Editing Ray Bradbury (section)

==Personal life==
[[File:Ray Bradbury 2009.jpg|thumb|upright|Bradbury in 2009]]
[[File:Ray Bradbury and his wife Maggie.jpg|thumb|270px|Ray and Maggie Bradbury in their Los Angeles home and Ray's office in 1970. The office is recreated in the [[Ray Bradbury Center]] in Indianapolis.]]
Bradbury lived in his parents' home until, in 1947, at age 27, he married Marguerite McClure (January 16, 1922&nbsp;– November 24, 2003). They remained married until her death. Maggie, as she was affectionately called, was the only woman he ever dated.<ref name="playboy"/> They had four daughters:<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9315001/Ray-Bradbury.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9315001/Ray-Bradbury.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Telegraph obituary |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=June 6, 2012 |access-date= June 6, 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Susan, Ramona, [[Bettina F. Bradbury|Bettina]] and Alexandra.<ref name="BBC dies"/> Bradbury never obtained a driver's license, but used public transportation or his bicycle.<ref>{{cite web|last=Riddle |first=Warren |url=http://www.switched.com/2009/06/25/author-ray-bradbury-on-the-web-not-real-its-in-the-air-somew/ |title=Sci-Fi Author Ray Bradbury Trashes the Web |publisher=Switched |date=June 25, 2009 |access-date=December 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001142931/http://www.switched.com/2009/06/25/author-ray-bradbury-on-the-web-not-real-its-in-the-air-somew/ |archive-date=October 1, 2011 }}</ref>

He was raised [[Baptist]] by his parents, who were infrequent churchgoers. As an adult, Bradbury said he considered himself a "delicatessen religionist" who resisted categorization of his beliefs and took guidance from both Eastern and Western faiths. He felt that his career was "a God-given thing, and I'm so grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer is 'At play in the fields of the Lord'."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/02/Bradbury/index.html| title=Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, 'monsters and angels'| publisher=CNN| date=August 2, 2010| access-date=October 14, 2015| first=John| last=Blake}}</ref>

Bradbury was a close friend of [[Charles Addams]], and Addams illustrated 1946's "Homecoming", the first of Bradbury's stories about the Elliotts, a family that resembled Addams's own [[Addams Family]], transplanted to rural Illinois. Addams and Bradbury planned a larger collaborative work that would tell the family's complete history, but it never materialized, and according to a 2001 interview, they went their separate ways.<ref>[http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/bradburyray Interview with Ray Bradbury] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203203807/http://www.indiebound.org/author-interviews/bradburyray |date=February 3, 2009 }} in ''IndieBound'', fall 2001.</ref> In October 2001, Bradbury published all the Family stories he had written in one book with a connecting narrative, ''[[From the Dust Returned]]'', featuring a wraparound Addams cover of the original "Homecoming" illustration.<ref>Bradbury, Ray, ''From The Dust Returned: A Novel''. William Morrow, 2001.</ref>

Another of Bradbury's close friends was the special-effects expert [[Ray Harryhausen]], who was [[best man]] at Bradbury's wedding.<ref>{{cite web |last=Whitaker |first=Sheila |title=Ray Harryhausen obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/may/07/ray-harryhausen-dies |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=May 7, 2013 |access-date=June 4, 2013 }}</ref> During a [[BAFTA]] 2010 awards tribute honoring Harryhausen's 90th birthday, Bradbury spoke about having first met him at Forrest J Ackerman's house when they were both 18. Their shared love for science fiction, ''[[King Kong (1933 film)|King Kong]]'', and ''[[The Fountainhead (film)|The Fountainhead]]'' was the beginning of a lifelong friendship. These early influences inspired them to believe in themselves and to affirm their career choices. After their first meeting, they kept in touch at least once a month: their friendship lasted more than 70 years.<ref>{{cite web|last=BAFTA Online|title=Ray Bradbury pays Tribute to Ray Harryhausen|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv3KiAVUOhE&t=2m48s| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211029/Wv3KiAVUOhE| archive-date=October 29, 2021|via=YouTube|access-date=July 12, 2010}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Bradbury told of the following encounter with [[Sergei Bondarchuk]], director of the 1966–1967 Soviet epic film ''[[War and Peace (film series)|War and Peace]]'', at a Hollywood award ceremony in Bondarchuk's honor:

