Ira Levin

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Ira Marvin Levin (born August 27, 1929 in New York City , † November 12, 2007 there ) was an American screenwriter and writer . His best known works include The Wives of Stepford and Rosemary's Baby . He wrote only seven novels in four decades, but they had a total circulation of ten million copies and almost all of them were filmed in Hollywood.

Life

Ira Levin was born the son of a toy merchant and grew up in the Bronx and Manhattan . He later studied philosophy and English at Drake University in Iowa for two years and at New York University and graduated with a BA in 1950 . After university he served in the US Army Signal Corps from 1953 to 1955. He then worked for television, but the 24-year-old had his breakthrough with his first novel, A Kiss Before Dying , which was awarded the “ Edgar ” for best first novel in 1954 .

In his novel Rosemary's Baby (1967), a young bride seems to have become pregnant by the devil. The story was filmed the following year by Roman Polański with Mia Farrow in the lead role.

Levin is also the author of Deathtrap , the longest-running play on Broadway . It is the story of an aging playwright who plans to kill a young rival and steal his new play Deathtrap . From 1978 to 1982 it saw 1,793 performances on Broadway. In 1982 Deathtrap was filmed in Hollywood with Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve in the lead roles.

The title of the novel The Stepford Wives (1972) even found its way into the American vocabulary. The term "Stepford Wife" and even "Stepford" as an adjective used to mean robotic or docile have been added to English lexicons. Levin's The Boys from Brazil (1976; filmed in 1978 with Gregory Peck and Laurence Olivier ) was also known to a wide audience .

Levin was married twice, to Gabrielle Aronsohn and Phyllis Finkel, both marriages were divorced. He leaves behind three sons from his marriage to Aronsohn, his sister Eleanor Busman and three grandchildren. Ira Levin last lived in Manhattan, where he died of a heart attack in his apartment in November 2007 .

Awards

Quote

"Mr. Levin's suspense is beautifully intertwined with everyday incidents; the delicate line between belief and disbelief is faultlessly drawn.
(Levin's tension is wonderfully intertwined with everyday events; the fine line between belief and unbelief is flawlessly drawn.) "

- Thomas J. Fleming, The New York Times Book Review

bibliography

Novels
  • A Kiss Before Dying (1953)
    • English: kiss before death. Translated by Krug von Nidda. Albert Müller, Rüschlikon-Zurich 1957. Also as: Goldmann TB # 41264, 1991, ISBN 3-442-41264-1 .
  • Rosemary's Baby (1967)
    • English: Rosemaries Baby. Translated by Hertha Balling. Hoffmann et al. Campe, Hamburg 1968. Also as: Heyne TB # 8388, 1995, ISBN 3-453-05317-6 .
  • This Perfect Day (1970)
    • English: The gentle monsters. Translated by Hans Fahrbach. Hoffmann et al. Campe, Hamburg 1972, ISBN 3-455-04403-4 .
  • The Stepford Wives (1972)
  • The Boys from Brazil (1976)
  • Sliver (1991)
  • Son of Rosemary (1997)
    • English: Rosemary's son . Translated by Elke vom Scheidt. Goldmann, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-442-30750-3 .
Pieces
  • No Time for Sergeants (1956)
  • Interlock (1958)
  • Critic's Choice (1960)
  • General Seeger (1962)
  • Drat! The Cat! (1965, musical)
  • Dr. Cook's Garden (1968)
  • Veronica's Room (1974)
  • Deathtrap (1978)
  • Break a Leg: A Comedy in Two Acts (1981)
  • Cantorial (1982)

Film adaptations (selection)

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Margalit Fox: Ira Levin, of 'Rosemary's Baby', Dies at 78 , The New York Times , November 14, 2007.