A Sad Day for Sci-Fi Fans

[Epona]

I just heard that Douglas Adams (creator of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy) has died of a heart attack at age 49.
This is a real loss to the sci-fi world, a very sad piece of news.

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Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.

Epona of The Laughing Hyenas

[WOLFGIR]

Originally posted by Epona: I just heard that Douglas Adams (creator of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy) has died of a heart attack at age 49. This is a real loss to the sci-fi world, a very sad piece of news.

WHAT!!!!

Oh dear no....

That is truelly sad news.

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WOLF WINS EVERY FIGHT BUT ONE, AND IN THAT ONE, HE DIES

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

I loved the series.






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[Lady Avalon]

I loved the series also. What sad news!!!

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Seeker of Truth

[adam warlock]

Originally posted by Epona: I just heard that Douglas Adams (creator of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy) has died of a heart attack at age 49. This is a real loss to the sci-fi world, a very sad piece of news.

sad indeed
may he rest in peace



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[Fljotsdale]

Oh no!
No more Zaphod.
No more Ford Prefect..
No more... sob...

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Smile! Life is too short for bitching!

Fljotsdale

[Row Firecam]

Sigh so sad, may he rest in peace at the last restaurant at the end of the universe...

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Keldorn's Younger brother

[WOLFGIR]

I am going to Miss Zaphod....

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WOLF WINS EVERY FIGHT BUT ONE, AND IN THAT ONE, HE DIES

[RudeDawg]

RIP He will be sorely missed. "So long, Mr. Adams. And Thanks for the Fish"

The New York Times article follows.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/obit...rchpv=aponline

Date: May 12, 2001
Douglas Adams, Author of "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy," Dies at 49
The Associated Press

Science fiction writer Douglas Adams, died today of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, Calif.

Filed at 8:45 a.m. ET

LONDON (AP) -- Douglas Adams, whose cult science fiction comedy ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' drew millions of fans and spawned a mini-industry, has died at age 49.

The British-born Adams died Friday of a heart attack in Santa Barbara, Calif., his London spokeswoman, Sophie Astin, said Saturday.

The ``Hitchhiker's Guide,'' which began life as a British Broadcasting Corp. radio series in 1978, is a satirical adventure about a group of interplanetary travelers; it opens with the Earth being destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway.

It was turned into a book, which sold 14 million copies around the world, and later into a television series.

The book was followed by several sequels, including ``The Restaurant at the End of the Universe,'' ``Life, the Universe and Everything'' and ``So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish.''

The books blended satire, memorably named characters such as Zaphod Beeblebrox and Marvin the Paranoid Android, and witty philosophy, at one point supplying the answer to ``the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.'' The answer was 42.

Adams later recalled how he first thought of the book during a teen-age trip around Europe.

``I was hitchhiking around Europe in 1971, when I was 18, with this copy of 'A Hitchhiker's Guide to Europe,''' he said.

``At one point I found myself lying in the middle of a field, a little bit drunk, when it occurred to me that somebody should write a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It didn't occur to me that it might actually be me years later.''

The book came 24th in a poll of the top 100 books of the 20th century conducted by the Waterstone's bookstore chain and Channel 4 television.

Geoffrey Perkins, the BBC's head of comedy, called Adams ``absolutely one of the most creative geniuses to ever work in radio comedy.''

``He probably wrote one of the greatest radio comedy series ever, certainly the most imaginative,'' he added.

Born in Cambridge, England, in 1952 and educated at Cambridge University, Adams began his career as a writer and script editor at the BBC, including work on BBC TV's ``Doctor Who.''

He followed the ``Hitchhiker's Guide'' with several books about ``holistic detective'' Dirk Gently; ``Last Chance to See,'' a book about endangered species; and, with John Lloyd, the hilarious alternative dictionary ``The Meaning of Liff.''

He also founded a multimedia company, Digital Village, which produced the ``Starship Titanic'' computer game and an online travel guide inspired by the ``Hitchhiker's Guide.''

A frequent radio broadcaster on science and technology, Adams had been working for several years on a screenplay for an oft-delayed ``Hitchhiker's Guide'' movie.

In August 1996, he told a technology conference in New Orleans that the main problem in adapting the series for film was not special effects.

``It's the nature of the story, which is picaresque, which translates to one damn thing after another, and another, and another.

``It's very hard to translate that to a 100-minute feature film,'' he said. ``Every script has a beginning and a middle and an end.''

Adams married Jane Belson, a lawyer, in 1991. The couple, who had lived in Santa Barbara since 1999, had a daughter, Polly.


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The RudeDawg
Known in these Forgotten Realms as Perin LightEyes
and my girlfriends, Pamila and Pfil

[This message has been edited by RudeDawg (edited 05-12-2001).]

[Cloudbringer]

Originally posted by Epona: I just heard that Douglas Adams (creator of Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy) has died of a heart attack at age 49. This is a real loss to the sci-fi world, a very sad piece of news.

Oh that IS sad news! I love his work. But thank you for telling us, Epona.

Cloudy, who shall get a towel and ponder Life the Universe and Everything for a spell....sigh....

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Raindancer of the Laughing Hyenas Clan
Storm-Queen
StormCloud of the Black Knight
Heart Mind Soul Forever