I've met William F. Nolan on several occasions, including sharing a dinner table at the 2013 World Horror Convention in New Orleans, LA. At first glance, he appears to be an old man, but inside he's surprisingly sharp with an amazing sense of humor. It's easy to underestimate him, until you start to chat.
Born on March 6th, 1928, in Kansas City, MO, to Irish Catholic parents, William excelled due to his sharp mind and fast wit. A chance meeting with Charles Beaumont led William to writing, and he's been producing ever since.
While William F. Nolan is best known for his science fiction novel Logan's Run, including the movie that had the first cinematic appearance by Farrah Fawcett, he's actually written many different series over the years. What many people don't know is that he hops around in different genres, especially dark fiction and horror. If you name almost any golden age science fiction author, William can probably whip up a humerous anecdote about that person on the spot.
William has a cabinet full of awards, including the titles of Author Emeritus by SFWA and the Lifetime Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association.
Not one to sit on his laurels even at the grand age of 85, he's branched out to writing screenplays, including Burnt Offerings, and teleplays. He continues to write almost every day, and has started to do some work on comics and graphic novels. He's even appeared in some productions, such as JaSunni's Charles Beaumont: The Life of Twilight Zone's Magic Man.
Some of his best work, in my opinion, hides in his short story collections. If you have the opportunity to go to a reading at a convention, I recommend you do so. While at Killercon in Las Vegas in 2012, he gave a wonderful reading that was lively and funny, and even scary at times. The gentleman is a treasure.