Sci-fi writer Harry Harrison, whose book inspired movie 'Soylent Green,' dies at 87

New York (CNN) -- Popular science-fiction author Harry Harrison, whose book "Make Room! Make Room!" was the basis for the 1973 film "Soylent Green," about a futuristic society and its fictional food, has died, his publisher said Wednesday. He was 87.

Born in 1925 in Stamford, Connecticut, Harrison was best known for his 12 novels about the futuristic character "Slippery Jim" DeGriz, also known as the Stainless Steel Rat. Harrison also was the main writer for the "Flash Gordon" comic strip during the 1950s and '60s, according to his publisher, Tor Books.

Harrison started his career as an illustrator before switching to writing. He is a member of the Science Fiction Hall of Fame.

"He believed science fiction was important, that it caused people to think about our world and what it could become," Tor Books' publisher Tom Doherty wrote in a blog post.

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