Robert Bloch: biography, creativity, interesting facts from life

Robert Bloch is a famous American writer who worked in the 20th century. He wrote books in the genres of horror, fantasy and science fiction. The most famous novel of the writer is "Psychosis", which was screened by Hitchcock in 1960 and received the name "Psycho" in the Russian box office. On the life and work of the creator of Norman Bates, we'll talk about this article.

Robert Bloch: Biography

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

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

1945 was for Bloch, one might say, a landmark. At this time he was invited as a screenwriter in the popular radio show Stay Tuned for Terror. As a result, there were 39 episodes, which were based on the author's stories and enjoyed tremendous popularity among listeners. At the same time, the publishing house Arkham House publishes a huge collection of short stories by the writer.

The first screen version and work in the genre of science fiction

Robert Bloch is a writer who is rightly considered the ancestor of the classic horror. Moreover, without his creativity, it is impossible to imagine Stephen King. Nevertheless, Bloch did not leave the genres of science fiction and fantasy. Thus, in 1962, a collection of his fanzine articles was published, which was specially prepared for a convention called World Science Fiction, which was held that same year. At the same convention, Bloch made a report on "inner space", which was later printed.

In 1959 a book appeared that brought unprecedented success to the writer - "Psychosis". After that, Robert Bloch devoted a lot of time to Hollywood. Creativity of the writer, it is possible to say, stopped at that moment - the shooting of the film began. This seized the author for a while. In addition, the success of the film increased and the number of fans of Bloch himself.

After 1960, an active publication of various collections with the author's stories begins. However, Blok did not adhere to any chronology in the selection of works for the press, therefore, under the same cover, one can find pre-war stories and works written after the 1950s.

Works related to science fiction, Bloch wrote relatively little. Many of them were included in the collection of 1962 by Atoms and Evil. Nevertheless, witty elegance combined with gloomy humor makes an incredible impression on the reader.

Personal life

For the first time Robert Bloch married a girl named Marion so that he would not be taken into the army. In 1943, shortly after the wedding, they had a daughter, Sally. Due to the fact that Marion was diagnosed with tuberculosis of bones, the young couple had to move to the hometown of the girl Weyauwega, Wisconsin in 1953. Here she could get the support of relatives and close friends. After a long treatment, Marion was able to overcome the disease. Nevertheless, the couple broke up in 1963. After the divorce, her daughter stayed with her father.

A year after the divorce, in 1964, the writer met Eleanor Alexander, who was recently widowed. They began a turbulent and impetuous romance, which ended on October 16 of the same year with a wedding. Honeymooners spent their honeymoon in Tahiti. And on his return in 1965 they decided to move to London. This marriage was 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 many of his fans - he published his obituary. Later, this act was called the joke of someone who wrote all his life exclusively about death. 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 Eleanor was buried there.

Awards

Robert Bloch was awarded numerous literary awards. The best works of the writer, among which mostly stories, received such book prizes as:

• "Hugo" - 1959, 1984;
• "Forri" - 1974;
• World Fantasy Prize - 1975, 1978;
• "Balrog" - 1980, 1982;
• The British Fantasy Award - 1983;
• The Bon Stoker Award - 1987, 1989.

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

The cycle "Psychosis"

The works of this cycle are the most famous that Robert Bloch wrote. The best books of the writer are exactly these, many fans of the author's work consider so. Sometimes called several collections of stories. But let's talk about the book that brought Bloch world fame.

In total, the cycle includes three books: "Psychosis", "Psychosis 2" and "House of Psycho". All of them are united by one hero - Norman Bates. This is a bachelor of middle age, whose life is subordinated to the desires of the domineering mother. Together they keep a small motel away from the road.

In the first two parts, the main role is assigned to Norman himself, and the third takes place 10 years after his death, when the enterprising neighbor of the psychopath decides to organize tourist excursions devoted to the life and crimes of Bates.

The continuations did not manage to become as famous as the first part of the cycle, nevertheless 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 Gain - you can say, the most famous murderer in the history of the United States. The criminal was arrested two years before the publication of the novel, in 1957, for the murder of a woman. During the search of the police, it was possible to find furniture, clothes, cutlery made of parts of human bodies in his house. Psychiatrists suggested that Heyn tried to create a woman's costume. By making him, he could change into his late mother, whom the acquaintances described as a woman of Puritan customs, seeking to constantly control the son.

Bloch's house was not far from the home of Hein. The writer was familiar with his case, but did not know the details. Nevertheless, when the novel was finished, the writer himself was very surprised by how much Norman Bates was similar to Hein in his motives and deeds.

We have already mentioned a kind of friendship between Howard Lovecraft and Bloch, but their correspondence was not limited to simple correspondence. In 1935, Lovecraft wrote a work whose prototype was Bloch. The story was called "dwelling in darkness". Bloch did not remain in debt and soon published the story "Star Wanderer", which was written in the style of "Myths Cthulhu."

Thus, Bloch was a rather popular writer of the twentieth century, whose works shot 15 films.