Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. The title of one of his works, Catch-22, entered the English lexicon to refer to a vicious circle wherein an absurd, no-win choice, particularly in situations in which the desired outcome of the choice is an impossibility, and regardless of choice, a same negative outcome is a certainty. Although he is remembered primarily for Catch-22, his other works center on the lives of various members of the middle class and remain examples of modern satire.
[on enjoying his time in the military] I was young, it was adventurous, there was much hoopla and glamour; in addition, and this too is hard to get across to college students today, for me and for most others, going into the army resulted immediately in a vast improvement in my standard of living.
2
The things I write about are funny only up to a point. Actually I am a very morbid, melancholy person. I'm preoccupied with death, disease and misfortune.
3
[when asked what he does in his spare time] Nothing. Really, nothing. I have no hobbies, no recreations. I hate sports. I also hate gardening and walking. I don't go to movies or the theater or watch television. What I *do* like is lying down. My best thinking is done going into or coming out of naps.
4
Destiny is a good thing to accept when it's going your way. When it isn't, don't call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.
5
Every writer I know has trouble writing.
6
Frankly, I'd like to see the government get out of war altogether and leave the whole field to private industry.
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Fact
1
Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 264-265. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.
2
Predicted, prior to the release of the Mike Nichols film version of Catch-22 (1970), that if the film was a hit then he, Heller, would take the credit; if it was a flop, Nichols would take the blame.
3
Children: Erica, Theodore
Writer
Title
Year
Status
Character
Catch-22
1973
TV Movie novel
Bombardovanje Nju Hejvna
1973
TV Movie
Dirty Dingus Magee
1970
screenplay
Catch-22
1970
novel
Pommitamme Pasilasta
1970
TV Movie novel "Catch-22"
Casino Royale
1967
uncredited
Sex and the Single Girl
1964
screenplay
McHale's Navy
1962
TV Series written by - 1 episode
Camera Three
1962
TV Series story - 1 episode
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
Theatre of the Absurd: Luigi Pirandello, Six Characters in Search of an Author
$1.7 Million
