Fun Facts Friday: Alfred Bester

Alfred Bester (18 December, 1913 – 30 September, 1987) was an american author of science fiction books as well as a scriptwriter for TV, radio magazines, comic strips and comic books.

“Bester” by http://www.psu.edu/dept/scifi/manufacturers.shtml. Via Wikipedia.

1. Mr Bester was a first generation American born to Austrian parents.
2. The first story, written when Mr. Bester was 25, won an amateur story competition. The story was called The Broken Axiom and appeared in the April 1939 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories magazine.
3. In 1936 he married Rolly Goulko, a successful Broadway, TV and radio actress (later becoming an advertising executive).
4. Bester worked for DC Comics writing for Superman, Green Lantern among other titles.
5. Green Lantern’s oath (“In the brightest day, in darkest night”) is credited to him.
6. Some of the comic strips that Mr. Bester wrote for were The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician. He worked on the strips while their created, Lee Falk, served in World War II.
7. In 1946 Mrs. Bester, a successful radio actress at the time, mentioned to her husband that a show called Nick Carter, Master Detective was looking for submission. This started Mr. Bester’s work as a radio scrip writer.
8. Bester was named the 9^th Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2001.
9. Harry Harrison, another Sci Fi author, wrote that “Alfred Bester was one of the handful of writers who invented modern science fiction”.
10. In the TV show Babylon 5, actor Walter Koenig played Psi Cop named Alfred Bester, an homage to the author by creator J. Michael Straczynski since telepathy was a recurring theme in his stories.

Zohar – Man of la Book