Harry Harrison (born Henry Maxwell Dempsey; March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was an American science fiction author, best known for his character the Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973). Harrison was (with Brian Aldiss) the co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.
Before becoming an editor and a writer, Harrison started in the science fiction field as an illustrator, notably with EC Comics two science fiction comic book series, Weird Fantasy and Weird Science. He used house pen names such as Wade Kaempfert and Philip St. John to edit magazines, and published other fiction under the pen names of Felix Boyd, Leslie Charteris, and Hank Dempsey (but see Personal Life below). Harrison also wrote for syndicated comic strips, writing several stories for the "Rick Random" character. Harrison has become much better known for his writing, particularly for his humorous and satirical science fiction, such as the Stainless Steel Rat series and his novel Bill, the Galactic Hero — which satirized Robert A. Heinlein's novel Starship Troopers.
