Henry Slesar

Henry Slesar (June 12, 1927–April 2, 2002) was an American author, playwright, copywriter, and screenwriter born in Brooklyn, New York. He began publishing genre fiction in the 1950s while working in advertising, producing hundreds of short stories for magazines including Playboy, Imaginative Tales, and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine.

Slesar wrote across mystery, crime, science fiction, and thriller fiction, and was known for irony and surprise endings. He also wrote television scripts for series such as The Twilight Zone, Batman, 77 Sunset Strip, and The Edge of Night, as well as the screenplay for the 1965 film Two on a Guillotine.

His later work included the novel Murder at Heartbreak Hospital, which was adapted into the 2002 film Heartbreak Hospital.