Katherine "Kathy" Lawrence (December 11, 1954 – March 25, 2004) was an American

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, author of children's

non-fiction Non-fiction (or nonfiction) is any document or content (media), media content that attempts, in good faith, to convey information only about the real life, real world, rather than being grounded in imagination. Non-fiction typically aims to pre ...

educational books and a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

writer.

Biography

Lawrence was born Katherine Selbert on December 11, 1954. She received her

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in the English language from the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. She began her writing career in 1985 on the series ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...

'', billed as Kathy Selbert, the name which she would use through the rest of the decade. In 1990, she chose her writing name of Katherine Lawrence because of her love for

T. E. Lawrence Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British Army officer, archaeologist, diplomat and writer known for his role during the Arab Revolt and Sinai and Palestine campaign against the Ottoman Empire in the First W ...

and

Jerome Lawrence Jerome Lawrence (born Jerome Lawrence Schwartz; July 14, 1915 – February 29, 2004) was an American playwright and author. After graduating from the Ohio State University in 1937 and the University of California, Los Angeles in 1939, Lawrence pa ...

, and she used that name professionally for all her subsequent writing work. In 1996, Lawrence was nominated for Outstanding Script by the

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is the name of two American labor unions representing writers in film, television, radio, and online media: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE) is headquartered in New York City and is affiliated wit ...

for "Icebound", an episode of ''

Hypernauts ''Hypernauts'' is a proof of concept show produced by Foundation Imaging and Netter Digital, Netter Digital Entertainment. To further prove that the computer-generated imagery and visual effects created in ''Babylon 5'' were easily applied to ot ...

'', a live-action science fiction series. Lawrence suffered from

chronic fatigue syndrome Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a disabling Chronic condition, chronic illness. People with ME/CFS experience profound fatigue that does not go away with rest, as well as sleep issues and problems with memory ...

. On March 27, 2004, her body was found at San Pedro River in Arizona, along with a

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message written by a person who intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depend on ethnic ...

. Lawrence was 49 years old, and her death was apparently caused by a self-inflicted

gunshot wound A gunshot wound (GSW) is a penetrating injury caused by a projectile (e.g. a bullet) shot from a gun (typically a firearm). Damage may include bleeding, bone fractures, organ damage, wound infection, and loss of the ability to move part of ...

. Her ashes were spread over

Mount Lemmon Mount Lemmon, with a summit elevation of , is the highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains. It is located in the Coronado National Forest north of Tucson, Arizona, United States. Mount Lemmon was named for botany, botanist Sara Plummer Lemm ...

, which was her favorite area. In her farewell note, she wrote, "It's been a good life. I've vastly exceeded my teenage dreams. 'Tis sufficient."

Writing credits

Television

*''

'' (1985) *''

MoonDreamers ''MoonDreamers'' is an American short-lived animated television series that aired in 1986 as part of the '' My Little Pony 'n Friends'' lineup. '' My Little Pony'' aired the first 15 minutes and the second half rotated among ''MoonDreamers'', '' ...

'' (1986) *''

Bionic Six is a 1987 animated television series. It was produced and animated by TMS Entertainment, TMS Entertainment, Inc. and distributed, through first-run syndication, by MCA Inc., MCA TV, years before the latter company became NBCUniversal Television ...

'' (1987) *'' Muppet Babies'' (1987) *''

Beetlejuice ''Beetlejuice'' is a 1988 American Gothic film, gothic dark fantasy comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton from a screenplay by Michael McDowell (author), Michael McDowell and Warren Skaaren based on a story by McDowell and Larry Wilson (sc ...

'' (1991) *'' Conan the Adventurer'' (1992–1993) *''

Biker Mice from Mars ''Biker Mice from Mars'' is an American animated series created by Rick Ungar. The series premiered in syndication the week of September 19, 1993. It consists of three seasons of 65 episodes, with the final episode airing in syndication the we ...

'' (1994) *'' Mighty Max'' (1994) *''

Darkstalkers ''Darkstalkers'', known in Japan as , is a fighting game series and media franchise created by Capcom. The series is set in a pastiche gothic fiction universe with characters based on monsters from international folklore, and features a stylized ...

'' (1995) *''

G.I. Joe Extreme ''G.I. Joe Extreme'' is a line of military-themed toys that was sold in retail from 1995 to 1997. The toys were produced by Kenner following their acquisition by former competitor Hasbro and was intended to succeed the '' G.I. Joe: A Real Ameri ...

'' (1996) *''

Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders ''Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders'', known outside of North America as ''Starla & the Jewel Riders'' and sometimes spelled as the more traditionally Arthurian "Guinevere", is an American fantasy animated television series aimed at the p ...

'' (1996) *''

ReBoot In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...

'' (1998) *''

Shadow Raiders ''Shadow Raiders'' is a Canadian animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment and syndicated by The Summit Media Group, that aired from September 16, 1998, to June 23, 1999. The show was loosely based on the Trendmasters toy l ...

'' (1998) *'' Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends'' (1999) *'' Kong: The Animated Series'' (2000) *'' X-Men: Evolution'' (2000) *''

Stargate Infinity ''Stargate Infinity'', often abbreviated as ''SGI'' or just ''Infinity'' (), is an American-French animated science fiction television series co-produced by Les Studios Tex S.A.R.L. and DIC Entertainment Corporation, in association with MGM Te ...

'' (2002–2003) *'' Legend of the Dragon'' (2006)

Film

*''The Secret of Mulan'' (1998)

Video games

*''

Mario is Missing! ''Mario Is Missing!'' is a 1993 educational game developed and published by The Software Toolworks for MS-DOS, Nintendo Entertainment System, and Super Nintendo Entertainment System, later released on Macintosh in 1994. The player controls Luigi, ...

'' (1993) *'' Inherit the Earth: Quest for the Orb'' (1994) *''This Means War!'' (1995) *''Battle Vision'' (1997)

References

External links

*
Katherine Lawrence memorial website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Katherine 1954 births 2004 suicides 2004 deaths People with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome American children's writers American education writers American fantasy writers American science fiction writers American television writers Suicides by firearm in Arizona University of Washington alumni American video game writers American women novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American women writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers 20th-century American short story writers American women non-fiction writers American women television writers 20th-century American screenwriters Suicides by drowning in the United States 21st-century American women Women in the video game industry