Morris S. "Morrie" Schwartz (December 20, 1916 – November 4, 1995)
Retrieved August 26, 2016. was an American professor of sociology
Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...
at Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
and an author. He was the subject of the best-selling book ''Tuesdays with Morrie
''Tuesdays with Morrie'' is a memoir by American author Mitch Albom about a series of visits Albom made to his former sociology professor Morrie Schwartz, as Schwartz gradually dies of ALS. The book topped the ''New York Times'' Non-Fiction Bes ...
'', written by Mitch Albom
Mitchell David Albom (born May 23, 1958) is an American author, journalist, and musician. His books have sold over 40 million copies worldwide. Having achieved national recognition for sports writing in his early career, he turned to writing the ...
, a former student of Schwartz. He was portrayed by Jack Lemmon
John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadin ...
in the 1999 television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
adaptation of the book.
Personal life
Schwartz was the son of Charlie Schwartz, a Russian-Jewish immigrant who emigrated from Russia to escape the army. Schwartz's mother died when he was eight years old, and his brother David developed polio
Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...
at a young age. His father would eventually marry a Romanian woman named Eva Schneiderman. Later in Schwartz's life, his father suffered from a heart attack after fleeing a mugging. Schwartz came from a Jewish family, but as an adult he adopted multiple beliefs from a variety of different religions.
Schwartz had two sons with his wife Charlotte, Rob and Jon.
Schwartz was a 78-year-old sociology professor at Brandeis University
, mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts"
, established =
, type = Private research university
, accreditation = NECHE
, president = Ronald D. Liebowitz
, pro ...
when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...
(ALS). He died in November of 1995, less than two years after being diagnosed with the disease.
''Tuesdays with Morrie''
Schwartz achieved national prominence posthumously after being featured as the subject of Mitch Albom's 1997 best-selling memoir, ''Tuesdays with Morrie''. Albom had been a student of Schwartz's at Brandeis University, and years later had seen Schwartz on the television program ''Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...
''. After Albom phoned Schwartz, he made a series of trips to visit him in the final weeks of Schwartz's life as he was gradually overtaken by ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most com ...
. The book recounts the fourteen visits Albom made, their conversations, Schwartz's lectures, and his life experiences.
The book was adapted into a television film in 1999, starring Jack Lemmon as Schwartz.
Works
*with Alfred H. Stanton: ''The Mental Hospital: A Study of Institutional Participation in Psychiatric Illness and Treatment''. Basic Books
Basic Books is a book publisher founded in 1950 and located in New York, now an imprint of Hachette Book Group. It publishes books in the fields of psychology, philosophy, economics, science, politics, sociology, current affairs, and history.
H ...
1950, (2009 edition)
*with Charlotte Green Schwartz: ''Social Approaches to Mental Patient Care''. Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
1964
*with Emmy Lanning Shockley: ''The Nurse and the Mental Patient: a Study in Interpersonal Relations''. Wiley
Wiley may refer to:
Locations
* Wiley, Colorado, a U.S. town
*Wiley, Pleasants County, West Virginia, U.S.
* Wiley-Kaserne, a district of the city of Neu-Ulm, Germany
People
* Wiley (musician), British grime MC, rapper, and producer
* Wiley Mill ...
1966,
*''Letting Go: Morrie's Reflections on Living While Dying''. Walker & Company
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...
1996,
*''Morrie: In His Own Words''. Delta Publishing 1997,
Notes
References
*Albom, Mitch. ''Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson''. New York: Doubleday, 1997. Print.
Harris, Richard. ''Nearly 20 years after his death, Morrie Schwartz lives on.'' "Boston Globe" March 16, 2015.
Retrieved August 26, 2016.
External links
at Random House
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwartz, Morrie
1916 births
1995 deaths
American sociologists
University of Chicago alumni
Brandeis University faculty
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
Deaths from motor neuron disease
Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts
Jewish American social scientists