About the Authors
Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. His ability to make science understandable and compelling was established with his first book, A Brief History of Time, which has sold nearly ten million copies worldwide. Hugely influential in his field, he authored or participated in the creation of countless other popular science books, including The Universe in a Nutshell, A Briefer History of Time, On the Shoulders of Giants, and George’s Secret Key to the Universe. He had served as director of research at the Institute for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
About Julian Lopez-Morillas
Julian Lopez-Morillas
is a professional theater actor, director, and teacher who has lived in the San
Francisco Bay Area since 1973. He has performed for all the major Bay Area
theaters as well as the Denver Center, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf, McCarter,
and Chicago’s Court Theatre. He directed for many years with the Berkeley
Shakespeare Festival, and also for the
Marin Theatre Company, Berkeley Jewish Theatre, San Jose Rep, Oregon
Shakespeare Festival, and the American Players’ Theatre in Wisconsin. He has
taught acting, directing, theatre history, and Shakespeare for the University of
California/Berkeley, San Jose State, Mills, Foothill, and Solano Colleges.
In 2008, Julian fulfilled one of his life goals by
performing the role of Cardinal Wolsey in Henry
VIII at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, thus becoming one of the few
individuals to have performed professionally in all 38 of Shakespeare’s plays.
He is recognized throughout Northern California as a leading authority on
Shakespeare plays and their performance. Julian has also been a two-day winner
on JEOPARDY!