Douglas Noel Adams, 1952 - 2001
Born: 11 March 1952, Cambridge, East Anglia, England, UK
Died: 11 May 2001, Santa Barbara, California
Adams' parents divorced when he was five and he moved to Brentwood with his mother, graduating from Brentwood School in 1970. An essay on the revival of religious poetry earned him the chance to return to Cambridge to study English, he earned both bachelors and masters degrees there and was active in CULES, the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society, and Footlights. He hitch-hiked extensively in Europe during summers. He was involved in several projects with Graham Chapman (of Monty Python fame), including one episode of Monty Python (he also appeared on the show twice), served as script editor for Doctor Who, but had to take other work to support himself, such as chicken-shed cleaner and bodyguard for a wealthy Qatari family. In 1977 he pitched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to BBC Radio 4, they bought three sets of shows, followed by a television adaptation based on the first six radio scripts. Despite having great difficulty writing (he was locked in a hotel room for three weeks to make sure he finished So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish), he developed the concept into the "increasingly misnamed trilogy" that spanned five volumes. He was involved in trying to get the story made into a movie for the rest of his life. He wrote two books based on the "holistic" detective Dirk Gently, the first of which was written between two major trips he took with Mark Carwardine. The two created a radio series and non-fiction book Last Chance to See dealing with threatened species. In 1999 Adams and his family moved to Santa Barbara, California, partially in hopes of finally putting together a move version of HHGG. He regularly worked out at a gym at Montecito, California, he suffered a myocardial infarction during a rest period. Narrowing of his coronary arteries had not been diagnosed prior to the fatal event.
Biography from Wikipedia and the Douglas Adams Continuum
Additional quotes from Wikiquote. Wikiquote entries are often "sourced" and may include items longer than those included here, particularly for poets, lyricists, and dramatists.
Douglas Adams quotes:
Quotes found : 113 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 8) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
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- A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools. permalink
Douglas Adams - A computer terminal is not some clunky old television with a typewriter in front of it. It is an interface where the mind and body can connect with the universe and move bits of it about. permalink
Douglas Adams - Mostly Harmless (1992) - A learning experience is one of those things that say, "You know that thing you just did? Don't do that." permalink
Douglas Adams - Interview in The Daily Nexus (5 April 2000) - All it takes to fly is to hurl yourself at the ground ... and miss. permalink
Douglas Adams - All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated and well supported in logic and argument than others. permalink
Douglas Adams - The Salmon of Doubt (2002) - Alone of all the races on earth, they seem to be free from the 'Grass is Greener on the other side of the fence' syndrome, and roundly proclaim that Australia is, in fact, the other side of that fence. permalink
Douglas Adams - Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. permalink
Douglas Adams - Anything that happens, happens. Anything that, in happening, causes something else to happen, causes something else to happen. Anything that, in happening, causes itself to happen again, happens again. It doesn't necessarily do it in chronological order though. permalink
Douglas Adams - Mostly Harmless (1992) - Anything that is in the world when you're born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works. Anything that's invented between when you're fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it. Anything invented after you're thirty-five is against the natural order of things. permalink
Douglas Adams - The Salmon of Doubt (posthumous collectionm 2002) - As a result of all this hardship, dirt, thirst, and wombats, you would expect Australians to be a dour lot. Instead, they are genial, jolly, cheerful, and always willing to share a kind word with a stranger, unless they are an American. permalink
Douglas Adams - Being offended by things is the world's big hobby at the moment. It's almost taken over from wearing goatee beards. permalink
Douglas Adams - Bypasses are devices that allow some people to dash from point A to point B very fast while other people dash form point B to point A very fast. People living at point C, being a point directly in between, are often given to wonder what's so great about point A that so many people from point B are so keen to get there, and what's so great about point B that so many people from point A are so keen to get there. They often wish that people would just once and for all decide where the hell they wanted to be. permalink
Douglas Adams - Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didn't have a good answer to. permalink
Douglas Adams - Don't panic. permalink
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979) - Driving a Porsche in London is like bringing a Ming vase to a football game. permalink
Douglas Adams - Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Companion
Quotes found : 113 — (15 per page, this is page 1 of 8) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next
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