Ray Bradbury: Playboy and UCLA gave spark to ‘Fahrenheit 451’

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

On Tuesday (Aug. 24) I’ll be interviewing Ray Bradbury and Hugh Hefner on stage at the WGA Theater(135 S. Doheny Drive, Beverly Hills) right before a screening of François Truffaut’s ‘Fahrenheit 451.’ The two icons have a strong mutual admiration society and Bradbury recently told Elizabeth Kivowitz Boatright-Simon of UCLA about the role of Playboy in the classic novel’s arrival in the public consciousness.

Bradbury’s 90th birthday is Monday and there’s a wide range of events in Los Angeles to mark the milestone. UCLA has set up a wonderful online tribute to the famed author with more videos like the one above, writings by Bradbury, a ‘Fahrenheit’ time line and trivia too. There’s even a spot where you can leave a birthday greeting for Bradbury. I hope to chat with some Hero Complex readers at the Aug. 24 event, be sure to say hello. For RSVP information, go to the Ray Bradbury Week page on Facebook.

-- Geoff Boucher

RECENT AND RELATED

Bradbury will attend ‘451’ screening on Aug. 24

STAR WALK: Bradbury and the magic of story

Bradbury: ‘Our country is in need of a revolution’

Ray Bradbury’s ‘Dark Carnival’ and painting with words

GUEST ESSAY: Searching for Bradbury

‘Fahrenheit 451’ and the credibility of comics

Disney done dark -- the legacy of ‘Something Wicked’

Ray Bradbury dreams of a different downtown

PHOTO: UCLA