Harry Gray: Biography and Creativity of a Gangster Writer

Harry Gray is a famous American writer. He is the author of three books that accurately describe the life of gangsters, long dominant in America.

Harry Gray's biography

In the life of the writer there were many difficulties that he could overcome.

Born Harry Gray on November 2, 1901 in Ukraine, in the city of Odessa. The real name of the writer is Herschel Goldberg.

After spending just a few years after the birth of a boy in Odessa, the family decided in 1905 to move to North America. Getting older and smarter, Harry managed to achieve success.

Talented brother

Harry Gray had a brother who was leading a column in the New York newspaper. Brother Gray did not take a pseudonym and signed his articles simply - Hyman Goldberg. He was known in his time as a talented journalist and critic. In addition to his column in the newspaper, soon Hyman became the author of several books that did not receive wide popularity, but caused respect from colleagues.

Family ups and downs

In 1912, the head of the Goldberg family became seriously ill. Father Harry was placed in the hospital, where he was to have an emergency operation.

During his father's stay in the hospital, the Golberg family had a very fragile financial situation. It was at this time that Celia, Harry Gray's mother, was trying to start a small business. She discovered something like a small shop with inexpensive food. The store was really successful, because it was at this time that many Americans and emigrant families had problems with money.

When Harry Gray's father returned from the hospital, he saw how gloriously things were going in his wife's business. After much thought, the Goldberg family decides to open their own small restaurant. After that, they improved their position. The family business was also helped by sons - like Hyman Goldberg, and Harry Gray.

Education

Despite the fact that Harry Gray had the opportunity to study and get a decent education, despite all the instructions of his parents, the young writer finished the seventh grade, after which he dropped out of school.

Years later, Harry realized the importance of having an education. After realizing this, Gray managed to go to college.

Creating Your Own Family

In 1932, Harry Gray offers his hand and heart to Milred Becker. She did not think about the answer for a long time and agreed. In the same year, Harry Gray and his young wife played a wedding.

Very soon after the wedding, the first child appears in the young family. Gray, like Milred, was insanely happy. But at this stage the family did not stop - after his death, Harry Gray left three beautiful children.

Creation

His books Harry Gray began to write, only at the age of fifty. The main impetus to writing for him was an accident in which he was badly injured. After spending a long time in hospitals, Gray decided to describe his whole life in America, starting from the twenties of the last century. For historians, it's no secret that at this time in New York the gangster movements developed very strongly. All the books of Harry Gray are based on real events, many moments of the stories happened with the writer himself.

It was at this point that Herschel Goldberg decided to take the pseudonym in order to simultaneously engage in writing activities and protect his family.

The photo of Harry Gray, which is presented in the article, was just made in those years when he was already writing.

Writing Activities

The first book that was written by Harry Gray's hand was the book The Bandits. The work immediately became known, many critics expressed very ambiguous about the book, because Harry described the gangster life, being himself a bandit. In all the newspapers they wrote that the work of Gray would surprise every reader.

The book gained fame due to the fact that it was written by a writer in prison, where he served time for participating in the activities of criminal bandit groups. The book "Bandits" became the history of Gray's life, it was there that he described all aspects of those years: changes and tightening of the law, prostitution, constant murders, the appearance of hired professional killers - all this was described by the writer very accurately and believably.

Despite a huge number of opinions, the book really turned out very believable. This is exactly what the famous film director Sergio Leone noted, who decided to film Gray's book, calling the film "Once Upon a Time in America." Harry himself did not see the resulting adaptation, because he died in 1980, when the film was just started shooting. The film received many awards and became known throughout the world. The main role was played by the young Robert de Niro, who was already quite a popular actor.

Other famous books

No less famous work was Gray's book "Call Me, Duke." The work was the continuation of the book "Bandits", which talked about the adventures of one of the heroes of the first book - he needed to find hidden by the protagonist of the treasure. The book also had a huge success and was widely known throughout America.

The third part of this series was the book The Portrait of a Bandit. It described the ascent to the summit, and then the fall of one of the most famous gangsters of those years. Soon the book was filmed by director Joseph Pevny. The film was released in 1961.