Ira Wallach was born in 1913 in New York City. An author, playwright, and screenwriter, he was described by Martin Levin, reviewer and columnist for the "New York Times" for over twenty-five years, as “one of the deftest satirists at large, and a master of the fragile art of parody.” Among Wallach’s eight books are the parodies “Hopalong Freud” (1951), “Hopalong Freud Rides Again” (1952), “Gutenberg’s Folly” (1954), “Five Thousand Years of Foreplay” (1976), and the novel “Muscle Beach” (1959). His theatre works include the comedy sketch review PHOENIX 55 (1955); DRINK TO ME ONLY (with A.S. Ginnes, 1955); THE ABSENCE OF A CELLO (1960), produced in New York, London, and Paris; the book for the Off Broadway musical SMILING THE BOY FELL (1961); OUT OF THE QUESTION (1968); and KABOOM (1974). Wallach’s best-known screenplays are “Boys Night Out” (1962), “The Wheeler Dealers” (1963), “Don’t Make Waves” (1967), and “Hot Millions” (with Peter Ustinov, 1968). The latter received an Oscar nomination for best screenplay and the Writers Guide of Great Britain award for best comedy screenplay. Wallach died in New York, on December 2, 1995, of pneumonia.
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