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Dec. 23rd, 2024 11:40 am
More on The Last Dangerous Visions
In some respects the best story in The Last Dangerous Visions is J. Michael Straczynski’s “Ellison Exegesis,” an account of his friendship with Harlan Ellison. It takes up 14% of the Kindle edition — but it’s so fascinating it’s worth the space. Among other things Straczynski tell us why Ellison had never been able to finish the anthology. [The following is possibly a spoiler if you want to read it for yourself.] Based on a documentary Straczynski had seen while getting a psychology degree, he concluded that Ellison was bipolar. I’d seen Ellison around when I lived in Los Angeles, and although I’m not a psychologist, this explanation does make sense — except that he seemed to have not alternating manic and depressive episodes but one long manic episode that lasted from the beginning of his career to about the middle, and then one continuous depressive slide to old age.
Because of his depression he couldn’t write, couldn’t take care of simple organizational tasks, and toward the end of his life couldn’t even leave the house. Straczynski doesn’t present this as an excuse for his failures, for TLDV and other works, but as a tragic reality. It might even silence the critics who kept complaining about Ellison’s many missed deadlines. It might not, of course; I can’t imagine a change of heart from some of them.
Straczynski comes across as something between a mensch and a certified saint. His admiration for Ellison, shading into hero-worship, started in his childhood and continued after he’d met the man and throughout Ellison’s life. Whenever Ellison asked him for a favor he would say, “Of course” unreservedly, without even asking for details.
This would sometimes get him into trouble. Once he agreed to host the Pacifica radio show Hour 25 when Ellison couldn’t do it any longer. * Another time Ellison was confined to a hospital on a seventy-two-hour psychiatric hold and begged Straczynski to get him out. It was the only time Straczynski put conditions a request; he told Ellison he would spring him from the hold, but only if Ellison would seek professional help. And he did, but unfortunately it didn’t seem to help.
“Ellison Exegesis” is also a sort of coda to Straczynski’s autobiography, Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, which is a fascinating and horrible history of growing up with the worst family in the world. It’s clear that Ellison was a substitute father to him, and the relationship seems to work on that improbable basis — though they were other things as well, peers, friends, co-workers, sympathetic listeners. Ellison had hurt and insulted people — and of course had helped others immeasurably — and the “Exegesis” gives you a better understanding of both the protagonists of this story.
* Ellison asked me to be on the show if I was ever in Los Angeles, but by the time I made it there Straczynski had taken over. It was great, though — Arthur Byron Cover joined him and we had a terrific time. A part of me felt relieved by the change of hosts; people had warned me that Ellison would ask the question, “What was the worst thing you ever did?”, and I had no idea how to answer it. You couldn’t say anything that was too personal or made you look like an asshole, of course, but that left only minor peccadillos. And Ellison had a sixth sense for when someone was lying.
Because of his depression he couldn’t write, couldn’t take care of simple organizational tasks, and toward the end of his life couldn’t even leave the house. Straczynski doesn’t present this as an excuse for his failures, for TLDV and other works, but as a tragic reality. It might even silence the critics who kept complaining about Ellison’s many missed deadlines. It might not, of course; I can’t imagine a change of heart from some of them.
Straczynski comes across as something between a mensch and a certified saint. His admiration for Ellison, shading into hero-worship, started in his childhood and continued after he’d met the man and throughout Ellison’s life. Whenever Ellison asked him for a favor he would say, “Of course” unreservedly, without even asking for details.
This would sometimes get him into trouble. Once he agreed to host the Pacifica radio show Hour 25 when Ellison couldn’t do it any longer. * Another time Ellison was confined to a hospital on a seventy-two-hour psychiatric hold and begged Straczynski to get him out. It was the only time Straczynski put conditions a request; he told Ellison he would spring him from the hold, but only if Ellison would seek professional help. And he did, but unfortunately it didn’t seem to help.
“Ellison Exegesis” is also a sort of coda to Straczynski’s autobiography, Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood, which is a fascinating and horrible history of growing up with the worst family in the world. It’s clear that Ellison was a substitute father to him, and the relationship seems to work on that improbable basis — though they were other things as well, peers, friends, co-workers, sympathetic listeners. Ellison had hurt and insulted people — and of course had helped others immeasurably — and the “Exegesis” gives you a better understanding of both the protagonists of this story.
* Ellison asked me to be on the show if I was ever in Los Angeles, but by the time I made it there Straczynski had taken over. It was great, though — Arthur Byron Cover joined him and we had a terrific time. A part of me felt relieved by the change of hosts; people had warned me that Ellison would ask the question, “What was the worst thing you ever did?”, and I had no idea how to answer it. You couldn’t say anything that was too personal or made you look like an asshole, of course, but that left only minor peccadillos. And Ellison had a sixth sense for when someone was lying.
