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IMDbPro

Stephen King(I)

  • Writer
  • Producer
  • Actor
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00054
Stephen King at an event for The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Countless movies and television series have been inspired by the stories of Stephen King.  Here's a look at some of our favorites.
Play video2:07
The Adaptations of Stephen King
25 Videos
25 Photos
Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, at the Maine General Hospital in Portland. His parents were Nellie Ruth (Pillsbury), who worked as a caregiver at a mental institute, and Donald Edwin King, a merchant seaman. His father was born under the surname "Pollock," but used the last name "King," under which Stephen was born. He has an older brother, David. The Kings were a typical family until one night, when Donald said he was stepping out for cigarettes and was never heard from again. Ruth took over raising the family with help from relatives. They traveled throughout many states over several years, finally moving back to Durham, Maine, in 1958.

Stephen began his actual writing career in January of 1959, when David and Stephen decided to publish their own local newspaper named "Dave's Rag". David bought a mimeograph machine, and they put together a paper they sold for five cents an issue. Stephen attended Lisbon High School, in Lisbon, in 1962. Collaborating with his best friend Chris Chesley in 1963, they published a collection of 18 short stories called "People, Places, and Things--Volume I". King's stories included "Hotel at the End of the Road", "I've Got to Get Away!", "The Dimension Warp", "The Thing at the Bottom of the Well", "The Stranger", "I'm Falling", "The Cursed Expedition", and "The Other Side of the Fog." A year later, King's amateur press, Triad and Gaslight Books, published a two-part book titled "The Star Invaders".

King made his first actual published appearance in 1965 in the magazine Comics Review with his story "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber." The story ran about 6,000 words in length. In 1966 he graduated from high school and took a scholarship to attend the University of Maine. Looking back on his high school days, King recalled that "my high school career was totally undistinguished. I was not at the top of my class, nor at the bottom." Later that summer King began working on a novel called "Getting It On", about some kids who take over a classroom and try unsuccessfully to ward off the National Guard. During his first year at college, King completed his first full-length novel, "The Long Walk." He submitted the novel to Bennett Cerf/Random House only to have it rejected. King took the rejection badly and filed the book away.

He made his first small sale--$35--with the story "The Glass Floor". In June 1970 King graduated from the University of Maine with a Bachelor of Science degree in English and a certificate to teach high school. King's next idea came from the poem by Robert Browning, "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came." He found bright colored green paper in the library and began work on "The Dark Tower" saga, but his chronic shortage of money meant that he was unable to further pursue the novel, and it, too, was filed away. King took a job at a filling station pumping gas for the princely sum of $1.25 an hour. Soon he began to earn money for his writings by submitting his short stories to men's magazines such as Cavalier.

On January 2, 1971, he married Tabitha King (born Tabitha Jane Spruce). In the fall of 1971 King took a teaching job at Hampden Academy, earning $6,400 a year. The Kings then moved to Hermon, a town west of Bangor. Stephen then began work on a short story about a teenage girl named Carietta White. After completing a few pages, he decided it was not a worthy story and crumpled the pages up and tossed them into the trash. Fortunately, Tabitha took the pages out and read them. She encouraged her husband to continue the story, which he did. In January 1973 he submitted "Carrie" to Doubleday. In March Doubleday bought the book. On May 12 the publisher sold the paperback rights for the novel to New American Library for $400,000. His contract called for his getting half of that sum, and he quit his teaching job to pursue writing full time. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then King has had numerous short stories and novels published and movies made from his work. He has been called the "Master of Horror". His books have been translated into 33 different languages, published in over 35 different countries. There are over 300 million copies of his novels in publication. He continues to live in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, and writes out of his home.

In June 1999 King was severely injured in an accident, he was walking alongside a highway and was hit by a car, that left him in critical condition with injuries to his lung, broken ribs, a broken leg and a severely fractured hip. After three weeks of operations, he was released from the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.
BornSeptember 21, 1947
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornSeptember 21, 1947
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00054
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys

Photos25

Stephen King and Eli Roth in Eli Roth's History of Horror (2018)
Stephen King in Creepshow (1982)
Stephen King in Creepshow (1982)
Stephen King in Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (2012)
Stephen King in Creepshow (1982)
Stephen King, Mike Vogel, and Britt Robertson in Under the Dome (2013)
Stephen King and Tom Holland in Thinner (1996)
Stephen King in The Mist (2007)
Stephen King
Tom Hanks, Stephen King, and Frank Darabont in The Green Mile (1999)
Stephen King
Stephen King and Mike Fleiss

Known for

Stephen King, Emilio Estevez, and Laura Harrington in Maximum Overdrive (1986)
Maximum Overdrive
5.4
  • Writer
  • 1986
Creepshow (1982)
Creepshow
6.8
  • Writer
  • 1982
Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, Clancy Brown, Mark Rolston, Gil Bellows, William Sadler, Bob Gunton, Brian Libby, and James Whitmore in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption
9.3
  • Writer
  • 1994
Kingdom Hospital (2004)
Kingdom Hospital
6.7
TV Series
  • Writer(creator)

