Rather than mention every title, however, we’re going to hit them all here at once.
We love Stephen King for every word, every page.
“Books are uniquely portable magic,” he once wrote.
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He’s more funny than scary.
More generous than ominous.
And he exalts in all the weirdness he likes to foist on his Constant Readers.
Even his Victorian house in Bangor, Maine, has bats and gargoyles in the wrought iron gates.
He knows what you love, and he serves it up with a smile.
What Scares Him?
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King probably gets this question more than any other.
The answer: um,you.
“What scares me is when a whole bunch of [fans] are together.
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‘There he is, there he goes!’
I wouldn’t like that kind of fame.”
King’s daughter, Naomi, is a writer of sorts too, working as a minister in Florida.
Sony Pictures
Look for EW’s interview with King and King on Monday.
Crystal Ball
Sleeping Beautiesisn’t Stephen’s first collaboration with Owen.
That honor goes to this 1987 Hasbro toy.
Owen was a devoted G.I.
Joe fan, and he and his dad devised this villainous mindreader one day for fun.
(More on that in Monday’s interview.)
Off the Shelf/YouTube
She’s a novelist herself, having published such books as 1981’sSmall World, 1988’sPearl, and 1997’sSurvivor.
He discarded it in frustration, she urged him to keep working.
It takes a lot of acceptance to make a marriage work, and you have to keep talking.
Hasbro
And you have to like the other person, too.
That helps an awful lot."
Give Him a Hand
As a storyteller, King has always pushed the limits.
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He wanted to have a character lose his fingers in a slamming door, but ABC balked.
“I told them, ‘Well, I’m sorry.
I guess we can’t do this show.'”
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The web link gave in.
When Stephen King wants to cut off fingers, censors get out of his way.
The Bigger They Come
King is also endearingly humble.
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Not that he has much to be humble about.
But he had misgivings: “It’s a national scandal.
Not that I should be there, but that I should be the only writer there.”
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If that happens, as it did with Darabont, they have to pay a percentage.
“It’s a way of saying to people, ‘I got my chance.
“What does it hurt?
But it’s a pain in the ass for my assistant Marsha.”
There’s no pretentiousness here.
“Come play with us …” (You wouldn’t see Jonathan Franzen letting loose like this.)
Buddy Mays/Corbis via Getty Images
While in pre-production on the 1980 movie, Kubrick told King he thought the book was"optimistic.
“What’s optimistic about a haunted hotel and a murderous alcoholic father?
Kubrick’s answer: If there are ghosts, that means there must be life after death.
Comedy Central
(Way to look on the bright side, Stanley.)
“And that key he tied to that kite?
It opened the gates of Hell!”
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Marge is unimpressed and tells him to get back to her when he returns to horror.
Action Man
Hey, he got aSimpsonsaction figure out of it!
“Oh Boy …”
Some tributes don’t even have King’s involvement.
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Robot Chicken
Another bit of fun at King’s expense?
ThisRobot Chickensketch (although Dean Koontz ends up paying the higher price).
“It ain’t quite as nice as your house.
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Foundation’s a little creaky.
But same neighborhood, right?”
“Always room for second best, I say.”
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Basically, he put a tap in his brain, and let the stream of consciousness flow.
He has even earned praise for being"sassy.”
Not everybody likes his outspokeness, though.
Adult Swim
The National Medal of the Arts
That’s okay.
Blocked by one president, honored by another.
(Along with the Trump block, he has now been honored by two Commanders in Chief.)
Stephen King/Twitter
The author was nearly killed and sustained serious injuries, but he recovered.
But he also had other ideas: “I’m going to take a sledgehammer and beat it!”
King told the Bridgton News in his home state.
Stephen King/Twitter
Can I be blunt on this subject?
Simple as that.”
Prolific Output
This has been a joke forever.
While Dennis Miller interviews him, “King” never stops typing.
While promoting his dual release ofDesperationandThe Regulators(“Two at a time!”
he tried to answer ads in writers magazines offering cash for quick knock-off books like erotica.
