Theodore Sturgeon

Theodore Sturgeon Reads “Baby Is Three” from More Than Human (1953/1972?)

Sturgeon’s More Than Human was well-received and popular as soon as it was published in 1953, but the novel found even more readers in subsequent decades—it became a staple of the counterculture of the later 1960s, and a graphic novel version appeared in 1978.

Less well known are two “spoken word” LPs on which Sturgeon read abridged versions of “Baby Is Three” and “The Fabulous Idiot.” These were released by Caedmon in 1977 and 1980—but possibly produced as early as 1972. Here, he reads from “Baby Is Three,” the middle section of the novel.

Baby Is Three, abridged and read by Theodore Sturgeon, Caedmon Records 1977 [TC 1492].

Theodore Sturgeon on 1950s Radio: X Minus One (1956–57)

The NBC radio program X Minus One adapted three of Theodore Sturgeon’s short stories for broadcast in 1956–7. Here are “Mr. Costello, Hero” (July 3, 1956); “The Stars Are the Styx” (July 24, 1956); and “Saucer of Loneliness” (January 9, 1957). They were all originally published in Galaxy, in December 1953, October 1950, and February 1953, respectively.

Mr. Costello, Hero:

The Stars Are the Styx:

Saucer of Loneliness: