Thomas Berger | |
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 Berger in 1987 | |
| Born | Thomas Louis Berger (1924-07-20)July 20, 1924 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | July 13, 2014(2014-07-13) (aged 89) Nyack, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Education | |
| Period | 1958–2014 |
| Genre | Literary fiction |
| Spouse | |
Thomas Louis Berger (July 20, 1924 – July 13, 2014) was an American novelist. Probably best known for hispicaresque novelLittle Big Man and the subsequent film byArthur Penn, Berger explored and manipulated manygenres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, theutopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology,Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.[1]
Berger's biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, descriptions he preferred to reject.[2] His admirers often bemoaned that his talent and achievement were underappreciated, in view of his versatility across many forms of fiction, his precise use of language, and his probing intelligence.
Born inCincinnati, Ohio, Thomas Berger grew up in the nearby community ofLockland. He interrupted his college career to enlist in theUnited States Army in 1943. Berger served in Europe during World War II and was stationed with a medical unit in the first U.S. Occupation Forces in Berlin,[3] experiences which later provided him with background for his first novel,Crazy in Berlin, published in 1958. On his return, he studied at theUniversity of Cincinnati, receiving a B.A. in 1948. He then pursued graduate work in English atColumbia University, leaving his thesis unfinished to enroll in the writer's workshop at theNew School for Social Research. Here Berger met and married an artist, Jeanne Redpath, in 1950. He supported himself during this time by working as a librarian at theRand School of Social Science, and was briefly on staff at theNew York Times Index. Berger later became a copy editor atPopular Science Monthly, and performed freelance editing during the early years of his writing career.[1]
Eventually, Berger was able to devote himself to writing full-time, particularly after the notoriety gained by his third book,Little Big Man, in 1964. Although he would occasionally put his hand to a short story, play, or non-fiction article (including a stint as film critic forEsquire), Berger preferred the long narrative form of the novel, and produced a steady run of critically acclaimed books throughout his career. In 1984 his bookThe Feud was nominated by the Pulitzer committee for fiction for thePulitzer Prize, but the Pulitzer board overrode their recommendation and instead choseWilliam Kennedy'sIronweed.[4]
In 1974, Berger was a writer in residence at theUniversity of Kansas, and adistinguished visiting professor atSouthampton College in 1975–1976. He lectured atYale University in 1981 and 1982, and was a Regents' Lecturer at theUniversity of California, Davis, in 1982.[5] A collection of his papers is available at theHoward Gotlieb Archival Research Center atBoston University.
Berger resided in New York City from 1948 to 1953, and lived the next twelve years in a town on theHudson River. In subsequent years, he lived in London,Malibu, California, New York City again,Long Island, and thenMount Desert Island in Maine, before once more returning to the banks of the Hudson.[6] He died on July 13, 2014, seven days before his 90th birthday.[7]
Berger received a Dial fellowship in 1962. In 1965, he received a Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award, National Institute of Arts and Letters, and a Western Heritage Award, both forLittle Big Man.Reinhart's Women won Berger an Ohioana Book Award, and he was a 1984 Pulitzer Prize finalist forThe Feud.Long Island University awarded Berger aLitt. D. in 1986.[5]
Berger may be best known forLittle Big Man, the movie made from his 1964 novel. Released in 1970, it was directed by Arthur Penn, and starredDustin Hoffman andFaye Dunaway.Neighbors, withJohn Belushi,Dan Aykroyd andCathy Moriarty, was released in 1981.Bill D'Elia produced and directed a film adaptation ofThe Feud in 1989.[8] Afilm version of the 1992 novelMeeting Evil, starringSamuel L. Jackson andLuke Wilson, was filmed in 2011, and was released to theaters in the United States in May 2012.[9][10]
His playOther People was produced at theBerkshire Theatre Festival in 1970. Berger's radio playAt the Dentist's was broadcast byVermont Public Radio in 1981.[11]
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