Ray Russell papers, 1953-1969

Ray Russell (1924-1999) was an American writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. He is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.

Russell served in the South Pacific theater of World War II in the U.S. Air Force (1943-1946), was briefly at the Chicago Conservatory of Music (1947-1948), the Goodman Memorial Institute (1949-1951) and the U.S. Treasury. Russell joined Playboy magazine in 1954, serving as an associate editor. From 1955 to 1960, he was executive editor. He remained a contributing editor to Playboy into the early 1970s and, in this capacity, Russell published a large amount of science fiction, fantasy, and horror in the magazine.

His most famous short fiction is Sardonicus, which appeared in the January 1961 issue of Playboy magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for William Castle’s film version titled Mr Sardonicus. Sardonicus was part of a trio of stories with Sanguinarius and Sagittarius. Russell’s first novel was The Case Against Satan (1963), about a young girl possessed by a demon. Russell was also one of the screenwriters for Roger Corman’s X and The Premature Burial. His last published novel was Absolute Power (1992). In 1991, Russell received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement.