Biography

Born in Cincinnati

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, Berger was in Europe with the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and then studied at the University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

, and at Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

. He worked as a librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

 and a journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 before publishing his first novel, Crazy in Berlin, in 1958

1958 in literature

The year 1958 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*August 18 - Vladimir Nabokov's controversial novel Lolita is published in United States.*First volume of The Civil War by Shelby Foote is published....

. Berger may be best known for the movie made from his novel Little Big Man, which starred Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....

. His 1980 novel, Neighbors, was also made into a film, Neighbors

Neighbors (film)

Neighbors is a 1981 film based on the book by Thomas Berger. It was released through Columbia Pictures, directed by John G. Avildsen and stars John Belushi as Earl, Dan Aykroyd as Vic , Cathy Moriarty as Ramona, Kathryn Walker as Enid, and Lauren-Marie Taylor as Elaine. The film takes liberties...

, starring John Belushi

John Belushi

John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...

, Dan Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...

 and Cathy Moriarty

Cathy Moriarty

-Career:Her first film credit was Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull in 1980, as Vikki LaMotta, the wife of Robert De Niro's lead character. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also appeared opposite Andrew Dice Clay in the short-lived CBS...

. In 1984 his book The Feud was nominated by the Pulitzer committee for fiction for the Pulitzer Prize

Pulitzer Prize

The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...

, but the Pulitzer board overrode their recommendation and instead chose William Kennedy's Ironweed

Ironweed

Ironweed is a 1983 novel by William Kennedy. It received the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and is the third book in Kennedy's Albany Cycle...

.

Critical studies

• Understanding Thomas Berger by Brooks Landon, University of South Carolina Press (2009)

External links

• Appreciation in the Village Voice
• Overlooked classics of American Literature: The Feud by Thomas Berger
• Tom Perrotta
  Tom Perrotta
  Thomas R. Perrotta is an Albanian-American/ Italian-American novelist and screenwriter best known for his novels Election and Little Children , both of which were made into critically acclaimed, Academy Award-nominated films...
  
  Hails Suburban Sendup 'Neighbors'