Ray Russell

This article is about the American writer. For the guitar player, see Ray Russell (musician). For the politician and professor, see Carl Ray Russell.
Ray Russell
Born(1924-09-04)September 4, 1924
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedMarch 15, 1999(1999-03-15) (aged 74)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation
  • Novelist
  • screenwriter
GenreHorror
SpouseAda Szczepanski
Children2

Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.[1]

His most famous short fiction is "Sardonicus", which appeared in the January 1961 issue of Playboy magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for William Castle's film version, titled Mr. Sardonicus. American writer Stephen King called "Sardonicus" "perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written".[2] "Sardonicus" was part of a trio of stories with "Sanguinarius" and "Sagittarius".

  1. ^ Queen, Ellery (1974). Ellery Queen's Mystery Anthology. Vol. 28. New York: Dial Press. p. 227.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference nyt was invoked but never defined (see the help page).