03/19/2008
Science Fiction Visionary Arthur C. Clarke Dies at 90
The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke died early Wednesday at 90 in Sri Lanka after experiencing breathing problems.
Roger Ebert wrote that he once viewed 2001: A Space Odyssey (which Clarke co-created with director Stanley Kubrick) "at Cyberfest 1997, a birthday celebration for HAL 9000, who reveals in the film that he was born in 1997 at the university's computer lab." Wrote Ebert: "(There was a panel discussion featuring Arthur C. Clarke, live from Sri Lanka, on a huge screen over the stage; told by a panelist that HAL "sounded gay," Sir Arthur said, "I think you'll have to ask HAL about that.")"
People speculated over the years about Clarke's sexuality. In 2000, The Guardian wrote: "Clarke's private life remains a mystery. He was married briefly to an American, Marilyn Mayfield, now dead, whom he met while diving in Florida in the 50s. Asked whether he is gay, Clarke always gives the same puckish pro forma answer: 'No, merely cheerful.'"
Here's the NYT obit. For those of you who wish he had come out of the closet, here's an alternative one.
AFTER THE JUMP, watch a video clip recorded in December 2007, A Last Message from Arthur C. Clarke.
(image wooster collective)
Posted 8:07 AM EST by Andy Towle in Deaths, News, Space | Permalink
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RIP.
Posted by: Joe | Mar 19, 2008 8:30:03 AM
I never knew that Arthur C. Clarke was probably gay. Interesting.
Posted by: crispy | Mar 19, 2008 8:54:17 AM
The sci-fi geek in me says RIP
Clark's law "Any sufficiently advanced technology will appear as magic to less advanced people."
Posted by: Jimmyboyo | Mar 19, 2008 9:06:21 AM
The alternative obituary is disgusting in the way it portrays a great man, who was forward-thinking but, come on, still born in, what... 1918? Even if he was gay, for which there seems to be only spurious evidence, I think I can forgive him for not coming out.
Posted by: Matt | Mar 19, 2008 9:19:34 AM
I love that picture (painting??), too. Who can it be credited to??
Posted by: virgoboy | Mar 19, 2008 9:33:47 AM
"The university," in this article refers to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which has a big computer science program and helped to invent the World Wide Web.
The fictional HAL 9000 was fictionally invented at the real UIUC.
Posted by: Marc in Chicago | Mar 19, 2008 11:17:41 AM
I know a couple of science fiction writers and his sexuality was a kind of open secret in the sf community back into the 1960s (when gay sex was still illegal in the UK, remember), and the subject of snarky comments from very hetero sf nerds. No wonder he moved to Sri Lanka. One of his 70s novels, Imperial Earth, has gay characters, as I recall.
Posted by: John C | Mar 19, 2008 12:32:22 PM
I first heard he was gay from Bradbury's assistant many years ago - a very reliable source.
I've tried to insert a phrase to that effect in the paragraph after his 6-month marriage is mentioned on Wikipedia - but it keeps disappearing within moments.
I inserted that he was a "discrete" gay man (some would say closeted) that was typical for gay British men of his generation.
He certainly played games with questions about being gay from the public (just as many older gay British actors were known to do), but he, apparently, didn't hide it from friends. I understand - I mean Turing was driving to suicide after his career and personal reputation was ruined by the British government.
It still make me angry as hell that not a single news organization reported his death as a gay man - almost as mad as the garbage with Wikipedia.
I guess it won't be "revealed" until his personal papers are released in 50 years (as per his instructions)... very sad!
David B.
Posted by: David B. | Mar 19, 2008 2:11:26 PM
I would never have guessed that he might be gay, though the British generally get pigeonholed that way owing to their collective mannerisms. And he was hardly foppish at all.
Posted by: anon | Mar 19, 2008 2:29:29 PM
I like that photo/painting, too. Where's it from, Andy? That would be a terrific desktop wallpaper ...
And RIP, Mr. Clarke ...
Posted by: Johnny L. | Mar 20, 2008 12:57:19 AM
There are more than a few rumors around that he had a fondness for youngsters and that once reason he went to Sri Lanka was that they had an age of consent of 13 (upgraded to 17 in more recent years). Valleywag.com had some interesting quotes from Clarke recently that suggested even if he wasn't into boys he had a flexible definition of when they were fair game. Doesn't diminish his skill as a writer, just adds some further dimension to his complexity.
Posted by: s. W. | Mar 20, 2008 1:27:47 PM
Writer Michael Moorcock in today's Guardian:
"In spite of it all, my liking for Arthur continued. Everyone knew he was gay. In the 1950s I'd go out drinking with his boyfriend. We met his proteges, western and eastern, and their families: people who had only the most generous praise for his kindness. Self-absorbed he might be, and a teetotaller, but an impeccable gent through and through."
http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2267284,00.html
Posted by: John C | Mar 22, 2008 2:07:21 PM