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{{Short description|American novelist, playwright, and songwriter (1929–2007)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Ira Levin
| image            = Portrait photograph of Ira Levin by Inge Morath, c. 1967.jpg
| imagesize        = 
| caption          = Portrait from the first edition of ''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1967, photo by [[Inge Morath]])
| birth_name       = Ira Marvin Levin
| birth_date       = {{Birth date|1929|08|27}}
| birth_place      = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date       = {{death date and age|2007|11|12|1929|08|27}}
| death_place      = New York City, U.S.
| occupation       = {{flatlist|
* Novelist
* playwright
* songwriter
}}
| spouse           = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Gabrielle Aronsohn<br>|1960|1968|end=div}}|{{marriage|Phyllis Sugarman<br>|1979|1981|end=div}}}}
| parents          = 
| children         = 3
| signature        = Signature of Ira Levin from his typewritten letter to Matt Stiller, November 1, 1991.jpg
| website          = {{URL|iralevin.org}}
}}

'''Ira Marvin Levin''' (August 27, 1929 – November 12, 2007) was an American novelist, playwright, and songwriter. His works include the novels ''[[A Kiss Before Dying (novel)|A Kiss Before Dying]]'' (1953), ''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1967), ''[[The Stepford Wives]]'' (1972), ''[[This Perfect Day]]'' (1970), ''[[The Boys from Brazil (novel)|The Boys from Brazil]]'' (1976), and ''[[Sliver (novel)|Sliver]]'' (1991). Levin also wrote the play ''[[Deathtrap (play)|Deathtrap]]'' (1978). Many of his novels and plays have been adapted into films. He received the [[Prometheus Award|Prometheus Hall of Fame Award]] and several [[Edgar Awards]]. In 1996 he was given the [[Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lifetime Achievement Award |url=https://www.thebramstokerawards.com/lifetime-achievement-award/lifetime-achievement-award-2/ |publisher=Bram Stoker Awards |access-date=17 October 2025}}</ref>

==Early life==
Levin was born on August 27, 1929, in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] to a family of [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian-Jewish descent]]. He grew up in both Manhattan and [[the Bronx]].<ref name=NYT/> His father, Charles, was a toy importer. Levin was educated at the private [[Horace Mann School]] in New York City. During his youth, he was described as "a nice Jewish boy from New York".<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://theamericanreader.com/the-banality-of-evil-rosemarys-baby-the-miniseries/|title=The Banality of Evil: Rosemary's Baby, the Miniseries |first=Kelsey|last=Osgood|website= The American Reader}}</ref> He attended [[Drake University]] in [[Des Moines, Iowa]] from 1946 to 1948, and then [[New York University]], where he majored in [[philosophy]] and [[English literature]]. He graduated in 1950. He served in the [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] [[United States Army Signal Corps|Signal Corps]] during the [[Korean War]], from 1953 to 1955.<ref name="OBIT">{{cite news |last=Hawtree |first=Christopher |date=15 November 2007 |title=Ira Levin |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/nov/15/guardianobituaries.booksobituaries |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=United Kingdom |access-date= April 9, 2016}}</ref>

==Professional life==

===Scriptwriting===
As a student at New York University, Levin entered a contest for scriptwriting sponsored by the commercial television broadcaster [[CBS]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bernstein |first1=Adam |title=Ira Levin; Wrote 'Rosemary's Baby' |work=Washington Post |date=14 Nov 2007}}</ref> His script was the basis for "The Old Woman", an episode of the TV series ''[[The Clock (TV series)|The Clock]]'' (Dec. 1, 1950). After college, Levin wrote training films and other scripts for radio and television. 

Levin's first produced play was ''[[No Time for Sergeants]]'' (adapted from the 1954 [[Mac Hyman]] novel), a comedy about a [[hillbilly]] drafted into the [[United States Air Force]]. It opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1955 and starred [[Andy Griffith]], whose career it jumpstarted. The play was adapted as a [[No Time for Sergeants (1958 film)|movie of the same name]], released in 1958, with Griffith reprising his role and co-starring [[Nick Adams (actor, born 1931)|Nick Adams]]. Later the concept was developed as a 1964 television comedy series starring [[Sammy Jackson]]. ''No Time for Sergeants'' is generally considered the precursor to ''[[Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.]]''.<ref>Hugh Ruppersburg, ''The New Georgia Encyclopedia Companion to Georgia Literature'', p. 220 (University of Georgia Press, 2007). {{ISBN|978-0-8203-2876-8}}</ref>

Levin's best-known play is ''[[Deathtrap (play)|Deathtrap]]'' (1978), which holds the record as the longest-running comedy thriller on Broadway. Levin won his second [[Edgar Award]] with this play.<ref name=longest-running/> In 1982, it was adapted into a [[Deathtrap (film)|film of the same name]], starring [[Christopher Reeve]] and [[Michael Caine]].<ref name="OBIT"/>

