The Bradbury family moved to Tucson, Arizona, for brief periods before finally settling in Los Angeles in 1934. Despite their financial challenges, Bradbury attended Los Angeles High School and was actively involved in the drama club. At the age of 14, he earned his first payment as a writer by selling a joke to the radio star George Burns. Bradbury's fascination with carnivals from a young age inspired his later works, such as The Illustrated Man and Something Wicked This Way Comes.