Tiddles
11-13-2007, 05:28 PM
I think the movie is brilliant but the BOOK is fabulous, too. Often that's not the way with books made into film. R.I.P.
NEW YORK (AP) _ Best-selling writer Ira Levin, whose novels included
the occult-horror classic ''Rosemary's Baby,'' the Nazi thriller ''The
Boys From Brazil'' and the satirical fantasy ''The Stepford Wives,''
has died, his agent said Tuesday.
Levin, 78, suffered a fatal heart attack in his Manhattan apartment on
Monday, said agent Phyllis Westberg.
The native New Yorker, whose father was in the toy business and had
hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps, decided at age 15
that he wanted a career in writing and finished second in a screenplay
writing competition held by NBC while a senior in college.
Levin began working as a television writer before finishing his first
novel, ''A Kiss Before Dying,'' a murder mystery which was an instant
success. His debut won the Edgar Allan Poe Award as the best first
novel of 1953.
It was not until 14 years later that Levin completed his second novel,
''Rosemary's Baby,'' the creepy tale of a New York couple in the
clutch of Satanists who want the young wife to bear Satan's child.
As often happened with Levin's books, ''Rosemary's Baby'' became a
movie _ in this case, starring Mia Farrow. ''The Boys from Brazil,''
''The Stepford Wives'' and ''Sliver'' were also turned into big-budget
Hollywood productions.
Levin also wrote the long-running Broadway hit ''Deathtrap,'' which
debuted in February 1978.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete. He was survived by three sons
and three grandsons, Westberg said.
NEW YORK (AP) _ Best-selling writer Ira Levin, whose novels included
the occult-horror classic ''Rosemary's Baby,'' the Nazi thriller ''The
Boys From Brazil'' and the satirical fantasy ''The Stepford Wives,''
has died, his agent said Tuesday.
Levin, 78, suffered a fatal heart attack in his Manhattan apartment on
Monday, said agent Phyllis Westberg.
The native New Yorker, whose father was in the toy business and had
hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps, decided at age 15
that he wanted a career in writing and finished second in a screenplay
writing competition held by NBC while a senior in college.
Levin began working as a television writer before finishing his first
novel, ''A Kiss Before Dying,'' a murder mystery which was an instant
success. His debut won the Edgar Allan Poe Award as the best first
novel of 1953.
It was not until 14 years later that Levin completed his second novel,
''Rosemary's Baby,'' the creepy tale of a New York couple in the
clutch of Satanists who want the young wife to bear Satan's child.
As often happened with Levin's books, ''Rosemary's Baby'' became a
movie _ in this case, starring Mia Farrow. ''The Boys from Brazil,''
''The Stepford Wives'' and ''Sliver'' were also turned into big-budget
Hollywood productions.
Levin also wrote the long-running Broadway hit ''Deathtrap,'' which
debuted in February 1978.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete. He was survived by three sons
and three grandsons, Westberg said.