NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (UPI) -- Novelist and screenwriter Ira Levin has died of a heart attack in his New York apartment at age 78, The Los Angeles Times reported.
After his debut novel, "A Kiss Before Dying," was published in 1953, Levin penned the books "Rosemary's Baby," "The Stepford Wives" and "The Boys From Brazil," all of which were eventually brought to the big screen.
Levin wrote plays, including "No Time for Sergeants," "Critic's Choice" and "Deathtrap," as well as the Broadway musical, "Drat! The Cat."
The son of a toy manufacturer, Levin was born in New York and knew as a teenager he wanted to be a writer. He studied at Drake University in Iowa, and then transferred to New York University before beginning his career as a television writer -- cranking out scripts for the early 1950s television shows "Clock," "Lights Out" and "U.S. Steel Hour" while he was still in college.
Levin was married to and divorced from Gabrielle Aronsohn and Phyllis Finkel.
He is survived by his sons, Adam, Jared and Nicolas; and three grandchildren.
