robertc@teklds.UUCP (Robert D. Chew) (05/14/85)
The Portland Oregonian, Friday, May 10, 1985 Eugene,OR(AP) - Theodore Hamilton Sturgeon, a prominent science fiction writer, has died at a Eugene hospital of natural causes. He was 67. "He was one of the great American writers," Harlan Ellison, a close friend and fellow science fiction writer, said. "he was one to the most significant writers of the last quarter-century." "He was an influence on most of us science fiction and fantasy writers," said Ray Bradbury, who worter the introduction to Sturgeon's first book, "Without Sorcery," in 1949. "I Studied his writing style. He was right up there. He was an influence and a good one -- one of the finest writers in the field and a very gentle and kind human being." Sturgeon probably was best know for his books, "More Than Human," "Venus Plus X," "Some of Your Blood" and "The Dreaming Jewels." Sturgeon died Wednesday night in Sacred Heart General Hospital. Dr. Robert Carolan, the attending physician, said Sturgeon died of natural causes but declined to be more specific. The author was admitted to the hospital Sunday. Jim Frankel of Sturgeon's publisher, Bluejay Books, said the author had been suffering recently from lung ailments. The funeral will be private, according to the family. Sturgeon was born on Staten Island, NY. He is survived by his wife, Jane Tannehill Sturgeon, of Springfield, OR. Damon Knight of Eugene, a science fiction writer, said Sturgeon was one of the genre's first real stylists. "He was an innovator, he was very prominent in his field from the late 30's on," Knight said. "He quickly made himself visible as a stylist. We've had maybe two in the field, Sturgeon and Bradbury. "He wrote about various kinds of love at a time when it wasn't popular to do that." Sturgeon won Hugo and Nebula awards in 1970 for his short story, "Slow Sculpture," Frankel said, and the International Fantasy Award for "More Than Human" in 1954. ...