Jerzy N. Kosinski

Jerzy Kosiński (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjɛʐɨ kɔˈɕij̃skʲi]; born Józef Nikodem Lewinkopf; June 14, 1933 – May 3, 1991) was a Polish-born American writer and two-time president of the American chapter of PEN, who wrote primarily in English. Born in Poland to Jewish parents, he and his family survived World War II with the help of their Polish villager neighbors. After mandatory military service and education under Poland's communist government, he emigrated to the United States and became a U.S. citizen. He was known for novels including Being There (1971) and the controversial The Painted Bird (1965), which were adapted as films, respectively, in 1979 and 2019.