Thomas N. Scortia
Encyclopedia
Thomas Nicholas Scortia (August 29, 1926 - April 29, 1986) was a science fiction
author. He worked in the American aerospace industry until the late 60s/early 70s. He collaborated on several works with fellow author Frank M. Robinson
. He sometimes used the pseudonym
s "Scott Nichols", "Gerald MacDow", and "Arthur R. Kurtz."
. He attended Washington University in St. Louis
, where he earned a degree in chemistry in 1949. He worked for a number of aerospace companies during the 1950s and 60s, and held a patent for the fuel used by one of the Jupiter
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 first novel, The Glass Inferno
(in collaboration with Frank M. Robinson) was the inspiration for the 1974 film The Towering Inferno. Scortia also collaborated with Dalton Trumbo
on the novel The Endangered Species.
Scortia died of leukemia
in La Verne, California
on April 29, 1986.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author. He worked in the American aerospace industry until the late 60s/early 70s. He collaborated on several works with fellow author Frank M. Robinson
Frank M. Robinson
Frank M. Robinson is an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer.-Biography:Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois. The son of a check forger, Frank started out working as a copy boy for International Service in his teens and then became an office boy for Ziff-Davis...
. He sometimes used the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
s "Scott Nichols", "Gerald MacDow", and "Arthur R. Kurtz."
Biography
Scortia was born in Alton, IllinoisAlton, Illinois
Alton is a city on the Mississippi River in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about north of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 27,865 at the 2010 census. It is a part of the Metro-East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area in Southern Illinois...
. He attended Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
, where he earned a degree in chemistry in 1949. He worked for a number of aerospace companies during the 1950s and 60s, and held a patent for the fuel used by one of the Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
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 first novel, The Glass Inferno
The Glass Inferno
The Glass Inferno is a 1974 novel by 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 other being The Tower.-Plot summary:...
(in collaboration with Frank M. Robinson) was the inspiration for the 1974 film The Towering Inferno. Scortia also collaborated with Dalton Trumbo
Dalton Trumbo
James Dalton Trumbo was an American screenwriter and novelist, and one of the Hollywood Ten, a group of film professionals who refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 during the committee's investigation of Communist influences in the motion picture industry...
on the novel The Endangered Species.
Scortia died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
in La Verne, California
La Verne, California
La Verne is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 31,063 at the 2010 census, down from 31,638 at the 2000 census.-History:...
on April 29, 1986.
Novels
- The Gold Crew (1980) (with Frank M. RobinsonFrank M. RobinsonFrank M. Robinson is an American science fiction and techno-thriller writer.-Biography:Robinson was born in Chicago, Illinois. The son of a check forger, Frank started out working as a copy boy for International Service in his teens and then became an office boy for Ziff-Davis...
) - Earthwreck! (1974)
- Artery of Fire (1972)
- What Mad Oracle?: A Novel of the World As It Is (1961)
Short stories
- "Sea Change" (1956)
- "The Bomb in the Bathtub" ss Galaxy Feb ’57
- "The Icebox Blonde" (1959)
- "Caution: Inflammable"(1976) Collection of short stories
External links
- http://gwillick.com/Spacelight/scortia.html short Scortia bio
- http://www.google.com/patents?id=eoh1AAAAEBAJ U.S. Patent 3575744 for Nitronium Perchlorate Propellant Composition, at Google Patents