Bibliofemme News
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28/04/2004
Acclaimed writer Hubert Selby Jr dies
Hubert Selby Jr, the author of 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' and 'Requiem for a Dream', has died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 75.
His wife of 35 years Suzanne Selby said that the writer had died of chronic pulmonary disease, which resulted from the life-threatening tuberculosis he contracted at sea during World War II.
At the time of his death Selby was teaching a writing class at the University of Southern California where he had worked for 20 years.
Born in 1928, Selby dropped out of High School and was sent home from the merchant marines after contracting tuberculosis.
He survived radical surgery, over a year in hospital and a morphine addiction and saw his first book, 'Last Exit to Brooklyn', published in 1964.
Like 'Requiem for a Dream', 'Last Exit to Brooklyn' was also made into a film, with Selby having cameos in both adaptations.
He also co-wrote the screenplay for the 2003 film 'Fear X', starring John Turturro; it opens at the Irish Film Institute on 14 May.
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