Ira Levin
Ira Levin (born
August 27,
1929 in
New York) is an
American novelist,
playwright and
songwriter.
Levin studied at
New York University, where he majored in philosophy and English. After that, he wrote training films and scripts for television. He wrote his first novel,
A Kiss Before Dying, when he was 22 years old.
Levin is a versatile writer whose work includes thrillers and comedy. He wrote the play
No Time for Sergeants (adapted from
Mac Hyman's novel), which later became a popular film that launched the career of
Andy Griffith. Levin's best known play is
Deathtrap, which holds the record as the longest running comedy-thriller on
Broadway. In
1982, it was made into a film starring
Christopher Reeve and
Michael Caine.
Levin's best known novel is
Rosemary's Baby, a horrifying tale of
satanism and the
occult. It was made into a film as were four of his other novels,
A Kiss Before Dying (twice),
The Boys from Brazil,
The Stepford Wives (twice) and
Sliver.
Stephen King has described Ira Levin as "the Swiss watchmaker of suspense novels, he makes what the rest of us do look like cheap watchmakers in drugstores."
Chuck Palahniuk, in
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories, calls Levin's writing "a smart, updated version of the kind of folksy legends that cultures have always used."
Novels
*
A Kiss Before Dying (1952)
*
Rosemary's Baby (1967)
*
This Perfect Day (1970)
*
The Stepford Wives (1972)
*
The Boys from Brazil (1976)
*
Sliver (1991)
*
Son of Rosemary (1997)
Plays
*
No Time For Sergeants (1956)
*
Interlock (1958)
*
Critic's Choice (1960)
*
General Seeger (1962)
*
Dr. Cook's Garden (1968)
*
Veronica's Room (1974)
*
Deathtrap (play) (1978) -
Tony Nomination for
Best Play*
Break a Leg: A Comedy in Two Acts (1981)
*
Cantorial (1982)
Musicals
*
Drat! The Cat! (1965) -
lyricist and
bookwriter*
Ira Levin at the
Internet Broadway Database
