Editing Richard Matheson (section)

==Early life==
Matheson was born in [[Allendale, New Jersey]], to Norwegian immigrants Bertolf and Fanny Matheson. They divorced when he was eight, and he was raised in [[Brooklyn]], New York, by his mother. His early writing influences were the film ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931), novels by [[Kenneth Roberts (author)|Kenneth Roberts]], and a poem which he read in the newspaper ''[[Brooklyn Eagle]]'',<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web| url=http://www.biography.com/people/richard-matheson-21265767| title=Richard Matheson Biography: Author, Screenwriter (1926–2013)| publisher=Biography.com (FYI and A&E Networks)| access-date=September 29, 2015| archive-date=September 13, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913201352/http://www.biography.com/people/richard-matheson-21265767| url-status=dead}}</ref> where he published his first short story at age eight.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/jun/25/richard-matheson-i-am-legend|title=Richard Matheson obituary|work=Guardian.co.uk|access-date=June 26, 2013|location=London|first=Christopher|last=Hawtree|date=June 25, 2013}}</ref> He entered [[Brooklyn Technical High School]] in 1939, graduated in 1943, and served with the [[United States Army|Army]] in Europe during [[World War II]]; this formed the basis for his 1960 novel ''[[The Beardless Warriors]]''.<ref name=biography.com /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sammon|first=Paul M.|date=October 1979|title=Richard Matheson: Master of Fantasy|url=https://archive.org/details/Fangoria_002_O_Quinn_1979/page/n27|journal=[[Fangoria]]|issue=2|pages=26–29, 52|via=[[Internet Archive]]}}</ref> He attended the [[Missouri School of Journalism]] at the University of Missouri, earning his BA in 1949, then moved to California.<ref name=biography.com /><ref name="Guardian"/>