Ira Levin

Novelist and playwright Ira Levin (1929-2007) was a native New Yorker whose novels includeA Kiss Before Dying, Rosemary’s Baby, This Perfect Day, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, Sliver, and Son of Rosemary. His plays include No Time for Sergeants, Critic’s Choice, Veronica’s Room and Deathtrap– the longest-running thriller (and fifth longest-running play) in Broadway history. His musical Drat! The Cat! (for which he wrote book and lyrics) yielded the Barbra Streisand classic He Touched Me.

Levin was a graduate of the Horace Mann School and New York University, a longtime Council member of the Dramatists Guild of America, and a frequent contributor to the New York Times letters section, and repeat winner of the New York Magazine Competition. He was the recipient of three Mystery Writers of America Edgar awards (including their highest honor, the Grand Master Award), as well as the Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Award for lifetime achievement.