Robert Bloch: biography, creativity, interesting facts from life

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Robert Bloch is a famous American writer who worked in the 20th century. He has written books in the genres of horror, fantasy and science fiction. The writer's most famous novel is "Psycho", which was filmed by Hitchcock in 1960 and received the title "Psycho" in the Russian box office. We will talk about the life and work of the creator Norman Bates in this article.

Robert Bloch: biography

Bloch was born April 5, 1917 in Chicago. And from childhood he was fascinated by the work of H. F. Lovecraft. For a while, he even corresponded with his idol. We can say that the books of the master of horror, read by little Robert, influenced all the work of the future writer.

Bloch's first story was published in 1934 in the pages of Marvel Tales magazine. The work was called Lilies, which translates as "Lilies". From that moment until 1945, the writer published more than a hundred stories in the fantasy and horror genre in various magazines. Many of these works were written in collaboration with G. Kuttner,science fiction writer, and published under the pseudonym Tarleton Fiske. By this time, Bloch was already known in certain literary circles.

1945 became a landmark year for Bloch. At this time, he was invited as a screenwriter to the popular radio show Stay Tuned for Terror. As a result, 39 episodes were released, which were based on the stories of the author and were very popular with listeners. At the same time, Arkham House publishes a huge collection of the writer's stories.

First film adaptation and science fiction works

Robert Bloch is a writer who is rightfully considered the founder of classic horror. Moreover, without his work it is impossible to imagine Stephen King. Nevertheless, Bloch did not leave the science fiction and fantasy genres either. So, in 1962, a collection of his articles from fanzines was published, which was specially prepared for the convention called World Science Fiction, which took place in the same year. At the same convention, Bloch gave a talk on "inner space", which was later published.

In 1959, a book was published that brought unprecedented success to the writer - "Psychosis". After that, Robert Bloch devoted a lot of time to Hollywood. The writer's work, one might say, stopped at that moment - the shooting of the film began. This captivated the author for a while. In addition, the success of the film increased the number of Bloch's fans.

After 1960, the active publication of various collections with the author's stories began. True, no chronology in the selectionBloch did not stick to printed works, so under the same cover you can find pre-war stories and works written after the 50s.

Bloch wrote relatively few works related to science fiction. Many of them were included in the 1962 compilation Atoms and Evil. However, witty elegance combined with dark humor leaves an incredible impression on the reader.

Private life

For the first time, Robert Bloch married a girl named Marion in order to avoid being drafted into the army. In 1943, shortly after their marriage, their daughter Sally was born. Due to the fact that Marion was diagnosed with bone tuberculosis, the young couple had to move in 1953 to the girl's hometown of Weyauwega, Wisconsin. Here she could get the support of relatives and close friends. After a long treatment, Marion was able to overcome the disease. However, the couple separated in 1963. After the divorce, the daughter stayed with her father.

A year after the divorce, in 1964, the writer met Eleanor Alexander, who had recently been widowed. They began a stormy and impetuous romance, which ended on October 16 of the same year with a wedding. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Tahiti. And upon their return in 1965, they decided to move to London. This marriage turned out to be very happy for the writer. Robert lived with Eleanor in harmony until his death.

Obituary

Robert Bloch in August 1994 committed an act that shocked manyhis fans - he published his obituary. Later, this act was called a joke by someone who wrote exclusively about death all his life. However, exactly one month after this publication, the writer died of cancer in Los Angeles.

Bloch was cremated and his ashes were buried in the Hall of the Dead at Westwood Cemetery (Los Angeles). Later, in 2012, his wife Eleonora was also buried there.

Awards

Won many literary awards Robert Bloch. The best works of the writer, among which are mostly stories, received such book awards as:

• "Hugo" - 1959, 1984;
• Forry - 1974;
• World Fantasy Award - 1975, 1978;
• Balrog - 1980, 1982;
• British Fantasy Awards - 1983;
• Bam Stoker Award - 1987, 1989

And this is not all the awards that Bloch received during his lifetime.

Cycle "Psychosis"

The works of this cycle are the most famous that Robert Bloch wrote. The best books of the writer are these, as many fans of the author's work believe. Sometimes several collections of short stories are also named. But let's talk about the book that brought Bloch worldwide fame.

In total, the cycle includes three books: "Psychosis", "Psychosis 2" and "House of the Psychopath". All of them are united by one hero - Norman Bates. This is a middle-aged bachelor whose life is subject to the desires of an overbearing mother. Together they keep a small motel off the road.

In the first twoparts play the main role of Norman himself, and the third takes place 10 years after his death, when the enterprising neighbor of a psychopath decides to organize tourist excursions dedicated to the life and crimes of Bates.

The sequels did not manage to become as famous as the first part of the cycle, however, they also remain popular to this day.

Robert Bloch: interesting facts

There is a version according to which the protagonist of the novel "Psychosis" Norman Bates has a prototype. He is Ed Gein - one might say, the most famous killer in the history of the United States. The perpetrator was arrested two years before the publication of the novel, in 1957, for the murder of a woman. During the search, the police managed to find furniture, clothes, cutlery made from parts of human bodies in his house. Psychiatrists have suggested that Gein was trying to create a woman's costume. Having made it, he could change into his dead mother, who was described by acquaintances as a woman of puritanical morals, seeking to constantly control her son.

Bloch's house was close to Gein's. The writer was familiar with his case, but did not know the details. Nevertheless, when the novel was over, the writer himself was very surprised at how similar Norman Bates turned out to be to Gein in his motives and actions.

We have already mentioned a certain friendship between Howard Lovecraft and Bloch, but their communication was not limited to simple correspondence. In 1935, Lovecraft wrote a work based on Bloch. The story was called "Dwelling in the Dark". Bloch did not remain indebted and soon published the story "Star Tramp", which was written in the style of the Cthulhu Mythos.

Thus, Bloch was a fairly popular writer of the twentieth century, based on the works of which 15 films were made.