Dan O'Bannon, screenwriter of cult, punk rock, horror classic, Return of the Living Dead, and sci-fi horror classic, Alien, has died at 63 from complications due to Crohn's disease. Some of O'Bannon's other credits include Blue Thunder, Total Recall, Dead & Buried, and Lifeforce. He worked in many aspects of the business (acting, production, direction) - he even did graphics work on Star Wars! - but was best known for his writing.
In 1985, O'Bannon made his directorial debut with one of The Weirding's top flicks of all-time, Return of the Living Dead, a feature he wrote and described as a "rock n roll zombie movie." We brought you the reunion clips last Halloween (2008).
O'Bannon's first film was Dark Star, a sci-fi/horror flick directed by John Carpenter and co-written by the two. Carpenter told the L.A. Times that O'Bannon was "enormously talented and... quite underappreciated." His wife described him, succinctly as "a futurist."
The film he had been working on just prior to his death chronicled his battle with Crohn's disease - an inflammation of the bowel which is genetically inherited and affects this blogger, as well. His widow described it as a sci-fi/horror movie ("...of course," she said) entitled The Pain Clinic.
Dan O'Bannon was survived by his wife of 25 years and son, Adam.
I loved O'Bannon's work and would like to extend my sincerest condolences to all of his friends and family.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
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