Stephen King

American prolific writer and screenwriter. A former English teacher, he accomplished the feat of writing more than 40 successful horror novels by 1999 with the first, "Carrie," published in 1974. Movies were made of 26 of his books; he wrote the screenplays for five and did bit parts in three. King's last two years' income has been $22 million and his entire product grosses more than $100 million per year. His books have sold over 100 million copies in 33 languages. His mom Nellie gave him a love of reading and encouraged him to use his imagination. An older brother, David was adopted two years before his birth, after his mother had been told she could not bear children. His dad, a merchant seaman, abandoned the family when he was still a youngster. King describes himself as a nerd who started his career on a high school paper called "The Village Vomit." His short stories sold for $35 each while he worked at a laundry making $60 per week. He was later hired to teach high school English. Just as his phone was disconnected for non-payment, he received a $2,500. advance on his first book in 1973, "Carrie," which later sold in paperback right for $400,000. In 1989, Viking signed him to a four-book contract for $38 million. King purchased WZON, a radio station in Bangor, and programmed it to run commercial-free. All of his 40 published books are still in print and is believed to have sold over 230 million copies. He also wrote under the name Richard Bachman; when exposed he said that Bachman had died from cancer of the pseudonym. King works each morning producing ten pages on his computer. He is a big man of 6'4"and 205 lbs; married to Tabitha in 1971 with three children, now grown. Tabitha worked at Dunkin' Donuts in the early years of their marriage to help support the family. They reside in one of two homes on a lake in Bangor, Maine. While out walking on 6/19/1999 near Lake Kezar, ME., he was struck by a van and seriously injured. First taken to a hospital in Bridgton, he was then flown to a trauma center at Central Maine Medical Center. No charges have been filed against the driver of the van; he was not speeding and just lost control while trying to subdue a loose dog inside his van. King was operated on three times over five days to stabilize a collapsed lung and multiple fractures to his right leg and hip. He had a long period of recovery from devastating injuries that left him on crutches, losing 100 lbs. In a strange twist of fate, Bryan Smith, the man whose van had hit King, was found dead of no known cause on 9/22/2000 in his mobile home. On 6/20/2000, his daughter Naomi, 30, and her former teacher, Thandeka, 53, had a formal exchange of commitment vows in Nashville, TN. They met two years before at the Meadville/Lombard Theology school in Chicago where Thandeka (whose African name means "one who is loved by God") was teaching. In 2000, "The Green Mile" became the 48th movie from King's work. In early 2001, horror writer Stephen King sued his insurance company for $10 million, claiming that Commercial Union York Insurance Co. failed to provide full coverage for injuries he suffered when a van hit him in western Maine two years ago, reports Reuters. The suit was filed last week in Penobscot County Superior Court, Maine. King and his wife, Tabitha, are seeking the umbrella policy's $10 million limit, plus interest of 1.5% per month, said their lawyer, Warren M. Silver, who pointed out that the figure falls well below that of King's physical and financial damages, which are estimated to be between $65 million and $75 million. Link to Wikipedia biography