{{Blockquote|They formed a long queue and as Bondarchuk was walking along it he recognized several people: "Oh Mr. Ford, I like your film." He recognized the director, Greta Garbo, and someone else. I was standing at the very end of the queue and silently watched this. Bondarchuk shouted to me; "Ray Bradbury, is that you?" He rushed up to me, embraced me, dragged me inside, grabbed a bottle of [[Stolichnaya]], sat down at his table where his closest friends were sitting. All the famous Hollywood directors in the queue were bewildered. They stared at me and asked each other "Who is this Bradbury?" And, swearing, they left, leaving me alone with Bondarchuk&nbsp;...<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/06/06/ray_bradbury_russians_have_an_unparalleled_capacity_for_love_15822.html|title=Ray Bradbury: "Russians have an unparalleled capacity for love"|website=rbth.ru|publisher=Russia Beyond The Headlines|access-date=September 15, 2012|date=2012-06-07|archive-date=August 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130823181746/http://rbth.ru/articles/2012/06/06/ray_bradbury_russians_have_an_unparalleled_capacity_for_love_15822.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}

Late in life, Bradbury retained his dedication and passion despite the "devastation of illnesses and deaths of many good friends". Among them was the death of ''[[Star Trek]]'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]], an intimate friend for many years. They remained close for nearly 30 years, after Roddenberry asked him to write for ''Star Trek''; Bradbury declined, claiming that he "never had the ability to adapt other people's ideas into any sensible form".<ref name="playboy"/>

Bradbury suffered a stroke in 1999<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eonline.com/news/sci-fi_great_ray_bradbury_suffers_stroke/38990|title=Sci-Fi Great Ray Bradbury Suffers Stroke|publisher=[[E!]]|date=November 12, 1999|access-date=June 6, 2012|first=Joal|last=Ryan }}</ref> that left him partially dependent on a wheelchair.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ray-bradbury-still-writing-at-81/|title=Ray Bradbury Still Writing At 81|first=Jim|last=Rogers|date=January 18, 2002|access-date=June 6, 2012|agency=Associated Press|publisher=CBS News }}</ref> He made regular appearances at science-fiction conventions until 2009, when he retired from the circuit. He continued to write, contributing an essay to the science-fiction issue of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' about his inspiration for writing; it was published a week before his death.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/06/04/120604fa_fact_bradbury|title=Take Me Home|first=Ray|last=Bradbury|date=June 4, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>

[[File:Headstone of Ray Bradbury, May 2012.jpg|thumb|Bradbury's headstone in May 2012, a month before his death]]
Bradbury chose a burial place at [[Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery]] in Los Angeles, with a headstone that reads "Author of Fahrenheit 451".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/08/15/4356442-visiting-marilyn-monroes-grave-resting-places-of-the-rich-and-famous|title=Visiting Marilyn Monroe's grave: Resting places of the rich and famous|date=August 15, 2007|work=Test Pattern|publisher=MSNBC|access-date=April 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214061839/http://testpattern.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2007/08/15/4356442-visiting-marilyn-monroes-grave-resting-places-of-the-rich-and-famous|archive-date=February 14, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bguthriephotos.com/Graphlib/GraphData10.nsf/Images/2010_CA_PBWVMP_0640/$File/PBWVMP_100727_148.JPG|title=CA&nbsp;– Westwood&nbsp;– Pierce Bros. Westwood Village Memorial Park: Ray Bradbury|author=Guthrie, Bruce|work=Bruce Guthrie Photos|access-date=April 7, 2012|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043911/http://www.bguthriephotos.com/Graphlib/GraphData10.nsf/Images/2010_CA_PBWVMP_0640/$File/PBWVMP_100727_148.JPG|url-status=dead}}</ref> On February 6, 2015, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported that the house Bradbury had lived and written in for 50 years, at 10265 Cheviot Drive in [[Cheviot Hills, Los Angeles]], California, had been demolished by the buyer, architect [[Thom Mayne]].<ref name="NYT-20150206">{{cite news |last=Nagourney |first=Adam |title=Classic or Ramshackle, Old Homes in Los Angeles Are Being Bulldozed Into History |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/us/classic-or-ramshackle-old-homes-in-los-angeles-are-being-bulldozed-into-history.html |date=February 6, 2015 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=February 6, 2015 }}</ref> Bradbury's home office was moved and recreated in the [[Ray Bradbury Center]] in Indianapolis.

===Politics===
Bradbury considered himself a political [[Independent politician|independent]].<ref name=":0" /> Raised a Democrat, he voted for the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] until 1968. In 1952, he took out an advertisement in ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' as an open letter to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]], stating: "Every attempt that you make to identify the Democratic Party as the party of Communism, as the 'left-wing' or 'subversive' party, I will attack with all my heart and soul."<ref name="National Review">{{cite news|last=Fund|first=John|title=Ray Bradbury, a Great Conservative|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/ray-bradbury-great-conservative-john-fund/|work=National Review|date=June 6, 2012}}</ref> However, [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]'s handling of the [[Vietnam War]] left Bradbury disenchanted, and from 1968 on he voted for the Republican Party in every presidential election with the exception of [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]], when he voted for [[Jimmy Carter]]. According to Bradbury's biographer [[Sam Weller (journalist)|Sam Weller]], Carter's inept handling of the economy "pushed [Bradbury] permanently away from the Democrats".<ref name=":0" />

Bradbury called [[Ronald Reagan]] "the greatest president" whereas he dismissed [[Bill Clinton]], calling him a "shithead".<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Johnson |first=Charles |date=June 8, 2012 |title=Ray Bradbury: Enemy of the State |url=https://reason.com/2012/06/08/ray-bradbury-enemy-of-the-state/ |access-date=June 23, 2022 |website=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In August 2001, shortly before the [[September 11 attacks]], he described [[George W. Bush]] as "wonderful" and stated that the American education system was a "monstrosity".<ref>{{cite news|last=Hibberd|first=James|title=Ray Bradbury is on fire!|url=https://www.salon.com/2001/08/29/bradbury_2/|work=Salon|date=August 29, 2001}}</ref> He later criticized [[Barack Obama]] for ending [[Constellation program|NASA's crewed space flight program]].<ref name=":1"/>

In 2010, he criticized [[big government]], saying that there was "too much government" in America, and "I don't believe in government. I hate politics. I'm against it. And I hope that sometimes this fall, we can destroy part of our government, and next year destroy even more of it. The [[Night-watchman state|less government]], the happier I will be".<ref name=":1" /> Bradbury was against [[affirmative action]], condemned what he called "all this political correctness that's rampant on campuses", and called for a ban of [[Racial quota|quotas in higher education]].<ref name="playboy" /><ref name=":1" /> He asserted that "[e]ducation is purely an issue of learning—we can no longer afford to have it polluted by damn politics".<ref name="playboy" />

===Death===
Bradbury died in Los Angeles, California, on June 5, 2012, at the age of 91, after a lengthy illness.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/06/showbiz/ray-bradbury-obit/index.html| title=Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury dies|publisher=CNN|date=June 6, 2012| access-date=June 6, 2012| first=Alan|last=Duke }}</ref> His personal library was willed to the [[Waukegan Public Library]], where he had many of his formative reading experiences.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130617/news/706179846/|date=June 17, 2013|work=Daily Herald|title=Ray Bradbury book collection going to Waukegan library|author=Russell Lissau}}</ref>

The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' credited him with the ability "to write lyrically and evocatively of lands an imagination away, worlds he anchored in the here and now with a sense of visual clarity and small-town familiarity".<ref name="latimes obit">{{cite news|title=Ray Bradbury dies at 91; author lifted fantasy to literary heights |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 6, 2012| access-date=June 6, 2012|first=Lynell|last=George|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-ray-bradbury-20120607-story.html}}</ref> His grandson, Danny Karapetian, said Bradbury's works had "influenced so many artists, writers, teachers, scientists, and it's always really touching and comforting to hear their stories".<ref name="BBC dies">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18345350|title=Author Ray Bradbury dies, aged 91 |work=BBC News|date=June 6, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012 }}</ref> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' noted several modern-day technologies that Bradbury had envisioned much earlier, such as the idea of [[automatic teller machine|banking ATMs]] and [[headphones|earbuds and Bluetooth headsets]] in ''Fahrenheit 451'', and the concepts of [[artificial intelligence]] in ''[[I Sing the Body Electric (Bradbury)|I Sing the Body Electric]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/dreams-of-ray-bradbury-ten-predictions-that-came-true/2012/06/06/gJQAqbs9IV_story.html|title=Dreams of Ray Bradbury: 10 predictions that came true|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=June 6, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012|first=Hayley|last=Tsukayama }}</ref>

