Henry Slesar
- born: 12/Jun/1927 (Brooklyn, New York, USA)
- died: 02/Apr/2002 (New York City, New York, USA)
Biography
Henry Slesar was an American author, playwright, and copywriter. He was also known as O.H. Leslie and Jay Street.
He was born Henry Schlosser in Brooklyn, New York City. His parents were Jewish immigrants from Russia and Germany.
After graduating from high school, he started his career as a copywriter. Around 1955, he started to write short stories. While working as a copywriter, he published hundreds of short stories, including detective stories, science fiction, criminal stories, mysteries, and thrillers in such publications as Playboy, Imaginative Tales, and Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Alfred Hitchcock highly appreciated Slesar's talent and hired him to do a number of the scenarios for "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".
From 1957 to 1962, he wrote the Ruby Martinson series. "The Gray Flannel Shroud" (1958), his first long novel, was awarded the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1960.
In 1974, he was awarded an Emmy as the head writer of the TV series "The Edge of Night" (1956-1984), his head writing term being considered lengthy. During that time, he was also head writer for the Procter and Gamble soap operas "Somerset" and "Search for Tomorrow". During the 1974-75 television, he was the creator and head writer for "Executive Suite", a CBS primetime series.
In 1984, Procter and Gamble wanted to replace him as the headwriter of "The Edge of Night" but the ABC network decided to keep him. After his eventual replacement as head writer by Lee Sheldon, the network named him and Sam Hall the new head writers for its soap opera "One Life to Live", but he left that show after one year. He was later the head writer for the CBS afternoon series "Capitol".
In 1977, he was again awarded an Edgar. In 2002, he died of complications from an operation.
Filmography
With Hitchcock...
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Heart of Gold (27/Oct/1957) - writer (story)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Night of the Execution (29/Dec/1957) - writer (story)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - On the Nose (16/Feb/1958) - writer (story)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Right Kind of House (09/Mar/1958) - writer (story)
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Hatbox (10/Oct/1961) - writer
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Cop for a Day (31/Oct/1961) - writer
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Keep Me Company (07/Nov/1961) - writer
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents - The Right Kind of Medicine (19/Dec/1961) - writer
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - I Saw the Whole Thing (11/Oct/1962) - writer
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Final Vow (25/Oct/1962) - writer
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - House Guest (08/Nov/1962) - writer
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - What Really Happened (11/Jan/1963) - writer (teleplay)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Blood Bargain (25/Oct/1963) - writer (screenplay & short story)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Starring the Defense (15/Nov/1963) - writer (screenplay & short story)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Behind the Locked Door (27/Mar/1964) - writer (short story & teleplay)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Who Needs an Enemy (15/May/1964) - writer (story)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - The Second Verdict (29/May/1964) - writer (story & teleplay)
- The Alfred Hitchcock Hour - Isabel (05/Jun/1964) - writer
