Thomas Nicholas Scortia (August 29, 1926 – April 29, 1986) was an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

author. He collaborated on several works with fellow author

Frank M. Robinson Frank Malcolm Robinson (August 9, 1926 – June 30, 2014) was an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer. He was a speechwriter for gay politician Harvey Milk and Milk's designated successor in the event of his death but decline ...

. He sometimes used the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s "Scott Nichols", "Gerald MacDow", and "Arthur R. Kurtz".

Biography

Scortia was born in Alton, Illinois. He attended

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

, where he earned a degree in chemistry in 1949. He worked for a number of aerospace companies during the 1950s and 1960s/early 1970s, and held a patent for the fuel used by one of the

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...

fly-by missions. Scortia had been writing in his spare time while still working in the aerospace field. When the industry began to see increased unemployment in the early 1970s, Scortia decided to try his hand at full-time writing. His novel, ''

The Glass Inferno ''The Glass Inferno'' is a 1974 novel by American writer Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. It is one of the two books that was used to create the movie ''The Towering Inferno ''The Towering Inferno'' is a 1974 American disaster fil ...

'' (in collaboration with Frank M. Robinson) was, in combination with the novel '' The Tower'' by

Richard Martin Stern Richard Martin Stern (March 17, 1915 in Fresno, California – October 31, 2001 in Santa Fe, New Mexico) was an American novelist. Stern began his writing career in the 1950s with mystery tales of private investigators, winning a 1959 Edgar Aw ...

, the basis for the 1974 film '' The Towering Inferno''. Scortia also collaborated with

Dalton Trumbo James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including ''Roman Holiday'' (1953), ''Exodus'', ''Spartacus'' (both 1960), and ''Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo'' (1944) ...

on the novel ''The Endangered Species.'' Scortia died in La Verne, California on April 29, 1986 while being treated for

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ' ...

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

credited Scortia with having "literally saved llisonfrom being

courtmartial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

ed back in 1958".

Works

Novels

*''Blowout'' (1987) (with

) *''The Gold Crew'' (1980) (with

) *''The Nightmare Factor'' (1978) (with

) *''The Prometheus Crisis'' (1975) (with

) *''

'' (1974) (with

) *''Earthwreck!'' (1974) *''Artery of Fire'' (1972) *''What Mad Oracle?: A Novel of the World As It Is'' (1961)

Collections

*''The best of Thomas N. Scortia'' (1981) edited by

George Zebrowski George Zebrowski (born December 28, 1945) is an American science fiction writer and editor who has written and edited a number of books, and is a former editor of The Bulletin of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He lives with author Pamela ...

*''Caution: Inflammable'' (1976) introduction by Theodore Sturgeon

Short stories

*"The Shores of Night" (1956) *"Sea Change" (1956)
The Bomb in the Bathtub
''Galaxy'', Feb 1957 *"The Icebox Blonde" (1959)

References

External links

*

short Scortia bio

U.S. Patent 3575744 for Nitronium Perchlorate Propellant Composition, at Google Patents * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scortia, Thomas N. 1926 births 1986 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers Washington University in St. Louis alumni American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers