Author, Artist. He wrote and illustrated over 100 works which included books, poems, short stories and even animations for television: the most renowned of which being the opening credits to the popular PBS "Mystery!" series. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he attended the Art Institute of Chicago and then Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He developed meticulously styled pen and ink drawings, which depicted horrifying situations with an irreverent dark humor (an example of this was his book "The Gashlycrumb Tinies" in which children named for each letter of the alphabet meets their demise in illustrated panels). His creativity expanded beyond books to his award-winning set designs (Dracula, Broadway 1977), and he also wrote and produced shows and his own puppet theatre, known as "Le Theatricule Stoique" in Cape Cod. He used the pseudonym "Odgred Weary" (an anagram of his name) and published works such as "The Curious Sofa: a Pornographic Tale by Ogdred Weary" and added more ironic and humorous notions to his credits. In addition to his own writings, Gorey has illustrative credits in works by 60 other authors. From his first illustrations in 1953 for the New Yorker magazine through the varied and unusual works that span his career, his insights were considered to be consistently clever and more than slightly bizarre. In the book "The Strange Case of Edward Gorey", biographer Alexander Theroux chronicles the life and times of this eccentric man who in addition to his work collected curiosities such as telephone pole insulators, skulls, ashtrays and iron utensils. Gorey's house on Cape Cod is now a museum in tribute to his life's work. Gorey served his wit with a side of gothic shadowing and fine pen strokes. Years before his death, he explained his view on life: "Life is intrinsically, well, boring and dangerous at the same time. At any given moment the floor may open up. Of course, it almost never does; that's what makes it so boring." When asked about his unusual bend to the everyday macabre, he once quipped, "What I'm really interested in is everyday life. It's dreadfully hazardous. I never could understand why people always feel they have to climb up Mount Everest when you know it's quite dangerous getting out of bed."