Science fiction author Harlan Ellison has passed in his sleep at 84. He was a prolific, brilliant writer whose at times abrasive personality and opinions could elicit controversy. He burst into TV with a couple Outer Limits classics, Soldier and Demon with the Glass Hand which bear more than a passing similarity to the Terminator films, whereby Ellison sued and won credit for. He wrote the greatest Star Trek Episode, City on the Edge of Forever. Some of his talent was wasted on standard TV fare, but he lent his consulting voice to the classic Babylon 5 and the glorious Twilight Zone revival in the 1980s while he loved the X Files. He was not afraid to express his opinion on a myriad of topics.
I met him at a book signing 20 years ago for Harlan Ellison's Watching and as much as he dominated his line of fans, he could be gentle and playful with kids as he offered them peeps candy.
This winner of 8 Hugo SciFi awards and countless others including the Writers Guild of America has been silenced, yet his words live on mightily.
