Barbara Gelb
| Barbara Gelb | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Barbara Stone February 6, 1926 Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 9, 2017 (aged 91) Manhattan, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Author, playwright, journalist |
| Known for | Eugene O'Neill biographies |
| Spouse(s) | Arthur Gelb (m. 1946; his death 2014) |
| Children | Two (including Peter) |
Barbara Gelb (née Stone; February 6, 1926 – February 9, 2017) was an American author, playwright, and journalist. She, along with her husband Arthur, wrote three biographies of the Nobel laureate playwright Eugene O'Neill.
Barbara Stone was born in 1926 in Manhattan, New York. Her father was heir to a prosperous chain of five-and-dime stores; her mother was a Russian immigrant and sister of the violinist Jascha Heifetz. When she was nine, her parents divorced; her mother married S. N. Behrman, a journalist, screenwriter, and playwright. Stone was sent to boarding school, in order not to disturb Behrman's writing. At 16, she entered Swarthmore College but became preoccupied with theatrical and literary activities and dropped out to work as a copygirl for The New York Times's editorial board. It was there that she met a copyboy and future husband, whom she would marry in 1946.
Gelb became a freelance journalist, after losing the job at The Times to a returning World War II veteran. She wrote profiles on literary and entertainment figures, book reviews, and travel and lifestyle articles, mostly for The Times and its magazine.
Gelb also wrote books centered on the New York City Police Department: On the Track of Murder in 1975, and Varnished Brass: The Decade After Serpico in 1983.
Following Eugene O'Neill's death in 1953, public interest about him regenerated. Harper & Brothers Publications asked Brooks Atkinson, chief theater critic of The Times, to write a biography. Atkinson declined but suggested Arthur Gelb could write it, with Barbara's help. The book O'Neill, published in 1962 and detailing his boyhood and life as a seaman, became a best seller.
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