Leon Uris

Leon Marcus Uris, novelist, was born in Baltimore, Maryland to William and Anna Uris. His father was a paperhanger who had immigrated from Poland. He was educated in schools in Maryland and Virginia, but he never graduated from high school. He joined the U.S. Marine Corps when he was seventeen and served in the South Pacific and New Zealand during World War II. He worked briefly as a driver for a newspaper, but after 1950 he was a full-time writer.

Uris published his first novel, Battle Cry, when he was 29. He sold the novel to a film producer and wrote the screenplay. He is well-known for his screenplay, Gunfight at the OK Corral. His novel, Exodus, was an overwhelming success, and as a result he gained international recognition.