1951

In 1951, Ray wrote a story called “The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms” in the Saturday Evening Post. Movie director John Huston loved the story and asked Bradbury to write a screenplay for Moby-Dick. This launched Ray into fame and onto his journey to live forever.

Ray’s Early Works

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  • Dark Carnival by Ray Bradbury

    Dark Carnival

  • The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

    The Martian Chronicles

  • The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury

    The Illustrated Man

  • The Golden Apples of the Sun by Ray Bradbury

    The Golden Apples of the Sun

  • The cover of Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This edition is a drawing of a man wiping his brow. His arms and behind appear to be on fire. The background is tan.

    Fahrenheit 451

  • The October Country by Ray Bradbury

    The October Country

  • Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury

    Dandelion Wine

  • A Medicine for Melancholy by Ray Bradbury

    A Medicine for Melancholy

  • The Day it Rained Forever by Ray Bradbury

    The Day it Rained Forever

  • The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury

    The Small Assassin

  • Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

    Something Wicked This Way Comes

  • R is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury

    R is for Rocket

  • The Machineries of Joy by Ray Bradbury

    The Machineries of Joy

  • The Autumn People by Ray Bradbury

    The Autumn People

  • The Vintage Bradbury by Ray Bradbury

    The Vintage Bradbury

  • Tomorrow Midnight by Ray Bradbury

    Tomorrow Midnight

  • S is for Space by Ray Bradbury

    S is for Space

  • Twice 22 by Ray Bradbury

    Twice 22

  • I Sing the Body Electric by Ray Bradbury

    I Sing the Body Electric

  • The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

    The Halloween Tree

  • Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury

    Ray Bradbury

  • Long After Midnight by Ray Bradbury

    Long After Midnight

  • The Mummies of Guanajuato by Ray Bradbury

    The Mummies of Guanajuato

  • The Fog Horn & Other Stories by Ray Bradbury

    The Fog Horn & Other Stories

  • One Timeless Spring by Ray Bradbury

    One Timeless Spring

  • The Last Circus and the Electrocution by Ray Bradbury

    The Last Circus and the Electrocution

  • The Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury

    The Stories of Ray Bradbury

  • Dinosaur Tales by Ray Bradbury

    Dinosaur Tales

  • A Memory of Murder by Ray Bradbury

    A Memory of Murder

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“He is a long-lived inspiration of the fantasy world that tweaks our curiosity.”

Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, astronaut

Many people are most familiar with Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451, but he also loved writing about space travel. In fact, a generation of astronauts and engineers was inspired by him.

Bradbury wrote about what made us human. Space travelers saw worlds of possibility through Bradbury, and brought his message to the stars.

3D Model of Ray Bradbury’s Mariner 9 Mars Globe
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

Ray Bradbury’s love of Mars was lifelong. Two months after Bradbury died in 2012, the Mars rover Curiosity’s landing site was named Bradbury Landing in his honor. See the view from Bradbury Landing here.

Mariner 9 Mars Globe by IUPUI University Library on Sketchfab

Ray Bradbury leaning against a row of computers at a NASA facility in Houston, Texas

What country’s space program (other than the United States) did Ray Bradbury have an influence on?

Get the Answer

An award plaque to Ray Bradbury from the Russian National Olympus for "the remarkable input in the field of peace, harmony and prosperity of the mankind."

Russia!

At the height of the Space Race, tensions soared between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Neither side wanted to back down in their pursuit of putting the first person on the Moon. But both sides shared their admiration of the future of space travel Ray Bradbury envisioned in his science fiction.

The plaque above was awarded to Ray “for the remarkable input in the field of peace, harmony and prosperity of the mankind.”

“Ray challenges the imagination—indeed all the senses—in the simplest way of all—by finding the inner truths about humanity.”

Roy E. Disney

Ray Bradbury not only inspired astronauts, he helped others bring outer space down to earth. One of the visionary people he inspired was Walt Disney.

Ray Bradbury and Walt Disney were friends for many years and together they created magical, lasting worlds. Ray’s influence is seen in Spaceship Earth at Walt Disney World’s Epcot, the Halloween Tree at Disneyland, and Orbitron and Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris.

Ray Bradbury had a particularly unexpected influence on the design of Orbitron, a ride at Disneyland Paris.

He was asked to help make the ride seem faster. His solution was simple— spin the planets the opposite direction the riders are moving!

orbitron-900x681px
Orbitron Drawing and Thank You Note (c.1964) Mixed media From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

The Halloween Tree

Ray’s favorite holiday was always Halloween. Inspired by his love of magic when he was a child, he would have fantastical Halloween parties and always wear a costume. The Halloween Tree was written in 1972, and later turned into an animated short film that Ray wrote the screenplay for.

Ray Bradbury's 1994 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program, which he won for The Halloween Tree

1994 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program

Ray Bradbury won an Emmy award for his screenplay The Halloween Tree. He adapted the story from his 1972 novel with the same name.

From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

A painting of The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Featuring a black tree with orange leaves against a slightly lighter orange sky, there are jack-o-lanterns hanging from the tree and a small house in the background.

The Halloween Tree painting by Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury returned to the story of The Halloween Tree multiple times. Seen here as an orange and black tree with jack-o-lanterns hanging from the branches, it seems to have captured his imagination.

From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

A collage of three photos showing the Halloween Tree at Disneyland, one of the jack-o-lantern ornaments on the tree, and the commemorative plaque. A note is written around the photos in silver marker.

The Halloween Tree at Disneyland

In 2007, Bradbury was immortalized at Disneyland as part of their yearly Halloween decor. The thank you note above shows the tree and some of the ornaments.

Learn more here

From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

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Ray Bradbury’s Desk From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

“[Ray’s] gift of provocative thought on the human condition through the medium of science fiction stands as a beacon of light for writers of the genre. No wonder Gene Roddenberry held him in such high regard…and named a Starship the USS Bradbury in his honor.”

Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek cast member

People and their motivations were always at the heart of Ray Bradbury’s work. He often chose to set aside hard science in favor of more fantastical elements that would showcase human nature. The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man are both examples of this.

Ray wrote at a small wooden desk on a manual typewriter for many years. It is appropriate given the human elements of his story that when he got a bigger desk, he still used the smaller desk to hold unfinished paintings.

1947 Royal KMM Typewriter
From the collection of Steve Soboroff

Ray loved to do things the old-fashioned way. He never learned to drive a car, instead preferring to get around by bike or roller blades. He also preferred to do his writing on typewriters.

This typewriter is one of many that Ray owned throughout his writing career. He probably wrote much of The Illustrated Man using this machine.

ray-bradbury-typewriter-2
1947 Royal KMM Typewriter From the collection of Steve Soboroff

Ray’s Later Works

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  • Death is a Lonely Business by Ray Bradbury

    Death is a Lonely Business

  • The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone by Ray Bradbury

    The Wonderful Death of Dudley Stone

  • The Toynbee Convector by Ray Bradbury

    The Toynbee Convector

  • A Graveyard for Lunatics by Ray Bradbury

    A Graveyard for Lunatics

  • Classic Stories 1 by Ray Bradbury

    Classic Stories 1

  • Classic Stories 2 by Ray Bradbury

    Classic Stories 2

  • The Parrot Who Met Papa by Ray Bradbury

    The Parrot Who Met Papa

  • Selected From Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed by Ray Bradbury

    Selected From Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

  • Green Shadows, White Whale by Ray Bradbury

    Green Shadows, White Whale

  • Quicker Than the Eye by Ray Bradbury

    Quicker Than the Eye

  • Driving Blind by Ray Bradbury

    Driving Blind

  • From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury

    From the Dust Returned

  • Ray Bradbury Collected Stories by Ray Bradbury

    Ray Bradbury Collected Short Stories

  • The Playground by Ray Bradbury

    The Playground

  • One More for the Road by Ray Bradbury

    One More for the Road

  • Let's All Kill Constance by Ray Bradbury

    Let’s All Kill Constance

  • Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales

    Bradbury Stories: 100 of His Most Celebrated Tales

  • Is That You, Herb? by Ray Bradbury

    Is That You, Herb?

  • The Cat's Pajamas by Ray Bradbury

    The Cat’s Pajamas: Stories

  • The Sound of Thunder and Other Stories by Ray Bradbury

    The Sound of Thunder and Other Stories

  • Farewell Summer by Ray Bradbury

    Farewell Summer

  • The Dragon Who Ate His Tail by Ray Bradbury

    The Dragon Who Ate His Tail

  • Summer Morning, Summer Night by Ray Bradbury

    Summer Morning, Summer Night

  • A Pleasure to Burn by Ray Bradbury

    A Pleasure to Burn

  • The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 1 by Ray Bradbury

    The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 1

  • The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 1 by Ray Bradbury

    The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 2

  • The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 1 by Ray Bradbury

    The Collected Stories of Ray Bradbury, Volume 3

  • Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury by Ray Bradbury

    Killer, Come Back to Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury

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3D Model of Ray Bradbury’s Paintbrush
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

Ray Bradbury is most widely known for his literature, but few people know that he also liked to paint. Bradbury favored oil paintings of somber landscapes with lonesome people and trees.

Some of the covers of his books feature his art!

Paintbrush by IUPUI University Library on Sketchfab

3D Model of Ray Bradbury’s Letter Box
From the collection of the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies at Indiana University School of Liberal Arts

Ray Bradbury strove to interact with fans frequently; he responded to letters sent to him from all parts of the world.

His letterhead featured Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, England. Many believed the grand building to be his home, and Bradbury remarked that he wished it were in his essay “Go Not to Graveyards: Seek Me at Soane’s.”

Letter Box by IUPUI University Library on Sketchfab

One of the letters that Ray received in 2003 was of particular significance. It was from Thomas Steinbeck, the son of Ray’s childhood literary hero John Steinbeck.

In the letter, Thomas told Ray that the entire family had been fans of him for years. John would read to the children, and would often choose Ray’s stories. This in turn inspired Thomas to become a writer when he got older. It is amazing that Ray inspired the son of a writer that inspired him so much, and shows the enduring legacy of his writing and personality.

steinbeck-with-letter
Letter from Thomas Steinbeck to Ray Bradbury and a family photo of John Steinbeck with his third wife Elaine Scott

Ray Bradbury led an interesting life. His influence was seen across American culture, not just in writing. But has he achieved immortality?

The overwhelming number of currently active writers inspired by Ray would indicate yes. Writers like Stephen King, Barack Obama, R.L. Stine, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and countless others continue the legacy of Ray Bradbury. His spark remains alive, and will continue to burn across the pages of time for years to come.

Learn more about Bradbury’s novel Fahrenheit 451

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