Credits

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IMDbPro

Writer

  • The Boogeyman
    • Completed
  • Untitled Pet Sematary Project
    • Post-production
  • The Talisman
    • In Development
  • Salem's Lot
    • Completed
  • The Long Walk
    • Pre-production
  • The Institute
    • In Development
  • Graduation Afternoon
    • Pre-production
  • The Running Man
    • In Development
  • I Know What You Need
    • Post-production
  • One for the Road
    • In Production
  • The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands (2022)
    The Man Who Would Not Shake Hands
  • The Woman in the Room (2022)
    The Woman in the Room
  • Craig Douglas in Cain Rose Up (2022)
    Cain Rose Up
  • The Stationary Bike (2022)
    The Stationary Bike
  • Jaeden Martell in Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
    Mr. Harrigan's Phone
  • All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (2022)
    All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
  • Eve Was Star (2022)
    Eve Was Star
  • Ryan Kiera Armstrong in Firestarter (2022)
    Firestarter
  • Beachworld (2022)
    Beachworld
  • Cain Rose Up (2022)
    Cain Rose Up
  • One for the Road (2021)
    One for the Road
  • Brittany Blanton in She Burns in Hell: Chapter 2 (2021)
    She Burns in Hell: Chapter 2
  • Andrew Bee in Mute (2021)
    Mute
  • Adrien Brody in Chapelwaite (2021)
    Chapelwaite
  • Strawberry Spring (2021)
    Strawberry Spring

Producer

  • Jaeden Martell in Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)
    Mr. Harrigan's Phone
  • Julianne Moore in Lisey's Story (2021)
    Lisey's Story
  • The Dark Tower (2020)
    The Dark Tower
  • Castle Rock (2018)
    Castle Rock
  • Brendan Gleeson in Mr. Mercedes (2017)
    Mr. Mercedes
  • James Franco in 11.22.63 (2016)
    11.22.63
  • Under the Dome (2013)
    Under the Dome
  • Desperation (2006)
    Desperation
  • Riding the Bullet (2004)
    Riding the Bullet
  • Kingdom Hospital (2004)
    Kingdom Hospital
  • The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2003)
    The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
  • Rose Red (2002)
    Rose Red
  • Storm of the Century (1999)
    Storm of the Century
  • The Shining (1997)
    The Shining
  • The Stand (1994)
    The Stand

Actor

  • Duncanville (2020)
    Duncanville
    • (voice)
  • The Stand (2020)
    The Stand
    • (uncredited)
  • Bill Skarsgård in It Chapter Two (2019)
    It Chapter Two
  • Gone
  • Brendan Gleeson in Mr. Mercedes (2017)
    Mr. Mercedes
    • (uncredited)
  • Under the Dome (2013)
    Under the Dome
  • Jennifer Connelly, Greg Kinnear, Logan Lerman, Nat Wolff, Liana Liberato, and Lily Collins in Stuck in Love. (2012)
    Stuck in Love.
    • (voice)
  • Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy (2008)
    Sons of Anarchy
  • Diary of the Dead (2007)
    Diary of the Dead
    • (voice, uncredited)
  • Gotham Cafe (2005)
    Gotham Cafe
  • Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch (2005)
    Fever Pitch
    • (uncredited)
  • Kingdom Hospital (2004)
    Kingdom Hospital
  • Rose Red (2002)
    Rose Red
    • (uncredited)
  • Unlocking Rose Red: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer (2002)
    Unlocking Rose Red: The Diary of Ellen Rimbauer
  • Kelsey Grammer, David Hyde Pierce, John Mahoney, Peri Gilpin, and Jane Leeves in Frasier (1993)
    Frasier
    • (voice)
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos25

Stephen King's One for the Road
Full Movie 17:09
Stephen King's One for the Road
The Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows to Stream in December
Clip 3:16
The Most Anticipated Movies and TV Shows to Stream in December
Stream & Scream: The Best Haunted Houses
Clip 4:35
Stream & Scream: The Best Haunted Houses
What We Know About "The Stand" ... So Far
Clip 3:39
What We Know About "The Stand" ... So Far
Who 'It Chapter Two' Cast Thinks May Have Been Separated at Birth
Clip 3:32
Who 'It Chapter Two' Cast Thinks May Have Been Separated at Birth
A 3-Hour Monsterpiece: How 'It Chapter Two' Pushed Cast to the Brink
Clip 3:40
A 3-Hour Monsterpiece: How 'It Chapter Two' Pushed Cast to the Brink
Did 'It Chapter Two' Break a World Record for Fake Blood?
Clip 2:49
Did 'It Chapter Two' Break a World Record for Fake Blood?
Is SXSW 2019 the Best Fest for Horror?
Clip 2:25
Is SXSW 2019 the Best Fest for Horror?
IMDbrief: Candyman, Chucky, & More Horror Reboots Coming for You
Clip 2:38
IMDbrief: Candyman, Chucky, & More Horror Reboots Coming for You
The Boogeyman
Clip 1:12
The Boogeyman
Find Out Why "The Stand" Is the Most 2020 Show
Interview 4:02
Find Out Why "The Stand" Is the Most 2020 Show
How 'Pet Sematary' Found Their Scene-Stealing Zombie Kid
Interview 2:26
How 'Pet Sematary' Found Their Scene-Stealing Zombie Kid

Personal details

Edit
  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Official Site
    • September 21, 1947
    • Portland, Maine, USA
    • Tabitha KingJanuary 2, 1971 - present (3 children)
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Novel: "Hearts in Atlantis" (filmed as Hearts in Atlantis (2001)
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 16 Interviews
    • 34 Articles
    • 8 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    After watching the first cut of Rob Reiner 's Stand by Me (1986), he was said to be crying and stated it was the closest adaptation to one of his novels he'd ever seen.
  • Quotes
    I've killed enough of the world's trees.
    • Usually sets stories in Maine, particularly (until "Needful Things") in the small town of Castle Rock, which he created.

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