===Legacy===
On June 6, 2012, in an official public statement from the [[White House Press Office]], President [[Barack Obama]] said:

{{cquote|For many Americans, the news of Ray Bradbury's death immediately brought to mind images from his work, imprinted in our minds, often from a young age. His gift for storytelling reshaped our culture and expanded our world. But Ray also understood that our imaginations could be used as a tool for better understanding, a vehicle for change, and an expression of our most cherished values. There is no doubt that Ray will continue to inspire many more generations with his writing, and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/06/06/statement-president-passing-ray-bradbury|title=Statement by the President on the Passing of Ray Bradbury|access-date=June 8, 2012|via=[[NARA|National Archives]]|publisher=[[White House]]|date=2012-06-06}}</ref>}}

Several authors and filmmakers paid tribute to Bradbury, noting the influence of his works on their own.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18346773|title=Tributes paid to sci-fi author Ray Bradbury |work=BBC News|date=June 6, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="ap quotes">{{cite news| url=http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2012/06/06/writers_filmmakers_react_to_ray_bradburys_death/| title=Writers, filmmakers react to Ray Bradbury's death|work=[[Boston Globe]]|agency=Associated Press|date=June 6, 2012| access-date=June 6, 2012}}</ref> [[Steven Spielberg]] said that Bradbury was "my muse for the better part of my sci-fi career&nbsp;.... On the world of science fiction and fantasy and imagination he is immortal."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/06/ray-bradbury-died-obituary-books-movies.html|title=Ray Bradbury was a huge influence on the film world too|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=June 6, 2012|access-date=June 6, 2012|first=Steven|last=Zeitchik}}</ref> [[Neil Gaiman]] said that "the landscape of the world we live in would have been diminished if we had not had him in our world".<ref name="ap quotes"/> [[Joanne Harris]] called him "a bright, burning spark."<ref>{{cite news| last=Harris| first=Joanne| date=June 6, 2012| title=Ray Bradbury Was a Bright, Burning Spark| work=BBC News| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18345685}}</ref> [[Stephen King]] released a statement on his website saying:

{{cquote|Ray Bradbury wrote three great novels and three hundred great stories. One of the latter was called "[[A Sound of Thunder]]". The sound I hear today is the thunder of a giant's footsteps fading away. But the novels and stories remain, in all their resonance and strange beauty.<ref>[http://www.stephenking.com/index.html?i=312 Stephen Comments on the Death of Ray Bradbury]. Stephen King. Retrieved June 7, 2012. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630003904/http://www.stephenking.com/index.html |date=June 30, 2012 }}</ref>}}

[[Margaret Atwood]] said she was "warped early by Ray Bradbury." She wrote that Bradbury was:

{{cquote|So much a part of my own early reading, especially the delicious, clandestine reading done avidly in lieu of homework, and the compulsive reading done at night with a flashlight when I ought to have been sleeping. Stories read with such enthusiasm at such a young age are not so much read as inhaled. They sink all the way in and all the way down, and they stay with you... His imagination had a dark side, and he used that dark twin and its nightmares in his work; but to the waking world he presented a combination of eager, wonder-filled boy and kindly uncle, and that was just as real. In an age of writing classes, he was self-taught; in an age of spin, his was an authentic voice, straight from the heartland; in an age of groomed images, he was a natural.<ref>{{cite news| last=Atwood| first=Margaret| date=June 8, 2012| title=Margaret Atwood on Ray Bradbury: the tale-teller who tapped into the gothic core of America| work=The Guardian| url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/jun/08/margaret-atwood-on-ray-bradbury}}</ref>}}

The [[Ray Bradbury Center]] was established in 2007 as the Center for Ray Bradbury Studies and received many of Bradbury's papers and artifacts following his death. It continues the work of documenting, preserving, and providing public access to Bradbury's material legacy.