Willem van de Poll · CC0

Born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff to Ukrainian Jewish immigrants in the South Bronx, he made his name with the anti-war play Bury the Dead in 1936, then served in the Army Signal Corps during the Second World War, an experience he drew on for The Young Lions, his 1948 breakthrough novel later filmed with Marlon Brando. Blacklisted during the McCarthy era, he spent 25 years writing from Europe rather than let it end his career, and returned to enormous popular success with Rich Man, Poor Man, whose 1976 television adaptation drew 23 Emmy nominations. His short fiction won two O. Henry Awards.