William Rotsler

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William "Bill" Rotsler (born on 3. July 1926 in Los Angeles , California ; died on 18th October 1997 in California) was an American science fiction - Cartoonist and-author. He has also been a director, screenwriter, actor, producer, writer and journalist in the porn film industry . For his cartoons published in science fiction fanzines , he has received numerous awards, including four times the Hugo Award .

Life

Rotsler was the son of farmer Charles Golden Rotsler and his wife Sarah, nee Flynn. From 1942 to 1944 he worked as a rancher in Camarillo , California. During World War II he served in the US Army . He then attended the Ventura Junior College in Ventura , California, until 1946 , and completed an artistic training at the Los Angeles County Art Institute from 1947 to 1950 . He then worked as a sculptor and photographer in Los Angeles. From 1959 he began to work in the film industry as a director, screenwriter and producer, initially mainly for documentaries, advertising and industrial films . From 1966 to the beginning of the 1970s he turned to the porn film, where he appeared several times as an actor. In 1973 he published Contemporary Erotic Cinema: A Guide to the Revolution in Movie Making , a non-fiction book about porn film production.

From the mid-1970s he began to work increasingly as a writer, both in the field of science fiction and erotic literature . The short story Ship Me Tomorrow was published in the SF magazine Galaxy as early as 1970 and in 1974 his first SF novel Patron of the Arts was published (German as Ein Patron der Künste ). In keeping with his background as a visual artist, the art of the future, new art forms and the use of (then) futuristic techniques such as holography were the subject of the novel, which is based on a short story of the same title that appeared in the 1972 anthology Universe 2, edited by Terry Carr and which was nominated in 1973 for the Hugo and the Nebula Award .

However, Rotsler's further SF production found less recognition, as Rotsler often showed no fear of clichés and worn-out subjects . In the first novel in the Zandra series, for example, the protagonists arrive at their destination by means of a star gate in the Bermuda Triangle , and the worlds imagined by Rotsler are often reminiscent of a Southern California transposed into the future and garnished with gladiator fights, as in To the Land of the Electric Angel ( 1976, German In the Land of the Electric Angel ), Rotsler's second novel. Martin Morse Wooster was particularly dissatisfied with The Far Frontier , the second novel in the Zandra series:

“In this work, Rotsler fulfills the worst fantasies of those mundane critics who insist that science fiction is nothing more than Western formulas transported to a wider setting. Rotsler has replied with a novel complete with interstellar Indians, space cows, and planet rustlers. Rarely does one read a novel where the writer rejoices in its trashy content. "

“In this work, Rotsler confirms the notion of those mainstream critics that science fiction is nothing more than westerns in a different guise. Rotsler matches that with a novel full of interstellar Indians, space cows, and interplanetary cattle thieves. You rarely read a novel where the author enjoys scrap metal so much. "

Stephen H. Goldman, however, thinks that Rotsler is primarily an SF fan and that his novels are actually intended for the SF fan, so it is more of a game with clichés that Rotsler is doing here. Such insider literature is of course not enjoyable for every reader.

In fact, as an SF fan and above all as an SF cartoonist, who willingly and free of charge provided hundreds of cartoons and illustrations for numerous fanzines, Rotsler found wide recognition in fandom, which was also documented by numerous awards: four times he received the Hugo, the Locus Award three times and the Big Heart Award for his services to the SF fandom in 1978 ; he was also a guest of honor at several SF conventions .

Rotsler married Marian Abney in 1953, with whom he had a daughter. In 1958 the marriage ended in divorce. In 1997 Rotsler died at the age of 71.

To honor his memory, the Southern California Institute for Fan Interests (SCIFI) has awarded the Rotsler Memorial Fanzine Artist Award to deserving artists from the SF fandom since 1998.

Awards

bibliography

The series are arranged according to the year of publication of the first part.

Series

Zandra (series of novels)
  • Zandra (1978)
  • The Far Frontier (1980)
  • The Hidden Worlds of Zandra (1983)
Tom Swift III (Youth SF series, with Sharman DiVono, as Victor Appleton)
  • 1 The City in the Stars (1981)
  • 2 Terror on the Moons of Jupiter (1981)
  • 3 The Alien Probe (1981)
  • 4 The War in Outer Space (1981)
  • 5 The Astral Fortress (1982)
  • 6 The Rescue Mission (1981)

Novels

Science fiction novels
  • Patron of the Arts (1974)
  • To the Land of the Electric Angel (1976)
    • German: Into the land of the electric angel. Translated by Hans Maetler. Heyne SF&F # 3679, 1979, ISBN 3-453-30598-1 .
  • Shiva Descending (1980, with Gregory Benford )
  • Blackhawk (1982)
Novel versions and tie-ins
  • Futureworld (1976, novel version of Futureworld , as John Ryder Hall)
  • Return to the Planet of the Apes 1: Visions From Nowhere (1976, Tie-in, as William Arrow)
  • Return to the Planet of the Apes 3: Man, the Hunted Animal (1976, Tie-in, as William Arrow)
  • Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977, novel version of Sindbad and the Eye of the Tiger , as John Ryder Hall)
  • Doctor Strange: Nightmare (1979, tie-in to the Marvel comic )
  • Iron Man: And Call My Killer… Modok! (1979, tie-in to the Marvel comic )
  • Mr. Merlin 1–2 (1981, novel versions of the television series Mr. Merlin )
  • Grease 2 (1982, novel version of Grease 2 )
  • The A-Team: Defense Against Terror (1983, novel version of the television series The A-Team )
  • The Love Boat: Voyage of Love (1983, novel version of the television series Love Boat )
  • Magnum, PI: Maui Mystery (1983, novel version of the television series Magnum )
  • Staying Alive (1983, novel version of Staying Alive )
  • It's Your Move (1984, novel version of the television series It's Your Move )
  • Cavern of Horror (1985, novel version of The Goonies )

