Arthur C. Clarke with his satellite antenna at home in Colombo, Sri Lanka in January 1977.
Science-fiction writer, inventor and futurist Arthur C. Clarke has died, leaving fans bereft at the loss of his brilliance and creativity.
Clarke died early Wednesday after suffering from breathing problems, the Associated Press reported. He was 90 years old. He suffered from post-polio syndrome and was confined to a wheelchair toward the end of his life.
Clarke wrote more than 100 sci-fi books, including "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Science-fiction writer, inventor and futurist Arthur C. Clarke has died, leaving fans bereft at the loss of his brilliance and creativity.
Clarke died early Wednesday after suffering from breathing problems, the Associated Press reported. He was 90 years old. He suffered from post-polio syndrome and was confined to a wheelchair toward the end of his life.
Clarke wrote more than 100 sci-fi books, including "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Clarke hosted such investigative programs as "Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World", "World of Strange Powers" and "Mysterious Universe."
Among his many honors, Clarke was one of only 17 writers ever named a Science Fiction Grand Master.
In addition, he received the UNESCO Kalinga Award for advancing interest in science, as well as nominations for both an Academy Award nomination, for "2001" (shared with Stanley Kubrick), and a Nobel Peace Prize, for laying the conceptual groundwork for the creation of orbital communications satellites.
With such an impressive resume, it would be easy to forget that Clarke's greatest significance was as one of the 20th century's great popularizers of scientific thought, especially through the medium of science fiction.
Clarke so relentlessly promoted the exploration of space, while celebrating cultural and geographic differences here on Earth, that he was called "our solar system's first regionalist."
Thanks to his deep love for his adopted Sri Lanka and its people, Clarke became a true citizen of the global village he helped to create.
The international popularity of his work transcended political boundaries, allowing him to bridge the chasm between the U.S. space program, the Russians and his native United Kingdom throughout the Cold War era.
How many men of the 20th century could count both Alexei Leonov and Walter Cronkite as friends?
In 2007, Clarke celebrated his 90th birthday.
"Sometimes I am asked how I would like to be remembered," Clarke said at the celebration. "I have had a diverse career as a writer, underwater explorer and space promoter. Of all these I would like to be remembered as a writer."
He listed three wishes on his birthday: for the world to embrace cleaner energy resources, for a lasting peace in his adopted home, Sri Lanka, and for evidence of extraterrestrial beings.
"I have always believed that we are not alone in this universe," Clarke said.
Humans are waiting until extraterrestrial beings "call us or give us a sign," he said. "We have no way of guessing when this might happen. I hope sooner rather than later."
3 comments:
True story.
It was 1989. Kevin was about to go into the Marines. He was in his empty apartment, had no money and had stopped paying his bills since he was going into the Marines anyway. His cable was shut off, so he had gotten some books. Clarke's 2063 had just come out. Kevin read it. And he read the inside jacket, saying that Clarke lived in Sri Lanka.
So, figuring his phone was about to be shut off in a day or so, so what the hell, he picked it up and decided to start calling international operators. Don't know how he did it, but somehow, he got Clarke's butler (if that's the right word for it) on the phone. He asked for Clarke. Jeeves told him that Mr. Clarke was out taking his walk. But he'd be back in about an hour. So, about an hour later, Kevin went through the whole process again.
And he got Arther C. Clarke on the phone.
It wasn't a terribly long conversation, but Kevin told him how much he enjoyed the new book, and asked him a couple of questions about it. And he asked him for any tips about being a writer (even though he was about to become a Marine), and got, as I recall, some advice. Kevin thanked him for his time, and Clarke was very gracious, and that was the end of it.
Did that have anything to do with Kevin now being an English professor, and having been published in the New York Times? Don't know. But it's a hell of a story, and shows that Clarke was a hell of a nice guy to take such a call. A genius and a gentleman. Nice combination. He WILL be missed.
And then I go and spell his name "Arther". That's what happens when you do comments at 1:00 in the morning.
Thanks for sharing that story, sorry it took me so long to read it... I haven't had the time to visit my blog. Pathetic huh?
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