Shaw, Irwin

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Author Irwin Shaw was born in New York and educated at Brooklyn College; after graduation he wrote for radio serials to help support his destitute family. He became a successful playwright, which led to work on various movies, including both original screenplays and adaptations. He gradually shifted his emphasis to short stories, and produced a series of acclaimed stories for New Yorker and other periodicals. He was a non-combatant in World War II but, traveling with a filmmaking unit, he witnessed many of the war's key moments. He began writing successful novels, and lived an indulgent lifestyle in voluntary exile in Europe, where he produced Rich Man, Poor Man, a commercial success but a critical flop. A superior craftsman, Shaw will be remembered for his stylish short stories and notable achievements with plays and novels.

From the description of Irwin Shaw letter to Robie Macauley, 1970 Sept. 14. (Pennsylvania State University Libraries). WorldCat record id: 71790590

American author.

From the description of Two weeks in another town (galley proof), ca. 1960 [manuscript]. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 647804647

Irwin Shaw was born in the Bronx in 1913. He grew up in Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College, graduating with a BA in 1934. A prolific writer, Shaw published five plays, eighty-four short stories, and twelve novels, including the best-selling Rich Man, Poor Man. During his lifetime he also wrote screen plays and as a young man wrote scripts for two popular radio serials. His writing career appears to have begun in the early 1930s when, as a Brooklyn College student he wrote for the school newspaper and edited the yearbook. His first play, Bury the Dead, opened in 1936 at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. The play received sensational reviews that brought Shaw acclaim as a promising young playwrite. During the period of the mid 1930s to the early 1940s Shaw penned a variety of short stories and plays, and was invited to Hollywood to work as a screenwriter. In 1939 Shaw married the young actress Marian Edwards whom he had met in Hollywood, and in 1942, he entered the army. His experiences in the army provided material for several short stories as well as the novel The Young Lions (1948). The Young Lions was followed in 1951 by the best-selling novel The Troubled Air. During the 50s Shaw's writing, including Lucy Crown met with much commercial success, but by the 1960s his critical reputation had suffered, as his novels were unfavorably compared to his earlier short stories. His marriage had failed by 1967, but during the next decade he produced some of his most popular novels, including Rich Man, Poor Man. By the mid 1970s, Shaw was drinking heavily and his health was deteriorating. He and Marian reconciled and remarried in 1982, but he died in May of 1984 of prostate cancer.

From the description of The Papers of Irwin Shaw, 1948-1963 1950-1952. (Brooklyn College). WorldCat record id: 422637136

Novelist.

Graduate of Brooklyn College.

From the description of Papers, 1951-1963. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 155456534