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“But I couldn’t do it.
When I got to the twins in the birdbath, I gave up.”
(Letterman missed his chance to yell “Two at a time!”
Simon and Schuste
Then he succumbed to what King described as “cancer of the pseudonym.”
(King had no hard feelings, and encouraged the man to write about his detective work.)
He pulled the book himself.
Mitchell Gerber/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images
All proceeds from the sales were donated to theBrady Campaign To Prevent Gun Violence.
It is joy in paper form.
“Do You Know Me?”
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Triskaidekaphobia
King has said in interviews that he is unsettled by the “unlucky” number 13.
“Hey!
Let’s Go!”
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He wrote the liner notes for the Ramones’ 2003 albumWere A Happy Family.
I Don’t Want to Live My Life Again"
Years later, the Ramones song forPet Sematarylives on.
It wascovered by the band Plain White Tsfor the closing credits of Tim Burton’s stop-motion monstrous pet movieFrankenweenie.
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They’ve since hung up their guitars, but who knows?
Maybe a reunion is possible some day.
As Barry once said: “We play music as well as Metallica writes novels.”
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Sadly, he did not receive an Oscar nomination.
King plays a loner biker who specializes in disposing of bodies.
The name of his character: Bachman, of course.
Claudia Inez Bachman
Mercedes, adapted from his 2014 book.
King put vanity aside to turn up as a short order cook in a diner.
Doesn’t look like natural causes.
Signet
This machine just called me an a–hole!"
In 2007, he told me: “I loved it myself.
It’s not a good movie, but a lot of things go ‘bang!’
Viking Penguin, Inc
If I had it to do over again, I might have done something a little quieter.”
First e-Book
you’re free to’t say Steve doesn’t try new things.
In 2000, he published this creepy hitchhiker short story, which is credited as the first mass-market e-book.
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It was available for download for $2.50, and in the first day it sold 400,000 copies.
On the road to digital books, this was one of the first paving stones.
He says he earned $721,448 from the experiment, causing publishers to quake.
Pocket Books
But he never finished the novel.
Charlie the Choo-Choo
He also recently toyed with children’s storytelling.
(Sort of.)
Last year, King wrote and published a real version of the storybook.
(The story is family-friend, but the illustrations by Ned Dameron are the nightmare fuel.)
The show is named after the plaything: “Chinga.”
Speaking of Favorite Things …
Here are a few of Uncle Steve’s faves.
When I see the first Waffle House, I know I’m in the South.
Philtrum Press
Here, you see his tweets toCaroline Kepnes(totally on his own, not requested).
Then he supplied a blurb for future editions of her stalker novel.
I’m not kidding about any of this."
Scribner
I call them Mint-Kebabs."
Now that’s a side business project for the music-loving author.
Dislikes
King has taken a hard line against having his name exploited.
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unleashing cosmic powers in the man.
“We took ‘em to court and won,” King told me in 2007.
King wasn’t happy, and he has had stalker issues before.
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“Nevertheless, I do not want to cause Stephen King or his family any discomfort.
Out of respect for them, I have decided not to publish.”
Friendly Rivalry
Most of the time, King is collegial with other writers.
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He can laugh at himself, so he likes when other authors can, too.
Stine is often called “Stephen King for kids,” but the two writers had never met.
When they finally did cross paths, King had a bone to pick.
“He accused me of using every amusement park theme any writer could ever use.
He accused me of using them all up, and he’s probably right,” Stine told EW.
King was just kidding.
Disney
There’s more to that little signal than “be afraid of clowns.”
You have to have fun.
it’s possible for you to’t be too serious.
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In a 1996 EW interview, King said: “I don’t consider what I do work.
It’s making stories up in my head.”
So, basically, the lesson is …
Smile!
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Love what you do.
Eat it right up!
Happiest of birthdays, Stephen King.
ABC
Here’s to many more.
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Audience Network
De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
Philtrum Press
Stephen King/Twitter
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Scholastic
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Tootsie Roll
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