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'''Harlan Ellison''' {{born|27|May|1934|}} is an extremely prolific American author. Although he has written much that would be called science fiction, he disdains the use of that term. Considered one of the giants of the field by both fans and professionals, his body of work has touched movies, television shows, computer games, and of course that most venerable of media, books. Ellison does not suffer fools at all, much less gladly, and feuds have arisen over his mistreatment (perceived and real) at the hands of those for whom he has worked. The most famous of these is probably his feud with [[Gene Roddenberry]], who Ellison believed ruined the story that became "[[The City on the Edge of Forever]]", arguably the most famous [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original series]] episode. Roddenberry added insult to injury by refusing to change the screen credit to "Cordwainer Bird", a nom de plume comparable to the venerable "Alan Smithee"; Ellison uses the Bird alias to signal works he feels have been impossibly compromised by others. On top of that refusal, Roddenberry claimed credit for saving the story for years.
 
'''Harlan Ellison''' {{born|27|May|1934|}} is an extremely prolific American author. Although he has written much that would be called science fiction, he disdains the use of that term. Considered one of the giants of the field by both fans and professionals, his body of work has touched movies, television shows, computer games, and of course that most venerable of media, books. Ellison does not suffer fools at all, much less gladly, and feuds have arisen over his mistreatment (perceived and real) at the hands of those for whom he has worked. The most famous of these is probably his feud with [[Gene Roddenberry]], who Ellison believed ruined the story that became "[[The City on the Edge of Forever]]", arguably the most famous [[Star Trek: The Original Series|original series]] episode. Roddenberry added insult to injury by refusing to change the screen credit to "Cordwainer Bird", a nom de plume comparable to the venerable "Alan Smithee"; Ellison uses the Bird alias to signal works he feels have been impossibly compromised by others. On top of that refusal, Roddenberry claimed credit for saving the story for years.
   
The pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird," first used by Ellison in the late 1950s for his "soft core" pornographic fiction, was also used on at least three occasions for various television episodes he wrote, but disowned due to rewrites. "Cordwainer" comes from Ellison's admiration for [[science fiction]] writer Cordwainer Smith; "Bird" is from the dismissive euphemism "for the birds," as well as "flipping the bird," the extension of the middle finger in the direction of someone or something that displeases.
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The pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird," first used by Ellison in the late 1950s for his "soft core" pornographic fiction, was also used on at least three occasions for various television episodes he wrote, but disowned due to rewrites. "Cordwainer" comes from Ellison's admiration for science fiction writer Cordwainer Smith; "Bird" is from the dismissive euphemism "for the birds," as well as "flipping the bird," the extension of the middle finger in the direction of someone or something that displeases.
   
 
Episodes bearing the pseudonym:
 
Episodes bearing the pseudonym:

Revision as of 04:44, 15 March 2007

Template:Realworld Harlan Ellison (born 27 May 1934; age 89) is an extremely prolific American author. Although he has written much that would be called science fiction, he disdains the use of that term. Considered one of the giants of the field by both fans and professionals, his body of work has touched movies, television shows, computer games, and of course that most venerable of media, books. Ellison does not suffer fools at all, much less gladly, and feuds have arisen over his mistreatment (perceived and real) at the hands of those for whom he has worked. The most famous of these is probably his feud with Gene Roddenberry, who Ellison believed ruined the story that became "The City on the Edge of Forever", arguably the most famous original series episode. Roddenberry added insult to injury by refusing to change the screen credit to "Cordwainer Bird", a nom de plume comparable to the venerable "Alan Smithee"; Ellison uses the Bird alias to signal works he feels have been impossibly compromised by others. On top of that refusal, Roddenberry claimed credit for saving the story for years.

The pseudonym "Cordwainer Bird," first used by Ellison in the late 1950s for his "soft core" pornographic fiction, was also used on at least three occasions for various television episodes he wrote, but disowned due to rewrites. "Cordwainer" comes from Ellison's admiration for science fiction writer Cordwainer Smith; "Bird" is from the dismissive euphemism "for the birds," as well as "flipping the bird," the extension of the middle finger in the direction of someone or something that displeases.

Episodes bearing the pseudonym:

  • "The Price of Doom" (aired: 12 October 1964) for Voyage To The Bottom of The Sea.
  • "You Can't Get There From Here" (aired: 11 April 1968) for The Flying Nun (Ellison avows he wrote this episode only to get a chance to ask Sally Field on a date).
  • "Voyage of Discovery" (Ellison's original title was "Phoenix Without Ashes") (aired: 22 September 1973), the pilot episode of the series The Starlost, which Ellison created. The series carried the credit "Created by Cordwainer Bird."
  • Cordwainer Bird was also a character in Ellison's script "Who Killed Alex Debbs?" (aired: 25 October 1963) for the series Burke's Law. Bird was played by Sammy Davis, Jr.

Ellison also claimed that a top grossing science fiction film, The Terminator was derivative of two of his screenplays, Demon With a Glass Hand and Soldier, both produced as excellent episodes of the 1963 television series, The Outer Limits. A lawsuit resulted in the appearance of his name in the end credits for The Terminator. Most recently, Ellison served as a creative consultant to the wildly popular (among science fiction fans, at least) series Babylon 5, the post apocalyptic film A Boy and His Dog is based on an Ellison story, and a computer game was recently written based on another story, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.

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