Celebrity Graveland

March 11, 1952 – May 11, 2001

Lying on his back in a field in Austria, drunkenly staring up at the vast universe of stars above him, humorist and writer, Douglas Adams, had a thought that would change his life forever. He was traveling through Austria with a book entitled Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Europe and he suddenly thought how interesting it would be to write a similar guidebook…for the entire galaxy.

Adams wrote for most of his life, though he would be the first to tell you he wasn’t a “prolific” writer. Often missing deadlines and needing pressure to finish projects, he nonetheless used his degree in Literature to foray into a career writing for television and radio. He became friends with folks like David Gilmour of the band Pink Floyd and Graham Chapman of the now-iconic comedy group, Monty Python. Adams wrote and even appeared in sketches for the 4th series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus on the BBC. He also co-wrote with Python‘s Terry Jones and later teamed up with Chapman again writing for BBC Radio.

While working for the BBC, Adams pitched his idea for a sci-fi program based around the aforementioned guidebook for travel around the universe. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy became a popular serial and led to five novels and a beloved media franchise. He wrote episodes for the 4th series of Doctor Who as well. He followed up the Hitchhiker’s success with second novel franchise, Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, in the late 1980s.

Off the page, Adams was a well-known environmental activist and conservationist as well as an early adopter of computer technology. Specifically, he was a big fan of Apple Macintosh computers. Adams lived with an undiagnosed case of coronary artery disease and suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 49. His premature death shocked the literary and pop-culture world and the legacy of his creations has carried on for generations following.

Burial

Highgate Cemetery East – London, UK

Specific Location

Enter the east section and follow the main road (Carriage Road) south. Adams’ grave will shortly be on your left. Just look for the massive number of pens that fans have left. Maps are available at the information desk.

This entry was posted on December 4, 2023 at 8:53 am and is filed under Highgate Cemetery with tags Highgate Cemetery East, Writers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.