Edward Gorey

Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Authors

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Edward Gorey

Full Name:	Edward St. John Gorey
Born:	February 22, 1925 Chicago, Illinois, USA
Died:	April 15, 2000 Massachusetts, USA
Occupation:	Artist, Illustrator
Nationality:	American
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Biography

Edward St. John Gorey was an American writer and artist noted for his illustrated books. Gorey's maternal great-grandmother, Helen St. John Garvey, was a popular nineteenth-century greeting card writer and artist, from whom he claimed to have inherited his talents.

Gorey spent 1944 to 1946 in the Army at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, and then attended Harvard University, where he studied French and roomed with poet Frank O'Hara, graduating in 1950.

From 1953 to 1960, Gorey lived in New York City and worked for the Art Department of Doubleday Anchor, illustrating book covers and in some cases, adding illustrations to the text. His characteristic pen-and-ink drawings often depict vaguely unsettling narrative scenes in Victorian and Edwardian settings. He frequently stated that his formal art training was "negligible"; he studied art for one semester at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1943.

Gorey became particularly well-known through his animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery! in 1980, as well as his designs for the 1977 Broadway production of Dracula, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Costume Design and received a nomination for Best Scenic Design. In the introduction of each episode of Mystery!, Vincent Price would welcome viewers to "Gorey Mansion".

Gorey experimented with different forms of books - creating books that were wordless, books that were literally matchbox-sized, pop-up books, books entirely populated by inanimate objects. Gorey was very fond of word games, particularly anagrams. He wrote many of his books under pseudonyms that usually were anagrams of his own name (most famously Ogdred Weary). Eduard Blutig is also a word game: "Blutig" is German (the language from which two of his books purportedly were translated) for "bloody" or "gory".

Gorey has become an iconic figure in the Goth subculture. Events themed on his works and decorated in his characteristic style are common in the more Victorian-styled elements of the subculture, notably the Edwardian costume balls held annually in San Francisco and Los Angeles, which include performances based on his works.

Although Gorey's books were popular with children, he did not associate with children much and had no particular fondness for them. He never married, professed to have little interest in romance, and never discussed any specific romantic relationships in interviews. Gorey left the bulk of his estate to a charitable trust benefiting cats and dogs, as well as other species, including bats and insects.