Ira Levin, the author of bestsellers such as Rosemary's Baby, The Boys from Brazil and The Stepford Wives, has died.
Levin, who was 78, suffered a fatal heart attack in his Manhattan apartment on Monday, said his agent, Phyllis Westberg.
Ira Levin was a master writer of thrillers.
(Matthew Peyton/Getty)
Levin is also author of Deathtrap, a thriller that was a huge hit on Broadway, debuting in February 1978.
Born Aug. 27, 1929, in New York, he 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 at New York University.
His father wanted him to enter the family toy business, but agreed to support his son for two years as a writer.
Levin was earning money before the two years were up. He wrote initially for TV.
His first play was No Time for Sergeants, a comedy about a hillbilly backwoods boy inducted into the military that was adapted a few years later into a TV sitcom called Gomer Pyle, USMC.
His first novel, published in 1953, was A Kiss Before Dying, a murder mystery that won an Edgar Allan Poe Award for best first novel.
His second novel, Rosemary's Baby, about a New York couple caught up in a Satanist cult, didn't come until 14 years later.
The book became a film starring Mia Farrow as the young wife who is unsure about the baby she has borne.
Levin was known for his far-fetched plot twists and clever construction, which made most of his books bestsellers.
Many of his novels made it to the screen, including A Kiss Before Dying, Sliver and The Boys from Brazil, about a Nazi hunter in search of a group of Hitler clones, which was made into a film by Franklin J. Schaffner.
His plays include Critic's Choice, Footsteps, Dr. Cook's Garden, Cantorial and Veronica's Room.
His satirical fantasy of the suburbs, The Stepford Wives, has been made into a film twice, in 1975 and 2004.
He is survived by three sons and three grandsons, Westberg said.
With files from the Associated PressRelated
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