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Zwecker, Yossi. Mered ha-metim. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
referencedIn Random House (Firm). Random House Records, 1925-1999. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Esquire, Inc. Records, 1933-1977 Bentley Historical Library
referencedIn Aronson, Boris, 1898- . Boris Aronson Scenic Design Papers, 1939-1977. Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Irwin Shaw letter to Robie Macauley, 1970 Sept. 14. Pennsylvania State University Libraries
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Mered ha-metim. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Two weeks in another town (galley proof), ca. 1960 [manuscript]. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf New Theatre League records, 1935-1942. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. The last tycoon : mimeograph copy of typescript, [1966]. Pierpont Morgan Library.
referencedIn Bennett Cerf Papers, ca. 1898-1977. Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Jones, James, 1921-1977. James Jones Papers, 1890-1981 (bulk 1941-1978). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Davidson, Joseph H., 1903-1981. Papers, 1928-1981. Brooklyn College
creatorOf Erskine, Albert, 1911-1993. Albert Erskine papers, 1930-1999. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. Bury the Dead / by Irwin Shaw, 1936 - house program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. The Bloodletters : typescript signed on title page of v. 1 of the novel published under the title "The Young lions." Pierpont Morgan Library.
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Typescripts, 1948-1963. Brooklyn College
referencedIn Pipe Night tape collection, 1963-1986. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
referencedIn Aaron Copland Collection, 1841-1991, (bulk 1911-1990) Library of Congress. Music Division
creatorOf Hills, L. Rust. Papers, 1954-1996. Indiana University
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. The Papers of Irwin Shaw, 1948-1963 1950-1952. Brooklyn College
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Letter, 1950 : to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Miscellaneous screen, stage, and radio scripts, ca. 1859-2007. Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
referencedIn Selznick, David O., 1902-1965. Light's diamond jubilee: telecast script, 1954. Stanford University. Department of Special Collections and University Archives
creatorOf Riesner, Dean, 1918-2002. Irwin Shaw's Rich man, poor man. Parts 1-5 / script by Dean Riesner. University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
creatorOf Shaw, Irwin, 1913-1984. Desire under the elms : screenplay, 1956 Oct. 22 / by Irwin Shaw ; from a play by Eugene O'Neill. Ohio State University Libraries
referencedIn Pantheon Press. Pantheon Press records. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. Bury the Dead / by Irwin Shaw, 1936 - house program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn New Yorker records New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Vera Zorina papers Harvard Theater Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University
creatorOf Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. Papers of Tennessee Williams [manuscript], 1927-1957. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Eisenberg, Lee, 1946-. Records : of the 50th Anniversary issue of Esquire, 1976-1984 (bulk 1982-1983). University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn RKO Radio Pictures, inc. RKO Radio Pictures, inc. correspondence, 1931-1958. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Cerf, Bennett, 1898-1971. Bennett Cerf papers, ca. 1898-1977. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Clugston, Katharine, b. 1892. Plays, 1931-1941. Houghton Library
referencedIn New Theatre League records, 1935-1942 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn RKO Radio Pictures, inc. correspondence, 1931-1958 The New York Public Library. Billy Rose Theatre Division.
creatorOf Kasdan, Michael. Act of faith : a play in one act / by Michael F. Kasdan ; adapted from Irwin Shaw's short story of the same name. Ohio State University Libraries
creatorOf Papers, 1951-1963. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. Scrapbooks nos. 1-3 - Toby Gordon Ryans' collection of clippings, programs and miscellaneous photographs concerning the Workers' Experimental Theatre, Theatre of Action and Play Actors, 1932-55. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Aronson, Boris, 1898- . person
associatedWith Burden, Carter, person
associatedWith Cerf, Bennett, 1898-1971. person
associatedWith Clugston, Katharine, b. 1892. person
associatedWith Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990 person
associatedWith Davidson, Joseph H., 1903-1981. person
associatedWith Eisenberg, Lee, 1946- person
associatedWith Erskine, Albert, 1911-1993. person
associatedWith Esquire, Inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Hartman, Don, 1900-1958. person
associatedWith Hills, L. Rust. person
associatedWith Jones, James, 1921-1977. person
associatedWith Kasdan, Michael. person
associatedWith Macauley, Robie, person
associatedWith Matthews, J. B. (Joseph Brown), 1894-1966 person
associatedWith New Theatre League corporateBody
associatedWith New Theatre League. corporateBody
correspondedWith New Yorker Magazine, Inc corporateBody
associatedWith O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953. person
associatedWith Pantheon Press. corporateBody
associatedWith Players (New York, N.Y.) corporateBody
associatedWith Random House (Firm) corporateBody
associatedWith RKO Radio Pictures, inc. corporateBody
associatedWith Selznick, David O., 1902-1965. person
associatedWith Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. corporateBody
associatedWith Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. corporateBody
associatedWith Toby Gordon Ryan Collection. corporateBody
associatedWith Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983. person
correspondedWith Zorina, Vera. person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Subject
American literature
Authors
Male authors, American
Occupation
Authors
Activity

Person

Birth 1913-02-27

Death 1984-05-16

Male

Americans

English

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