Biography
The British writer, whose limitless fantasy presented the readers of all over the world such masterpieces of a fantastic genre as "Guide for hitchhiking in the Galaxy", "Restaurant at the end of the Universe", "all the best, and thanks for the fish!" and many others. The name of Douglas Adams's fiction is glorified by cash-based Hollywood filmms of his works, which to this day cause the interest of producers and are embodied in new films.Childhood and youth
English writer, playwright and screenwriter Douglas Noel Adams born on March 11, 1952 in Cambridge, United Kingdom. Parents Janet Donovan and Douglas Adams immediately after the birth of the son moved to Essex County, where their second child was born - Daughter Susan.
Embed from getty imagesWhen Douglas-younger turned 5 years old, Janet divorced her husband and, having taken the children, settled in Brentwid, Essex. Here the boy graduated from high school Prime Rose Hill in 1970. His passion for writing began at the time of apprenticeship. Young Adams quite succeeded in the composition lessons on which the guys wrote stories, and managed to get the highest marks from a strict teacher. In 1962 and 1965, the stories of Douglas were even published in school journals.
In 1971, the young man enters the college of St. John in Cambridge. Before this, Adams decides to travel to Istanbul hitchhiking, since the guy did not have money. He got to the Turkish city, but from there the unlucky traveler expelled the city authorities. Adams also traveled through the whole of Europe and once snapped in Austrian Innsbruck right in the middle of a clean field. Slightly intoxicated, lying and looking at the stars, he thought:
"Does anyone really have to write a guide to the Galaxy for traveling by hitchhiking."He would know then that this idea would bring him world success.
In 1974, Douglas received a bachelor's degree in English literature. The graduate began to cooperate with television for writing scenarios to TV shows and sketches. In particular, he worked with a popular comic-group "Monti Paiton". However, all this activity did not bring all this activity, he had nothing to pay a guy for housing, he lived at Mom.
Embed from getty imagesIn 1976, the situation with money was completely deplorable. The idea of Adams on the formulation of a comedy fantastic show None of the producers did not perceive seriously. The writer was completely desperate when unexpectedly received support in the face of Symeon Brett's radio industry worked on BBC. With his approval, Adams developed the scenario of his author's show "Journey to the Galaxy Hitchhiker", it entered the radio fleet on March 8, 1978.
Despite the skepticism of producers who "deployed" the premiere at the most unclaimed time, the show "shot": newspapers responded positively, and soon the audience ratings began to grow. In the biography of Adams, a light strip began.
Books
After all 4 series went on the air, Douglas, who by then he received the position of a radio framework, received a proposal from the publisher that he wanted to turn the show to the book work. So in 1979 the first book of Douglas Adams "Guide for traveling by hitchhiking in the Galaxy" was published. In the first 3 months after the release of the novel, 250 thousand copies were sold, and the author became the youngest writer who received the Golden Pan literary award (awarded for a million book sold).The novel, according to critics, really turned out to be above all silence: the original story, arrested by a thin English humor (many phrases were separated by quotes). The main character - Earthman Arthur Dent and his friend Ford Prefect leave the Earth before its destruction by Vogonami - green alien men. Vogona torture friends, and then expel into space, where they pick them up a certain spacecraft - so begins their full adventure journey through the galaxy.
In 1980, the author writes the second book of the cycle - "Restaurant at the end of the Universe", in which the adventures of Arthur and his friends continue. The third part of the cycle is "life, the universe and everything else" saw the light in 1982. At the same time, the works of Adams hit the list of American bestsellers, published by New York Times. It is believed that the author in the United States did not reach such success since Yana Fleming - the legendary creator of books about James Bond.
Embed from getty imagesIn 1984, Douglas was written by the fourth cycle book "Total Good, and Thanks for Fish!", And in 1992 - the final work "mainly harmless." Adams did not love these two works and did not love and openly declared in an interview about the earlier book:
"I was not worth writing (her), and I knew it, even when she worked on her. I did everything that could, but it still was not, you know, as they say, from the soul. "However, it is known in which direction the inspiration of the writer has flowed. In the 80s, he was seriously carried away by computers and accepted the offer of Infocom on the development of a computer game based on the "Galactic Cycle", which was on sale in 1984. Also, already fastened with the theme of fiction, the Briton writes in 1984 with each other radio-seeer John Lloyd Book "Meaning Of Liff", and in 1990 it is continued - "The Deeper Meaning Of Liff".
The author leaves fantastics in a series of books about Dirka Gentle. The series is written in the mixing of the genres of detective, mysticism and humor. Not all adams fans understood the favorite author after the first book "Holistic Detective Ding Ding Genley" (1987), but he still wrote two novel-continued: "Long Tea Party" (1988) and "Salmon Doubt" (2002).
Embed from getty imagesThe last book came out after the author's death. Also, Douglas Adams did not see and embodied the dream of his recent years - the shieldation of the "guidebook ...". Adamsu managed to interest the Disney Studio in the formulation of the film in his cult novel, and he began working on a scenario, which was completed by Garth Jennings and Carey Kirkpatrick. The painting "Highway on the Galaxy", which starred such stars like John Malkovich, Stephen Fry, Zoe Diagel, reached the screens in 2005.
Also in the bibliography of the writer there are books written in collaboration: with Mike Kavarda about rare and endangered animal species ("Last Chance to See"), with Gram Cepman ("The Private Life of Genghis Khan") and others.
Personal life
The writer did not hear Lovelass. It is known only about two women who have become his muses - about both he mentions in his work. The first is the writer Sally Emerson. Their novel began in the early 1980s, the woman then left her husband, by the way, who studied in the same school with Douglas Adams - Peter Stothard.
Embed from getty imagesHowever, for a long time from the wife, Sally did not leave and soon returned to the Lono of the family. And the worshipers of fantastic separation friends introduced a lawyer Jane Belsson. The personal life of the pair was not easy, the lovers parted and converged again, was in their relationship and torn the engagement.
Finally, on November 25, 1991, Jane and Douglas became her husband and his wife. And in June 1994 they had a daughter of Polly Jane Rocky Adams. In 1999, the family moved from London to the United States, chosen by the California town of Santa Barbara.
Death
The death of the writer came suddenly - he died on May 11, 2001 at home in Santa Barbara due to a heart attack. Douglas Adams in the Highgate Cemetery in London was buried.Embed from getty imagesThe grave of the writer decorates a modest monument from gray stone without a photo, and next to the pot with numerous handles and pencils. This fans of his creativity leave their copies, giving a tribute to the memory of his favorite author.
Interesting Facts
- Douglas Adams almost always broke the deadlines for putting his manuscripts. This habitity hated all publishers and fought her to the last.
- In 2005, the name of the writer Douglasadams was assigned asteroid.
- Every year, on May 25, the fans of the fiction marks the day of the towels, the subject, the author in the series "Highway in the Galaxy".
- In 1998, Adams founded The Digital Villiage - a Computer Game Production Company.
- The writer ratified the environmental protection and the salvation of rare animal species.
- The science fiction was a passionate guitar lover and collecting this tool: he had 24 guitars for the left.
Bibliography
- 1979 - "Guide for hitchhiking in the Galaxy"
- 1980 - "Restaurant at the end of the Universe"
- 1982 - "Life, Universe and everything else"
- 1984 - "Total good, and thanks for the fish!"
- 1992 - "Mainly harmless"
- 1987 - "Holds Detective Ding Gentley"
- 1988 - "Long Tea Party"
- 2002 - Salmon Doubt