Erwin Nathanson (February 17, 1928 – April 5, 2016) was an American author who wrote the novel ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1965), which was adapted into the film of the same name.

Background

Nathanson was born in 1928 in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. His mother suffered from depression and went into an institution when he was two years old. He was placed in a Jewish orphanage in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and lived there until he was seven, when he was sent to the Hebrew National Orphan Home in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. He remained there until he graduated high school. Nathanson majored in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. Nathanson held a variety of writing and editing jobs. He was a

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual errors. ''The Chicago Manual of ...

for

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in New York, a reporter for the ''Arlington Sun'' in Virginia, a

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and a freelance magazine writer. By 1959, he was living in Los Angeles, where he worked as associate editor for ''Daring Detective'' magazine and an editing job for a chain of

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

''The Dirty Dozen''

In 1965, Nathanson wrote the war novel ''The Dirty Dozen'', a story about 12 servicemen, convicted of robbery, murder and rape, who are sent on a suicide mission to blow up a chateau of German generals just before

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

with the promise of commuted sentences to those who survive. The novel was inspired by the supposedly true story of World War II criminal soldiers who got the nickname "the Dirty Dozen" (or "

Filthy Thirteen The Filthy Thirteen was the name given to the 1st Demolition Section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, of the United States Army, which fought in the European campaign in ...

" which was an actual group of American paratroopers) for their refusal to bathe and who were said to have been sent off on a similar mission. Nathanson heard the story from his producer friend

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that fea ...

, who said he learned of the tale while working as a combat photographer during World War II. Although Nathanson researched in vain for two years to verify the story's accuracy, he still received a contract for a book. He and his editor fictionalized the story. The best-selling novel sold more than two million copies and was translated into 10 languages.

Death

Nathanson died on April 5, 2016, of heart failure in his

Laguna Niguel, California Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). As of ...

home. He was 88. He is survived by his partner Elizabeth Henderson and son Michael from his marriage to Mary Ann Nathanson.

Bibliography

*''The Dirty Dozen'' (1965) *''The Latecomers'' (1970) *''It Gave Everybody Something To Do'' (with Louise Thoresen) (1973) *''A Dirty Distant War'' (1987)- The Sequel to ''The Dirty Dozen'' *''Knight's Cross'' (with

Aaron Bank Aaron Bank (November 23, 1902 – April 1, 2004) was a United States Army colonel who founded the US Army Special Forces, commonly known as the "Green Berets". He is also known for his exploits as an OSS officer during World War II, when h ...

) (1993) *''Lovers and Schemers'' (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathanson, E.M. 1928 births 2016 deaths American war novelists American male novelists New York University alumni People from Yonkers, New York 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Writers from the Bronx People from Laguna Niguel, California 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California Novelists from New York (state)