===Novels===
Levin's first novel, ''[[A Kiss Before Dying (novel)|A Kiss Before Dying]]'' (1953), was well received, and he won the 1954 [[Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best First Novel|Edgar Award for Best First Novel]]. ''A Kiss Before Dying'' was adapted twice as movies of the same name, first in [[A Kiss Before Dying (1956 film)|1956]] and again in [[A Kiss Before Dying (1991 film)|1991]].<ref name="OBIT"/>

Levin's best-known novel is ''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]],'' a horror story of modern-day [[Satanism]] and other [[occult]]isms, set in Manhattan's Upper West Side. In 1968, it was adapted as [[Rosemary's Baby (film)|a film]] written and directed by [[Roman Polanski]]. It starred  [[Mia Farrow]] and [[John Cassavetes]]. [[Ruth Gordon]] won an [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] for [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Actress in a Supporting Role]] for her performance. Roman Polanski was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium]].

Levin said in 2002, 
<blockquote>"I feel guilty that 'Rosemary's Baby' led to ''[[The Exorcist]],'' ''[[The Omen]].'' A whole generation has been exposed, has more belief in Satan. I don't believe in Satan. And I feel that the strong fundamentalism we have would not be as strong if there hadn't been so many of these books [...] Of course, I didn't send back any of the royalty checks."<ref name=NYT /></blockquote>

Other Levin novels that were adapted as films included the satirical ''[[The Stepford Wives]]'' in [[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|1975]],<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |title=The Stepford Wives (1975) Screen: 'Stepford Wives' Assays Suburbia's Detergent Set |author-link=Vincent Canby |first=Vincent |last=Canby|date=February 13, 1975 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9D01EFDC1E30E03ABC4B52DFB466838E669EDE}}</ref> again in [[The Stepford Wives (2004 film)|2004]].<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=The Stepford Wives (2004) Film Review; Married To a Machine |first=A. O.|last=Scott|date=June 11, 2004 |url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9A0DE2DA1430F932A25755C0A9629C8B63}}</ref> ''[[The Boys from Brazil (novel)|The Boys from Brazil]]'' was adapted as a film released in 1978.

In 1970, Levin wrote the science-fiction novel ''[[This Perfect Day]]'' about a technocratic dystopia, for which he won a [[Prometheus Award]] in 1992.

In the 1990s, Levin wrote two more bestselling novels: ''[[Sliver (novel)|Sliver]]'' (1991) and ''[[Son of Rosemary]]'' (1997). ''Sliver'' was adapted as a [[Sliver (film)|film]] in 1993 by [[Phillip Noyce]]. It starred [[Sharon Stone]], [[William Baldwin]] and [[Tom Berenger]]. ''Son of Rosemary'' (1997) was proposed as a film sequel to ''Rosemary’s Baby''. It was never developed into a film.

[[Stephen King]] has described Ira Levin as the "[[Swiss made|Swiss watchmaker]]" of suspense novels: "Every novel he has ever written has been a marvel of plotting (...) he makes what the rest of us do look like those five-dollar watches you can buy in the discount drug stores."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/06/09/eye.ent.stepford/index.html|title=Babies, wives and Hitlers: 'Stepford Wives' writer Ira Levin, master of suspense|first=Todd|last=Leopold|website=CNN|date=June 10, 2004}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Levin was married twice, first to Gabrielle Aronsohn (from 1960 to 1968), with whom he had three sons, Adam, Jared, and Nicholas, and later to Phyllis Sugarman (died 2006). He had four grandchildren.<ref name=NYT/> Levin was a [[Jewish atheism|Jewish atheist]].<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/06/the-most-cursed-hit-movie-ever-made-rosemarys-baby|title=The Most Cursed Hit Movie Ever Made|date=June 1, 2017|magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref>

==Death==
Levin died of a heart attack at his home in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]] on November 12, 2007.<ref name=NYT/><ref>{{cite news |title=Ira Levin, 78; his novels include 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'Stepford Wives'|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-nov-14-me-levin14-story.html|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Jon |last=Thurber |date=November 14, 2007 }}</ref>

==Works==

===Novels===
*''[[A Kiss Before Dying (novel)|A Kiss Before Dying]]'' (1953)
*''[[Rosemary's Baby (novel)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1967)
*''[[This Perfect Day]]'' (1970) – winner, 1992 [[Prometheus Award#Hall of Fame Award recipients|Prometheus Hall of Fame Award]]
*''[[The Stepford Wives]]'' (1972)
*''[[The Boys from Brazil (novel)|The Boys from Brazil]]'' (1976)
*''[[Sliver (novel)|Sliver]]'' (1991)
*''[[Son of Rosemary]]'' (1997)

===Short stories===
*"Sylvia." ''Manhunt'', April 1955. Repr. ''Deadly Doings'', ed. Martin H. Greenberg, Ivy, 1989. Adapted as "Sylvia," ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'', Jan 19, 1958.
*"The Underground Gourmet." ''Ladies Home Journal'', Jan. 1954. Adapted as "The Devil You Say," ''General Electric Theater'', Jan. 22, 1962.

