Henry Slesar

Henry Slesar — born Henry Schlosser — was an American author, playwright, and copywriter, who wrote under several pseudonyms including O.H. Leslie and Jay Street. He was famous for his use of irony and twist endings. Slesar wrote hundreds of scripts for television series and soap operas, leading TV Guide to call him “the writer with the largest audience in America.” While working as a copywriter, he published hundreds of short stories, including detective stories, science fiction, criminal stories, mysteries and thrillers which appeared in publications such as Playboy and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. Alfred Hitchcock highly appreciated Slesar’s talent and hired him to write a number of the scenarios for the Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour television series. He received the Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1960 for his first novel, The Gray Flannel Shroud (1958). Slesar died in 2002, following complication from surgery.