Howard Fast facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Howard Fast
Born	Howard Melvin Fast November 11, 1914 New York City, New York, United States
Died	March 12, 2003(2003-03-12) (aged 88) Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
Pen name	E.V. Cunningham Walter Ericson
Occupation	Novelist
Nationality	American
Period	20th century
Genre	Historical fiction
Notable works	The Last Frontier, Spartacus, April Morning
Spouse	Bette Cohen (1937–1994; her death; 2 children) Mercedes O'Connor (1999–2003; his death)
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Howard Melvin Fast (born November 11, 1914 – died March 12, 2003) was an American writer. He wrote many novels and also worked on television shows. Fast used other names for his books, like E.V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.

About Howard Fast

His Early Life

Howard Fast was born in New York City. His mother was from Britain and his father was from Ukraine. Both were Jewish immigrants. When Howard was young, his mother died and his father lost his job. Howard and his older brother sold newspapers to help the family. Howard loved to read and spent a lot of time at the New York Public Library.

He started writing very early. When he was just 18, his first novel, Two Valleys, was published in 1933. One of his first popular books was Citizen Tom Paine. This book was a fictional story about the life of Thomas Paine, an important figure in American history.

Fast was always interested in American history. He wrote The Last Frontier, which was about the Cheyenne Native Americans trying to return to their homeland. This book later inspired a movie called Cheyenne Autumn. He also wrote Freedom Road, a story about former slaves during the time after the American Civil War.

The novel Freedom Road was based on a real story. It was made into a TV miniseries starring Muhammad Ali. He played Gideon Jackson, a former slave in the 1870s. Gideon was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He fought against groups like the Ku Klux Klan to protect the land his community had worked on.

His Beliefs and Career

Howard Fast wrote an important essay called "Why the Fifth Amendment?". This essay explained why the Fifth Amendment is so important. This amendment protects people from being forced to testify against themselves in court. Fast used the time of the "Red Scare" to show why this protection is needed. During the Red Scare, many people were unfairly accused of being communists.

During World War II, Fast worked for the United States Office of War Information. He wrote for Voice of America, which shared news and information with other countries. In 1943, he joined the Communist Party USA.

In 1950, he was called to speak before a government committee. This committee was called the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Fast refused to tell them the names of people who had given money to help orphans of American soldiers from the Spanish Civil War. Because he refused, he was sent to prison for three months.

While in prison, Fast started writing his most famous book, Spartacus. This novel is about a rebellion of slaves in the Roman Empire. After he got out of prison, big publishers would not publish his books. This was because he was "blacklisted" for his political beliefs. So, Fast decided to publish Spartacus himself. It was a huge success!

He then started his own publishing company, Blue Heron Press. This allowed him to keep publishing his books. Later, a movie version of Spartacus was made in 1960. This movie helped end the blacklisting of many writers and actors in Hollywood.

In the 1950s, Fast started to disagree with the Communist Party. He learned more about what was happening in the Soviet Union and other countries. He was especially upset after a report in 1956 that criticized Joseph Stalin. He also disagreed with the Soviet Union's actions in Hungary in 1956. In his book The Naked God, he wrote about why he left the party. He felt that the party had betrayed its good ideas.

In the mid-1950s, Fast moved to Teaneck, New Jersey. Later, in 1974, he moved to California. There, he wrote scripts for TV shows, including How the West Was Won. In 1977, he published The Immigrants, which was the first of a six-book series.

In 1948, another author said that Fast had copied parts of his book. Fast paid money to settle the issue, and his publisher agreed to print the other author's book again.

His Family and Later Life

Howard Fast married Bette Cohen in 1937. They had two children, Jonathan and Rachel. Bette passed away in 1994. In 1999, he married Mercedes O'Connor, who had three sons.

Howard Fast's son, Jonathan Fast, also became a novelist. Jonathan was married to the writer Erica Jong. Their daughter is Molly Jong-Fast, who is also a writer. Howard's younger brother, Julius Fast, was also a writer.

Howard Fast passed away at his home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, in 2003.

His Books

Novels

Novels written as Behn Boruch

• In the Beginning: The Story of Abraham (1958)
• The Patriarchs: The Story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (1959)
• The Coat of Many Colors: The Story of Joseph (1959)

Novels written as E.V. Cunningham

Short Story Collections

Other Short Stories

Poems

Plays

Nonfiction Books

Articles

Autobiographies (Books about his own life)

• The Naked God: The Writer and the Communist Party (1957)
• Being Red (1990)

Biographies (Books about other people's lives)

• The Incredible Tito: Man of the Hour (1944)

Essays

• Literature and Reality (1951)
• War and Peace: Observations on Our Times (1990)

Guides

• The Art of Zen Meditation (1977)

History Books

Movies Based on His Work

See also

In Spanish: Howard Fast para niños