Logan's Run author George Clayton Johnson dies at 86

Science-fiction writer George Clayton Johnson, who co-wrote the 1967 dystopian novel Logan's Run, has died aged 86.

The writer, who had cancer, died in Los Angeles on Christmas Day his son, Paul Johnson, said.

Johnson also penned the first Star Trek television episode, shown in 1966.

But he was best known for Logan's Run, which was made into a 1976 film starring Michael York and was nominated for two Oscars.

Set in a dystopian future and co-written with William F Nolan, the story told of a society where young people live idyllic lives, but are executed when they reach the age of 30 to prevent overpopulation.

York played Logan 5, a so-called Sandman who tracks down those who try to escape their fate. Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov and Farrah Fawcett also starred in the film.

The film was nominated for best cinematography and art direction Oscars and won a special achievement Academy Award for its visual effects.

It also spawned a short-lived US TV series in 1977 starring Gregory Harrison in the lead role.

'Loved his fans'

Johnson was revered among fans of the sci-fi genre for his work, which also included a collaboration with Ray Bradbury on the 1962 Oscar-nominated animated short film Icarus Montgolfier Wright.

"Please emphasise how much he loved his fans, and judging by the overwhelming response I've received, from hundreds of people, known and unknown, he made quite an impact on them," Paul Johnson told The Associated Press.

Prior to Logan's Run, Johnson created several episodes of 1960s TV series The Twilight Zone.

They included Kick the Can, where a group of elderly care home residents turn back their biological clocks and relive their childhoods by playing a children's game, and Nothing in the Dark, which starred a young Robert Redford as a kindly version of the Grim Reaper.

The writer also penned the story of Ocean's 11, the 1960 film about a Las Vegas casino heist which starred Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr and Dean Martin.

It was remade in 2001 starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon and paved the way for two sequels, released in 2004 and 2007.

As well as his son, Johnson is survived by a daughter, Judy Olive, and his wife, Lola Johnson.