Stephen King Trivia

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Writes reviews of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series for Entertainment Weekly magazine. (imdb.com)

Wrote "The Running Man", a 304-page novel, in only ten days. (imdb.com)

King was accidentally hit in the back by a minivan while walking on Route 5 near North Lovell, Maine. He suffered a broken leg, a bruised lung and a head laceration. The driver of the van was distracted by his dog. King was found lying in a depression about 14 feet off the road and appeared to have been thrown by the collision. The van's windshield was broken and the right front corner of the car was crunched in from the impact of striking King. [19 June 1999] (imdb.com)

Often listens to hard rock music during the time he writes to get inspired. He also plays in a rock band himself. (imdb.com)

Revealed that he is suffering from macular degeneration, a currently incurable condition which will most likely lead to blindness. [May 1999] (imdb.com)

Son Joseph Hillstrom King is also a novelist. He spent the past several years writing under the pen name Joe Hill, the name of a labor leader who is also his namesake. (imdb.com)

Supposedly created his pseudonym Richard Bachman by reading a novel by Donald E. Westlake, whose pseudonym is Richard Stark, while listening to Bachman-Turner Overdrive. (imdb.com)

It is falsely rumored that he will not sign autographs because of superstition. Actually, he doesn't sign them because he hates the idolatry of celebrities (he also will not endorse an official fan club for the same reason). He will sign autographs now only at book signings, according to his official website. (imdb.com)

In 1992 he and wife Tabitha King gave a donation to build Mansfield Stadium in Bangor, Maine. In August of 2002 he threw the first pitch at the opening of the Senior League Baseball World Series. The Kings were honored for their generosity with an inscribed stone monument shaped like a home plate. (imdb.com)

King has never censored his own work. The death scene of the doctor in novel "'Salem's Lot" was cut due to the demands of the editor at Doubleday. (imdb.com)

He belongs to a an all-writer rock band called "Rock Bottom Remainders" with other such writers as Amy Tan, Dave Barry, Scott Turow, Roy Blount Jr. and James McBride. Their motto is, according to Barry, "We play music as well as Metallica writes novels.". (imdb.com)

Estimated annual salary is $40 million. [May 1999] (imdb.com)

Is good friends with horror director George A. Romero. (imdb.com)

He is an avid Red Sox fan. Before the Sox won the 2004 World Series, he said he wanted his tombstone epitaph to be a single sock and the line "Not In My Lifetime, Not In Yours, Either." (imdb.com)

HBO paid $1.5 million for the rights to the novel "Rose Madder". [October 1996] (imdb.com)

Bryan Smith, the driver of the van that hit King, dies. King said in a statement, "I was very sorry to hear of the passing of Bryan Smith.The death of a 43-year-old man can only be termed untimely.". [26 September 2000] (imdb.com)

Contributed a short monologue to two versions of the Blue Öyster Cult song "Astronomy" (from the out-of-print "Imaginos" album) on a promotional CD single. (imdb.com)

Owns a house on Sanibel Island, Florida (imdb.com)

The fictional town of Castle Rock is located in Maine. Stand by Me (1986), the first film to be set in that town, accidentally set it in Oregon. This is because the original story, "The Body", only mentions that Castle Rock is near Portland, without identifying which state. It is only identified as being in Maine in his other stories. The only clues in "The Body" that it takes place in Maine is the fact that the local radio stations begin with W, which, with only a few exceptions, applies only to stations east of the Mississippi River. (imdb.com)

His short story "The Man in the Black Suit" won an O. Henry Award for Best Short Story in 1996. (imdb.com)

King published seven novels ("Rage", "The Long Walk", "Roadwork", "The Running Man", "Thinner", "The Regulators" and "Blaze") under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. (imdb.com)

- Underwent surgery to remove scar tissue and fluid from his lungs from a bout of pneumonia. [25 November 2003] (imdb.com)

Used to work for a dry cleaner before publishing his first novel. (imdb.com)

A recovering alcoholic, King noted in his book "On Writing" that he was drunk virtually the whole time of writing the book "Cujo" and to this day barely remembers writing any of it. (imdb.com)

Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors". New Revision Series, vol. 134, pages 256-271. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2005. (imdb.com)

His daughter Naomi wed her 54 year old lesbian partner Thandeka (who is a theological school teacher) in Nashville, Tennessee. [June 2000] (imdb.com)

Cites Sir William Golding's novel Lord of the Flies as a major influence on him. One of the chapters in that book was "Castle Rock," which later became the name of a fictional town in several of King's stories. (imdb.com)

Children: Naomi Rachel (b. 1972), Joseph Hillstrom (b. 1974) and Owen Phillip (b. 1979). (imdb.com)

Once said that his favorite personal horror movie was Tourist Trap (1979), and his favorite film is Of Unknown Origin (1983). (imdb.com)

Was such a fan of the film 28 Days Later... (2002), he bought out an entire showing of the film in New York City. (imdb.com)

In 1988 he was offered the chance to write and direct A Nightmare on Elm Street: The Dream Child (1989). (imdb.com)

Is an avid AC/DC fan. (imdb.com)

Owns three radio stations in Maine (one has been named AP Station of the Year more than once) Online at zoneradio.com (imdb.com)

Many of his stories take place in or near the fictional small town of Castle Rock, Maine. The first film to be based on a Castle Rock story was Stand by Me (1986). Director Rob Reiner subsequently named his production company Castle Rock Entertainment. (imdb.com)

Fan of B-Movie Scream Queen Linnea Quigley. (imdb.com)

A huge fan of The Ramones, King penned the liner notes to the 2002 Ramones tribute album, "We're A Happy Family.". (imdb.com)

Met his wife Tabitha King while the two were working at the Fogler Library as students at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine. (imdb.com)

Dogs are often described as monsters or -- the opposite -- victims in his books and films (like Cujo (1983) or Pet Sematary (1989)). (imdb.com)

Scored in the 1300s on the SAT. (imdb.com)

Is a member of a band called the Rock Bottom Remainders, which is composed of other writers. Besides King the members include Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, James McBride, Mitch Albom, Roy Blount Jr., Matt Groening, Kathi Kamen Goldmark and Greg Iles. A "remainder" is a book that has not sold well and has been drastically reduced in price to ensure a quick sale. (imdb.com)

Portions of King's writings from when he was 9 years old appears in the 1993 book, "First Words", edited by Paul Mandelbaum, available from Algonquin books. (imdb.com)

In the 1980s he was battling a cocaine addiction. At one time his wife organized a group of family and friends and confronted him. She dumped onto the floor his trashcan, which included beer cans, cigarette butts, cough and cold medicines and various drug paraphernalia. Her message to him was: "Get help or get out. We love you, but we don't want to witness your suicide." He got help and was able to become clean and sober. (imdb.com)

He is the most successful American writer in history. (imdb.com)

Newspapers reported that he has bought the van that hit him on June; he plans to hammer it to pieces on the anniversary of the accident. [September 1999] (imdb.com)

Certified by Guinness Superlatives (the "Book of World Records" group) as having the most number of motion picture adaptations by a living author. (imdb.com)