Ira Levin was born in New York City in 1929. He was raised in a Jewish family and grew up in both Manhattan and the Bronx. Levin attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, before transferring to New York University. He studied English and philosophy, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in 1950. Following his graduation, he served in the Army Signal Corps from 1953 to 1955.

In the years following his graduation, Levin began writing training scripts for TV and radio. His first play was an adaptation of Mac Hyman’s 1954 comedic novel No Time for Sergeants; it opened on Broadway in 1955 and was later developed as a movie, which was released in 1958. Levin’s best-known play, a metanarrative comedy-thriller called Deathtrap, premiered in 1978 and was nominated for four Tony awards.

Levin’s first novel, A Kiss Before Dying, was published to positive reviews in 1953. Rosemary’s Baby was published in 1964 and quickly became both a bestseller and a hit with literary critics, who praised its structure, dialogue, and building of suspense. It went on to be the best-selling horror novel of the 1960s, selling over four million copies; the film adaptation, written and directed by Roman Polanski, was nominated for two Academy Awards, with Ruth Gordon winning Best Supporting Actress for her role as

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