[wordup] Douglas Adams dies of a heart attack

[Adam Shand]

lame. 'nuff said.  make sure you check out the hitchhikers guide the
galaxy web site as well:

	http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/

URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1326000/1326657.stm
Via: The Eristocracy <Eristocracy at merrymeet.com>

Author Douglas Adams, who wrote The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, has
died suddenly aged 49.

Mr Adams died on Friday morning in Santa Barbara, California, following a
heart attack, said his spokeswoman Sophie Astin.

The author became a household name when the cult science fiction novel was
turned into a BBC TV series.

Prominent figures at the BBC, who worked with Adams on many projects, have
spoken of their shock and sorrow at his death.

Alan Yentob, the BBC director of drama and entertainment, said: "Douglas
was a big character who will be hugely missed by a host of friends and
millions of fans around the world.

"He was a gifted writer; a one-off talent who managed to combine fantasy
and humanity in books which enthralled generations of readers. We'll miss
him enormously."

The BBC's head of comedy, Geoffrey Perkins, who produced the original
Hitchhiker's radio series, said: "I'm absolutely devastated. I've known
Douglas for 25 years. He was absolutely one of the most creative geniuses
to ever work in radio comedy.

"He probably wrote one of the greatest radio comedy series ever; certainly
the most imaginative.

Film

"For somebody who was so involved in breakthroughs in new developments in
technology, it's a tragedy that he's died before most of the things he's
talked about have come about."

Ashley Highfield, the BBC director of new media, who worked wth Adams on
his website, said: "I've been a huge fan of Douglas and working with him
on the h2g2 website was the culmination of childhood dreams.

"He was pretty unique in being innovative in media after media - from
radio to the web. He was still coming up with more new ideas than almost
anyone I've met.

"His brainchild - the h2g2 website - which the BBC has taken forward, is
groundbreaking in enabling an online encyclopaedia to be created by the
people for the people."

Adams was born in Cambridge in 1952 and educated in Essex before returning
to Cambridge to study at St John's College.

His career included work as a radio and television writer and producer
before his life was changed by the publication of The Hitchhiker's Guide
to the Galaxy in 1979.

The satirical tale chronicled the journey of alien Ford Prefect and his
human companion Arthur Dent throughout the universe after the destruction
of Earth.

It centred around the search for an answer to life, the universe, and
everything - which turned out to be 42.

The novel went on to sell more than 14 million copies worldwide and was
followed by the sequels The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Life,
the Universe and Everything and So Long and Thanks For All the Fish.

In recent years the author had been working on a Hitchhiker's Guide movie.

There was much speculation about who would play Arthur Dent, with Hugh
Laurie, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carrey, Ben Affleck and even Bruce Willis said
to be in the running.

Adams married Jane Belson in 1991 and had a daughter, Polly, in 1994.