His lawsuits are written with ]]> Tom Snyder always seemed to get a kick out of Harlan Ellison, who here looks amazingly good for a guy only seven weeks past open-heart surgery in April 1996. Ellison has always been as outspoken as he is talented… and he’s very talented, which makes him an ideal talk show guest.

His lawsuits are written with the same gusto that infuses his books – a recent one described Ellison as “…a famous author, screenwriter, commentator and public speaker. He is the winner of countless literary awards…” and described the person he was suing as “…a scheming pathological liar and little more than an obsessively vindictive and petty man trying to be a mover and shaker.”

If you ever need to sue someone, try to get Harlan and his team on retainer. (He usually wins).

Alas, the Edgeworks series promoted in this appearance, which promised to be for Ellison what the Atlantic Edition is for H.G. Wells, ceased publication after only four volumes. But here is the highly entertaining Late Late Show appearance (30m), smacked and cracked into three bite-sized chunks.