Science fiction writer Harlan Ellison dies at 84

Harlan Ellison.
(Image credit: Courtesy Steve Barber via AP)

Harlan Ellison, the award-winning science fiction and fantasy writer, died Thursday. He was 84.

Ellison's death was confirmed by his fifth wife, Susan, who said he died in his sleep. He wrote novels, comic books, television scripts, and short stories, with his first published piece an article for the Cleveland News when he was 15. Born in Cleveland in 1934, Ellison worked numerous jobs, including as a bodyguard and truck driver, before attending Ohio State University; he was expelled in 1953 after trying to punch a professor critical of his writing.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.