IRA LEVIN (1929–2007) created some of the most recognisable landmarks of popular culture, among them Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil, and Deathtrap (Broadway's longest-running thriller, and one of its 10 longest-running plays).
A playwright and novelist of uncanny versatility, Levin alternated between suspense, horror, comedy, drama, science fiction, even musical theatre - often setting lasting benchmarks in each genre, while also helping birth a staggering array of emergent subgenres, including modern, daylight, and feminist horror.
Though his writing often held a mirror to society’s enduring ills, Levin opposed works that preach, writing first and foremost to entertain - asserting ‘I feel people are good enough that they deserve to be entertained’, and that ‘When you write something sheerly to entertain, that's making a moral point, too.’
