Harry Grey | |
|---|---|
| Born | Herschel Goldberg November 2, 1901 Kyiv, Russian Empire |
| Died | October 1, 1980 (aged 78) Manhattan, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Author, writer |
| Nationality | Russian-American |
| Notable works | The Hoods |
| Spouse |
Mildred Becker (m. 1932) |
Herschel Goldberg (November 2, 1901 – October 1, 1980), better known as Harry Grey, was a Russian Jewish-American criminal and writer. His first book, The Hoods (1952), was the model for the 1984 film Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone, where his part was played by Robert De Niro.[1] The memoir — partially factual, partially subconsciously altered, and partially fictional — was written when Goldberg was incarcerated at Sing-Sing.
After The Hoods, Grey published two more books, Call Me Duke (1955) and Portrait of a Mobster (1958), also based on his experience as a gangster, but these were far less successful and as a consequence the conclusion to The Hoods contained in Call Me Duke went largely unnoticed. A "Golden Palm Star", part of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, was dedicated to Grey in 1999.[2]