Gene Feist

Gene Feist (January 16, 1923 – March 17, 2014, New York City) was an American playwright, theater director and co-founder of the Roundabout Theater Company. He authored 15 plays or adaptations, of which two were published by Samuel French Inc. — James Joyce's Dublin and The Lady from Maxim's.

Early life

Feist was born in Brooklyn, the son of Hattie (Fishbein), a beautician, and Henry Feist, an automobile mechanic. Along with his twin brother Harold, Feist grew up in the Coney Island district where his father owned and operated a bar in Coney Island at Seagate and Surf Avenue named Indian Village but referred to as "The Bucket of Blood" due to its rough clientele. Feist's love of reading made him a target of teasing during his youth. He attended a vocational high school for newspaper printing press operators. After graduating he joined the United States Army Air Forces where he was trained as an airplane mechanic but quickly moved to a post as editor of the Biggs (Texas) Air Field newspaper, "Bigg Stuff". During World War II he was stationed in the Philippines and later in occupied Japan, writing for other military newspapers and serving as a librarian.