Edward Gorey

American writer, Tony Award-winning costume designer, and artist noted for his illustrated books. As an illustrator he produced more than 100 small morbid volumes since 1953, drawings that were generally accompanied by austere, whimsically sadistic texts.

His parents divorced when he was 11 and they remarried 16 years later. His stepmother was Corinna Mura (1910–1965), a cabaret singer who had a small role in tge classic film Casablanca as the woman playing the guitar while singing "La Marseillaise" at Rick's Café Américain. 

Gorey served in the military from June 1944 for two years. Self-taught as an artist, he earned a B.A. in Harvard in 1950. From book illustrations and writing, he began to publish his own sinister little books, precision works with macabre wit such as The Doubtful Guest (1957), The Insect God (1963) and The Gilded Bat (1966).

He made a notable impact on the world of theatre with his designs for the 1977 Broadway revival of Dracula, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design. In 1980, Gorey became particularly well known for his animated introduction to the PBS series Mystery! In the introduction of each Mystery! episode, host Vincent Price would welcome viewers to "Gorey Mansion".

Tall with striking looks, Gorey was unmarried, saying that he'd never been emotionally involved. On the question of his sexual orientation he remarked, "Well, I'm neither one thing nor the other particularly. I suppose I'm gay. But I don't really identify with it much."

Not a recluse, he nonetheless avoided the limelight, declining to attend the 1980 Tonys where he won the best costume award for his gothic designs for Dracula.

Edward Gorey died on 15 April 2000, following a heart attack in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at age 75.