Though innumerable biographies have been written about novelists, playwrights, and poets, screenwriters are rarely granted this distinction, even ones as prolific and successful as Richard Matheson. Beginning with The Incredible Shrinking Man in 1957, Matheson has occupied a unique position in writing for television and cinema for more than fifty years. This biography documents his rise to prominence, his literary influences, and the role he played in the horror and science fiction renaissance. The narrative examines each of Matheson's works in chronological order with an index indicating where each can be found, from his early work in the 1950's through I Am Legend in 2007.