Jerome Weidman Biography (1913-1998)



See index for CTFT sketch: Born April 4, 1913, in New York, NY; died October 6, 1998, in Manhattan, NY. Novelist, short story writer, and playwright. Weidman enjoyed an early success with the publication of his novel, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, in 1937 at the age of 24. The novel's protagonist, Harry Bogen, an ambitious young man who would stop at nothing to get ahead, became a stock character in American literature. The book became a filmin 1951, and a hit Broadway musical starring Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand in 1962. Weidman was born on the Lower East Side of New York to immigrantparents. His father sewed pockets in suits, and after high school Weidman went to work in the garment district too, soaking up the material that would become I Can Get It for You Wholesale. In a career that spanned fifty years, Weidman published more than twenty novels, many of them best-sellers, but none matching the success of his first. Weidman was also an accomplished short story writer, publishing frequently in Story, American Mercury, and the New Yorker, pieces that were praised for their gritty exuberance and realistic portrayal of life among New York's Jews. Weidman's other outstanding success came in the form of Fiorello!, a musical about New York mayor Fiorello La Guardia that won a Pulitzer, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and tied with The Sound of Music for a Tony for bestmusical of the 1959-60 season.

Gender
Male
Birth Details
April 4, 1913
New York, New York, United States
Death Details
October 6, 1998
Manhattan, New York, United States

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