Matheson, who died on Sunday, is perhaps best known for his novel I Am Legend, which was adapted as The Omega Man as well as the 2007 Will Smith blockbuster. He published almost thirty novels over the course of his career, including The Shrinking Man and What Dreams May Come, as well as dozens of short stories.

Matheson also enjoyed a successful Hollywood career. Some of his most memorable scripts were the ones he worked on for The Twilight Zone during the 1950s and 60s. He was responsible for one of the show’s most iconic episodes, Nightmare at 20,000 Feet.

The episode tells the story of a man (played by William Shatner) who spots a gremlin on the wing of his plane, but his fellow passengers do not believe him. Adapted by Matheson from one of his own short stories, it was later remade as part of Twilight Zone: The Movie.

Among his many adaptations and original screenplays, Matheson wrote the script for Steven Spielberg’s directorial debut Duel, again based on one of the writer's short stories. In more recent years, two his stories were adapted as The Box and Real Steel. His last novel Generations was released in 2012.

In a statement, Steven Spielberg said “Richard Matheson's ironic and iconic imagination created seminal science-fiction stories and gave me my first break when he wrote the short story and screenplay for Duel. His Twilight Zones were among my favourites, and he recently worked with us on Real Steel. For me, he is in the same category as Bradbury and Asimov".

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