Theodore Sturgeon

1918–1985

2 series 2 books in order 1950–1992

Theodore Sturgeon, born Edward Hamilton Waldo in Staten Island, New York, changed his name in 1929 to match his mother's surname after her second marriage and to reflect his nickname, "Teddy." His mother, Christine Hamilton Dicker Sturgeon, was a writer, watercolorist, and poet who published under the pseudonym Felix Sturgeon. As an adolescent, Sturgeon wanted to be a circus acrobat but suffered from rheumatic fever. From 1935 to 1938, he worked as a sailor in the merchant marine. He sold his first story in 1938 and his first science fiction story, "Ether Breather," was published in 1939. Some early stories were published under the pseudonym "E. Waldo Hunter." He married Dorothe Fillingame in 1940 and later worked in the U.S. Army during World War II. He wrote for advertising and published his first novel, The Dreaming Jewels, in 1950. He married Marion McGahan in 1951 and had four children. He ghost-wrote the Ellery Queen mystery novel The Player on the Other Side in 1963 and wrote screenplays for Star Trek and Land of the Lost. Two of his stories were adapted for The New Twilight Zone. He remained in a committed relationship with Jayne Engelhart Tannehill until his death. Sturgeon died in May 1985 of lung fibrosis in Eugene, Oregon.

Born

1918

Active years

1950–1992

Known for

Masters of Science Fiction, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories

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