Ray Bradbury, R.I.P.

Author Ray Bradbury passed away last night. His family has not released a cause of death as of this writing. He was 91.

Bradbury was considered a science fiction writer although he preferred to describe his book as fantasy. His best known book Fahrenheit 451 was released in 1953 to critical acclaim. Bradbury wrote the book by renting a typewriter at the UCLA Library for ten cents per half hour. He penned scores of short stories many of which were adapted for television in the Ray Bradbury Theater which aired first on HBO and then on the USA Network from 1985 to 1992.

In 2004, Bradbury made headlines when he expressed his displeasure with Michael Moore over borrowing the title of his signature book for his infamous documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 without permission. Although Moore apologized to Bradbury over the phone, he never changed the title of his film as Bradbury had asked. When asked by NBC's Andrea Mitchell if he wanted a piece of the box office receipts, Bradbury said, "No, I don't care about money. That's not the point. The point is that he stole something. All I want is to have it returned."

Bradbury and I have something in common. He never learned how to drive. But he was most certainly a driven man.