Star Trek Tie-ins

  • Star Trek II: Biographies (1982, collection)
  • Star Trek II: Distress Call (1982)
  • Star Trek II: Short Stories (1982, collection)
  • Star Trek III: Short Stories (1984, collection, with Wendy Barish)
  • Star Trek III: The Vulcan Treasure (1984, with Wendy Barish)
Erotic and miscellaneous
  • Superstud (1975)
  • Supermouth (1975)
  • Supertongue and Other Turn Ons (1975)
  • Joanie Loves Chachi: Secrets (1982)
  • A Test of Hearts (1982)
  • The Pirate Movie (1982)
  • Distress Call (1982)
  • Vice Squad (1982)
    • English: The Greedy of Hollywood. Bastei-Lübbe-Thriller # 19023, 1983, ISBN 3-404-19023-8 .
  • The Danger Maze (1983)
  • The Vulcan Treasure (1983)

Short stories

  • Ship Me Tomorrow (1970)
  • The Kong Papers (1969, with Harlan Ellison )
  • Epic (1971)
  • Bohassian Learns (1971)
  • After the End and Before the Beginning (1971)
  • Patron of the Arts (1972)
    • German: The patron. In: Isaac Asimov (ed.): The meeting with Medusa and other "Nebula" prize stories 4. Moewig (Playboy Science Fiction # 6728), 1982, ISBN 3-8118-6728-8 .
  • Star Level (1972)
  • There's a Special Kind Needed out There (1972)
  • Seed (1973)
  • Gerald Fitzgerald and the Time Machine (1973, with Charles E. Burbee)
  • The Gods of Zar (1973)
  • War of the Magicians (1973)
  • A'la Mode Knights (1973)
  • The Immortality of Lazarus (1973)
  • A New Life (1974)
  • The Raven and The Hawk (1974)
  • 2002: A Spaced Lunacy (1974)
  • Balance Point (1974)
  • The Conversation (1974)
  • Surprise Party (1975)
  • I'm Not Sure I Want to Go to the Future (1975)
  • Landing Party (1975)
  • To Gain a Dream (1975)
  • Parental Guidance Suggested (1979)
    • German: wanted paternal leadership. In: Manfred Kluge (ed.): Dangerous games. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3899), 1982, ISBN 3-453-30822-0 .
  • Intelligence Test (1982)
  • The Blaze of Glory (1982)
  • The Secret Empire (1982)
  • To Wherever (1982)
  • Under Twin Moons (1982)
  • Wild Card (1982)
  • A Vulcan, a Klingon, and an Angel (1984, with Wendy Barish)
  • As Old as Forever (1984, with Wendy Barish)
  • The Azphari Enigma (1984, with Wendy Barish)
  • The Jungles of Memory (1984, with Wendy Barish)
  • World's End (1984, with Wendy Barish)
  • The Long Hunt (1993, Elfquest : Blood of Ten Chiefs , with Len Wein )
  • Which Came First? (1995)
  • A New Life (1998)

Non-fiction

  • Contemporary Erotic Cinema: A Guide to the Revolution in Movie Making (1973, revised as The Golden Age of Erotic Cinema , 2015)
  • Science Fictionisms (1995, as editor)

Filmography

R: as a director, D: as a screenwriter, P: as a producer

  • 1966: Agony of Love (R, D, P)
  • 1967: The Girl with the Hungry Eyes (R, D, P)
  • 1968: Purple (R)
  • 1968: Like It Is (Documentfilm, R, D)
  • 1968: Suburban Pagans (R, D, P, as Shannon Carse)
  • 1968: Four Kinds of Love (R, D, P, as Shannon Carse)
  • 1968: Overexposed (R, as WA Chrisfield)
  • 1969: Shannon's Women (R, D)
  • 1969: A Taste of Hot Lead (D)
  • 1969: House of Pain and Pleasure (D)
  • 1971: The Godson (R, D, P)
  • 1971: She Did What He Wanted (R, as Clay McCord)
  • 1971: Midnight Hard (R, as Clay McCord)
  • 1972: Street of a Thousand Pleasures (R, as Clay McCord)
  • 1984: Hollywood Blue Video (R)
  • 1987: The Real Ghostbusters - The Scissors of Fate (TV series, episode 2 × 77, D)
  • 1994: Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb (video game)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martin Morse Wooster: Rotsler, William . In: Noelle Watson, Paul E. Schellinger: Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers. St. James Press, Chicago 1991, ISBN 1-55862-111-3 , p. 676.
  2. ↑ Stephen H. Goldman: Rotsler, William . In: James Gunn : The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. Viking, New York et al. a. 1988, ISBN 0-670-81041-X , p. 391.
personal data
SURNAME Rotsler, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Appleton, Victor (pseudonym); Arrow, William (pen name); Carse, Shannon (pseudonym); Chrisfield, WA (pen name); Hall, John Ryder (pen name); McCord, Clay (pseudonym); Rostler, William (pseudonym); Rostler, Bill (pseudonym); Rotseler, Bill (pseudonym); Rotsler, Bill (alternative spelling); Rotsler, W. (alternative spelling); Rotsler, Wm. (Alternative spelling); Rotsler (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction cartoonist and writer and pornographer
DATE OF BIRTH July 3, 1926
PLACE OF BIRTH Los Angeles , California
DATE OF DEATH October 18, 1997
Place of death California