Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter and one of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers. Born on August 22nd, 1920, in Waukegan, Illinois. His mother, Esther, was a Swedish immigrant and his father, Leonard, was of English ancestry. He was given the middle name Douglas after the actor Douglas Fairbanks, one of the biggest stars in Hollywood during the 1910s and 1920s.
The Bradbury family lived in Tucson Arizona for a year from 1926 to 1927 then it was back to Waukegan. They tried Tucson again from 1932 to 1933 and then on to Los Angeles in 1934. The 14-year-old loved Hollywood and met radio star George Burns. Most people know of Ray Bradbury the writer, but did you know his first paid gig as a writer came when the 14-year-old sold a joke to Burns to use on the Burns and Allen radio show which ran from 1933 to 1950, when Burns and Allen then transitioned to television.
Today’s story comes from the Summer 1944 edition of Planet Stories, which was sold for 20 cents. Turn with me to page 51 for Morgue Ship by Ray Bradbury…
Listen to Morgue Ship