Jerzy Kosiński

Jerzy Kosinski married Mary Hayward Weir in 1962. His marriage to the American steel heiress ended after 4 years. He was left out of her will when she died of cancer, shortly after the divorce.

After separating from his first wife, he exchanged nuptial vows with Katherine Von Fraunhofer, a member of Bavarian nobility.

Kosinski tragically ended his own life on May 3, 1991. His death was the result of a drug and alcohol overdose.

On June 14, 1933, this prolific novelist was born in Lodz, Poland. He was christened JozefLewinkopf on birth. He adapted the identity Jerzy Kosinski to escape Nazi persecution during the World War II.

He and his family survived in central Poland thanks to the help of a Catholic priest. They attended weekly sermons and Kosinski even performed the duties of an altar boy.He was given a baptismal certificate and hid in plain sight as a Catholic.

When the war ended, he moved to Jelenia Gora with his family. In 1955 he graduated with two degrees in History and Sociology from the ‘University of Lodz’.

After college, Kosinski spent time in the Polish army as a sharpshooter. He also taught at the ‘Polish Academy of Sciences’ as an associate professor.

In 1957 he left Poland for the United States. In order to leave Poland he had to create a fake foundation. He also promised his return to Poland, a requirement at the time, through forged letters from Communist officials.

His life in the United States started from humble beginnings. He got by working jobs he was overqualified for, such as driving delivery trucks.

Kosinski became an American citizen after residing seven years in the country, in 1965. Shortly after, he managed to graduate from the prestigious ‘Columbia University’.

Also in 1965, Kosinski began his career as a novelist with the publication of his first book, ‘The Painted Bird’. This book was a supposed autobiographical account of his experiences, hiding from Nazis and Polish authorities by adapting Catholicism.

Kosinski's 1965 novel, ‘The Painted Bird’, was significant because of its first-hand account of the horrors of the holocaust. It is widely known for its role in the plagiarism

The most significant work of his career was his political satire novel, ‘Being There’. It became a movie in 1979 and was nominated for an Academy Award.