Green was born in
Brooklyn, New York as
Gerald Greenberg. He was the son of a physician, Dr. Samuel Greenberg. He was Jewish. Green attended
Columbia College, where he edited the
Jester, starred in several
Varsity Shows, and was a member of the
Philolexian Society. He graduated from the college in 1942 and, after serving in the
US Army in Europe during the
Second World War, where he was also the editor of the army's
Stars and Stripes newspaper, he returned to New York to attend the
Columbia Journalism School. Green wrote many novels, the best known being
The Last Angry Man, published in 1956. It was adapted into a
movie by the same name which was nominated for
Academy Awards for
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Paul Muni) and
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White. His other novels include ''His Majesty O'Keefe
(co-authored with Lawrence Klingman), adapted into a 1954 film, North West
, Portofino PTA
, To Brooklyn With Love
, My Son the Jock
, The Lotus Eaters
and East and West
. His 1962 novel Portofino P.T.A.
was adapted into a musical, Something More!'', by composer
Sammy Fain and lyricists
Marilyn and
Alan Bergman. He wrote the
teleplay for
Holocaust, a critically acclaimed 1978 TV miniseries that won eight
Emmy Awards, including one for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series," and was credited with persuading the
West German government to repeal the statute of limitations on
Nazi war crimes. He later adapted the script into a novel of the same title. In recognition for this effort, Green was awarded the
Dag Hammarskjöld International Peace Prize for literature, 1979. Green won another Emmy nomination for his 1985 TV script for
Wallenberg: A Hero's Story. Green was also a writer, producer, and director for
NBC News. In 1952, he co-created (with
Dave Garroway)
NBC's
The Today Show. Green lived in
Stamford, Connecticut for twenty years and moved to
New Canaan, Connecticut. His first wife, Marie, died of cancer. They had three children: Nancy, Ted and David. He married Marlene Eagle in 1979, becoming stepfather to Dr Janie Worth (née Eagle), Julie Cardo (née Eagle) and David Eagle. Green died of
pneumonia in
Norwalk, Connecticut on August 29, 2006. ==Books written by Gerald Green==