===Plays===
*''[[No Time for Sergeants]]'' (novel by [[Mac Hyman]], 1954; expanded for Broadway by Levin, 1956)
*''Interlock'' (1958)
*''[[Critic's Choice (play)|Critic's Choice]]'' (1960)
*''General Seeger'' (1962)
*''[[Dr. Cook's Garden]]'' (1968)
*''[[Veronica's Room (play)|Veronica's Room]]'' (1974)
*''[[Deathtrap (play)|Deathtrap]]'' (1978) – [[Tony Award|Tony]] nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]]
*''Break a Leg: A Comedy in Two Acts'' (1979)
*''Cantorial'' (1982)
* ''Footsteps'' (2003)

===Musicals===
*''[[Drat! The Cat!]]'' (1965) – lyricist and [[Musical theatre#Book musicals|bookwriter]]

===Screenplays===
*"The Old Woman." ''The Clock'', Dec 1, 1950.
*"Leda's Portrait." ''Lights Out'', Mar. 12, 1951.
*"The Pattern." ''Lights Out'', May 28, 1951.
*"The Notebook Warrior." ''United States Steel Hour'', Sept 14, 1954; ''Matinee Theatre'', Mar. 19, 1956.
*"No Time for Sergeants," ''United States Steel Hour'', Mar. 15, 1955.

===Film and television adaptations===
*''[[A Kiss Before Dying (1956 film)|A Kiss Before Dying]]'' (1956)
*''[[No Time for Sergeants (film)|No Time for Sergeants]]'' (1958)
*''[[Critic's Choice (film)|Critic's Choice]]'' (1963)
*''[[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (1968)
*''Dr. Cook's Garden'' (1971)
*''[[The Stepford Wives (1975 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'' (1975)
*''[[The Boys from Brazil (film)|The Boys from Brazil]]'' (1978)
*''[[Deathtrap (film)|Deathtrap]]'' (1982)
*''[[A Kiss Before Dying (1991 film)|A Kiss Before Dying]]'' (1991)
*''[[Sliver (film)|Sliver]]'' (1993)
*''[[Footsteps (2003 film)|Footsteps]]'' (2003)
*''[[The Stepford Wives (2004 film)|The Stepford Wives]]'' (2004)
*''[[Rosemary's Baby (miniseries)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' (2014) – two-episode miniseries
*''The Boys from Brazil'' (2026) – Netflix miniseries

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name=NYT>
{{cite news |title=Ira Levin, of ''Rosemary's Baby'', Dies at 78 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/books/14levin.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=November 14, 2007 |first=Margalit |last=Fox |date=November 14, 2007}}</ref>

<ref name=longest-running>
* {{citation |url= https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/deathtrap-4042 |title= Deathtrap |website=[[Internet Broadway Database]] }}
* {{Citation |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-OUCAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA123 |title= Theater |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=September 21, 1981 |page=123 |volume=14 |issue= 37 |issn=0028-7369 }}
* {{Citation |url= https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/arts/2017/08/12/deathtrap-springs-surprises-milwaukee-chamber-theatres-comic-thriller/560321001/ |title= 'Deathtrap' springs surprises in Milwaukee Chamber Theatre's comic thriller |first=Mike |last= Fischer |date=August 12, 2017  |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] }}
</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*[[John Grant (author)|John Grant]], "Levin, Ira (Marvin)", in [[David Pringle]], ed., ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers''. London: St. James Press, 1998, {{ISBN|1558622063}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Ira Levin}}

* [https://www.iralevin.org Official Website (IRALEVIN.org)]
*{{IMDb name|0505615}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{ISFDB name|744}}

{{Ira Levin|state=expanded}}
{{The Stepford Wives}}
{{Rosemary's Baby}}
{{Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Ira}}
[[Category:United States Army Signal Corps personnel]]
[[Category:1929 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American Jews]]
[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]
[[Category:American horror writers]]
[[Category:American male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American mystery writers]]
[[Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American satirical novelists]]
[[Category:Edgar Award winners]]
[[Category:Horace Mann School alumni]]
[[Category:Jewish American atheists]]
[[Category:Jewish American military personnel]]
[[Category:Jewish American novelists]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York City]]
[[Category:Military personnel from New York (state)]]
[[Category:New York University alumni]]
[[Category:Novelists from Connecticut]]
[[Category:Novelists from New York City]]
[[Category:People from Wilton, Connecticut]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War]]
[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Writers from the Bronx]]