Joseph Heller

@Writers, Birthday and Childhood ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Joseph was a renowned American novelist and playwright American Columbia University New York University Oxford University Writers Novelists Playwrights Short Story Writers Taurus Celebrities Joseph Heller was an American satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright, best known as the author of Catch-22, a celebrated antiwar novel. The darkly comic novel, centers on the antihero Yossarian. It is based on the writer’s own experience as a bomber pilot in World War II and takes a satirical look at war, bureaucracy, and the maddening logic or lack thereof. To him the rational response to war was not bravery or heroism, but cowardice. The book received mixed reviews upon publication in 1961, but soared in popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s as its themes found a receptive audience in the Vietnam War era. He was often compared and grouped with the authors such as Kurt Vonnegut, Thomas Pynchon, and Philip Roth. In the book, Heller wrote. "Orr would be crazy to fly more missions. . . . but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to”. These words typified the phrase Catch-22 which entered the English lexicon and refers to "any absurd arrangement that puts a person in a double bind. Heller wrote five additional novels, including Something Happened, Good As Gold and Closing Time, a sequel to Catch-22, as well as short stories, plays, screenplays, and the memoir, Now and Then.

Personal Details

Birthday: May 1, 1923 Died on: December 12, 1999 Nationality: American Famous: Columbia University, New York University, Oxford University, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights, Short Story Writers Spouses: Shirley Held (m. 1945–1981), Valerie Humphries (m. 1987–1999) Childrens: Erica Heller, Ted Heller Universities: Columbia University,New York University,Oxford University St Catherine's College Oxford (1949–1950) Abraham Lincoln High School (1941) University of Southern California University of Oxford New York University Columbia University Information Detail Birthday May 1, 1923 Died on December 12, 1999 Nationality American Famous Columbia University, New York University, Oxford University, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights, Short Story Writers Spouses Shirley Held (m. 1945–1981), Valerie Humphries (m. 1987–1999) Childrens Erica Heller, Ted Heller Universities Columbia University,New York University,Oxford University St Catherine's College Oxford (1949–1950) Abraham Lincoln High School (1941) University of Southern California University of Oxford New York University Columbia University Notable Alumnis Columbia University New York University Oxford University Birth Place Brooklyn, New York Gender Male Father Isaac Donald Heller Mother Lene heller Sun Sign Taurus Born in Brooklyn, New York Famous as Novelist Died at Age 76

Brooklyn, New York

Joseph Heller born at Unsplash Birth Place

Heller married Shirley Held, with whom he had two children, Erica Jill and Theodore Michael. Unsplash Personal Life

In 1981, he discovered that he had Guillain-Barré syndrome. Already divorced from Shirley, he married his nurse, Valerie Humphries in 1987. Unsplash Personal Life

He died of a heart attack on December 12, 1999 at his home in Long Island. Upon hearing of Heller's death, his friend Kurt Vonnegut said, "Oh, God, how terrible. This is a calamity for American literature”. Unsplash Personal Life

Joseph Heller was born on May 1, 1923 in Coney Island, New York, to poor Jewish parents, Lena and Isaac Donald Heller from Russia. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

His father died following an operation in 1929, as he began his formal education at Coney Island's Public School No. 188. His mother never learned to speak English well, and the family struggled financially. Unsplash Childhood & Early Life

After graduating from Abraham Lincoln High School in 1941, Heller found work as a file clerk for an insurance agency, became a blacksmith's assistant and enrolled in a cadet school. Unsplash Career

After graduating from cadet school as a first lieutenant early in 1944, he was assigned to a squadron in Corsica where he initially had no serious complaints about his life in a combat unit. Unsplash Career

His thirty-seventh mission, a raid on Avignon, on the Rhone River in southeast France made him realize he was courting death on these flights. The young lieutenant's war was not the same after that. Unsplash Career

He completed sixty missions in the Mediterranean and received an Air Medal as well as a Presidential Unit Citation with his honorable discharge. He enrolled at the University of Southern California in 1945. Unsplash Career

He transferred to New York University, received his B.A in 1948, an M.A in American Literature from Columbia University and a Fulbright Scholarship to study for a year at Oxford University in England. Unsplash Career

Heller’ first novel ‘Catch-22’, published in 1961, describes Army Air Corps Captain John Yossarian’ numerous unsuccessful strategies to avoid combat missions. Now considered a classic, it sold 10 million copies in the United States, Unsplash Major Works

‘No Laughing Matter’ was co-authored by Heller and Speed Vogel. Written during Heller's struggle with a debilitating disease called Guillain-Barré syndrome, the book is full of humor and is devoid of self-pity. Unsplash Major Works

Information	Detail
Birthday	May 1, 1923
Died on	December 12, 1999
Nationality	American
Famous	Columbia University, New York University, Oxford University, Writers, Novelists, Playwrights, Short Story Writers
Spouses	Shirley Held (m. 1945–1981), Valerie Humphries (m. 1987–1999)
Childrens	Erica Heller, Ted Heller
Universities	Columbia University,New York University,Oxford University St Catherine's College Oxford (1949–1950) Abraham Lincoln High School (1941) University of Southern California University of Oxford New York University Columbia University
Notable Alumnis	Columbia University New York University Oxford University
Birth Place	Brooklyn, New York
Gender	Male
Father	Isaac Donald Heller
Mother	Lene heller
Sun Sign	Taurus
Born in	Brooklyn, New York
Famous as	Novelist
Died at Age	76

Joseph Heller

American

May 1, 1923

Biography

Personal Details

Brooklyn, New York