Edward Gorey's birthday celebrated with Google Doodle He illustrated works as diverse as Dracula by Bram Stoker, The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells, He also drew illustrations for books by Edward Lear and Muriel Spark, as well as drawing new pictures for Aesop's fables and the Brer Rabbit stories. Because of the settings and style of Gorey's work, many Americans took his him to be British. In fact, he only left the US once, for a visit to the Scottish Hebrides. Gorey was an eccentric. In the 25 years between 1957 and 1982 he did not miss a performance by the New York City Ballet, attending in an outfit consisting of an enormous fur coat and white tennis shoes. In 1977 he won a Tony Award for costume design on the Broadway production of Dracula. Although his books were popular with people of all ages, Gorey himself showed no particular fondness for children and never married. He died in April 2000 at the age of 75