Erwin Nathanson (February 17, 1928 – April 5, 2016) was an American author who wrote the novel ''The Dirty Dozen'' (1965), which was adapted into the 1967 film of the same name.

Background

Nathanson was born in 1928 in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His mother was institutionalized for depression when he was two years old, so he lived in a Jewish orphanage in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

until he was seven, when he was sent to the Hebrew National Orphan Home in

Yonkers Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

. He left after graduating high school. Nathanson majored in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. He held a variety of writing and editing jobs, including

copy editor Copy editing (also known as copyediting and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material (" copy") to improve quality and readability, as well as ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar, style, and accuracy. ''The Ch ...

for

Fairchild Publications Fairchild Media is a publisher of digital media, journalism, photography and design, events and summits, video and studios, and fashion. Fairchild Media brands include '' Women’s Wear Daily'', '' Footwear News'' (FN), ''Beauty Inc'', ''M'' and ...

in New York, reporter for ''The Arlington Sun'' in Virginia,

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' and freelance magazine writer. By 1959, Nathanson lived in Los Angeles, editing a chain of

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...

s including ''Daring Detective''.

''The Dirty Dozen''

In 1965, Nathanson wrote the war novel ''The Dirty Dozen'', a story about twelve servicemen convicted of robbery, murder and rape, sent on a suicide mission to blow up a chateau of German generals just before

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

with the promise of commuted sentences to those who survive. The novel was inspired by a

B movie A B movie, or B film, is a type of cheap, low-budget commercial motion picture. Originally, during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood, this term specifically referred to films meant to be shown as the lesser-known second ...

directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

, ''

The Secret Invasion ''The Secret Invasion'' is a 1964 American action war film directed by Roger Corman. It stars Stewart Granger, Raf Vallone, Mickey Rooney, Edd Byrnes, Henry Silva, Mia Massini, and William Campbell. Appearing three years before '' The Dirt ...

'', and a true story of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

American criminal paratroopers nicknamed "The Dirty Dozen" (or "

Filthy Thirteen The Filthy Thirteen was the name given to the 1st Demolition Section of the Regimental Headquarters Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, of the United States Army, which fought in the European campaign in Wo ...

" for their refusal to bathe), said to have gone on a similar mission. Nathanson heard the story from his producer friend

Russ Meyer Russell Albion Meyer (March 21, 1922 – September 18, 2004) was an American filmmaker. He was primarily known for writing and directing a successful series of sexploitation films featuring campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, wh ...

, who said he heard it while a World War II combat photographer. Nathanson researched in vain for two years to verify the story's accuracy before receiving a contract for the fictionalized novel, which sold over two million copies in ten languages.

Death

Nathanson died of heart failure on April 5, 2016, at his

Laguna Niguel, California Laguna Niguel () is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The name Laguna Niguel is derived from the words "Laguna" (Spanish for "lagoon") and "Niguili" (the name of a Native American village once located near Aliso Creek). It al ...

home. He was 88, survived by his partner Elizabeth Henderson and son Michael from his marriage to Marianne Nathanson.

Bibliography

*''The Dirty Dozen'' (1965) *''The Latecomers'' (1970) *''It Gave Everybody Something To Do'' (with Louise Thoresen) (1973) *''A Dirty Distant War'' (1987)- The Sequel to ''The Dirty Dozen'' *''Knight's Cross'' (with

Aaron Bank Aaron Bank (November 23, 1902 – April 1, 2004) was a United States Army colonel who founded the US Army Special Forces, commonly known as the "Green Berets". He is also known for his exploits as an OSS officer during World War II, when h ...

) (1993) *''Lovers and Schemers'' (2003)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nathanson, E.M. 1928 births 2016 deaths American war novelists American male novelists New York University alumni Writers from Yonkers, New York 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists Writers from the Bronx Novelists from New York City People from Laguna Niguel, California 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California