Morrie Schwartz | |
---|---|
Born |
Morris S. Schwartz December 20, 1916 New York City, New York |
Died | November 4, 1995 Newton, Massachusetts. |
(aged 78)
Occupation | Professor at Brandeis University |
Spouse(s) | Charlotte Schwartz |
Morris "Morrie" S. Schwartz (December 20, 1916 – November 4, 1995) was a sociology professor at Brandeis University and an author. He was the subject of the best-selling book Tuesdays with Morrie, which was written by Mitch Albom, a sportswriter who was a former student of his, and published in 1997. The book was followed by a film version based on the book that was made for television.
Morrie's father, Charlie Schwartz, was a Russian immigrant who left Russia to escape the Russian Army. But later in Morrie's life Charlie suffered from a heart attack after running from two muggers. His mother died when he was only 8 years old. After his wife died, Charlie Schwartz remarried a Romanian woman named Eva who became Morrie's stepmother. Morrie had a younger brother David who developed polio at a young age. Morrie's whole family was Jewish. But later in his life Morrie stopped believing in this faith.
In adulthood Morrie married a woman named Charlotte and had two sons named Rob and Jon Schwartz.
Tuesdays with Morrie is a book about Morrie and a former student of his, Mitch Albom. After seeing Morrie interviewed on Nightline with Ted Koppel, Albom started flying to Morrie's home in Massachusetts from Detroit for Tuesday visits. Mitch had discovered that Morrie had ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), a terminal neurological disease. After about fourteen visits Morrie finally lost his battle with ALS when it took his ability to breathe. Albom's book is full of the lessons and wisdom that Morrie imparts to him in his final stage of life.