His earthy characters and vivid sense of time and place have made John Steinbeck one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. He often wrote about working-class people whose lives were dictated by political and social upheavals outside their control.

Steinbeck (1902-1968) was born in Salinas, Calif., and educated at Stanford University. His first novel, Cup of Gold, was published in 1929. He would write fifteen more novels, six non-fiction books and five collections of short stories. In 1962, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Many of Steinbeck's novels and stories became films including two powerful tales of the Great Depression: the Pulitzer Prize-winning Of Mice and Men (1939), with Burgess Meredith as an itinerant farm hand whose friendship with a mentally-challenged co-worker (Lon Chaney, Jr.) ends in tragedy; and The Grapes of Wrath (1940), directed by Oscar®-winning John Ford and starring Henry Fonda as the son of Dust Bowl migrants headed for California. The latter film in particular became one of the most affecting studies of the Depression, surpassing even real-life documentaries in its impact.

MGM lightly glamorized Tortilla Flat (1942), Steinbeck's rowdy tale of a community of "paisanos" in Monterey, Calif. The earthy star roles are filled by Spencer Tracy, Hedy Lamarr and John Garfield. Steinbeck himself adapted his early novel The Red Pony (1949) for the screen, with Peter Miles as the boy whose poignant coming-of-age involves the animal of the title, and Robert Mitchum as a ranch hand who sympathizes.

East of Eden (1955) was taken from portions of the sprawling Steinbeck novel set in his native Salinas Valley. James Dean, under the sensitive direction of Elia Kazan, became an instant superstar with his portrayal of tortured farm boy Cal Trask. Other outstanding performances came from Julie Harris, Raymond Massey and Oscar®-winner Jo Van Fleet.

Among other films adapted from Steinbeck's novels and novellas are The Moon Is Down (1943), The Pearl (1947 and 2001) and The Wayward Bus (1957). He was Oscar®-nominated three times for his film writing on Lifeboat (1944), A Medal for Benny (1945) and Viva Zapata! (1952). Steinbeck, a war correspondent during WWII, was married three times and had three sons.

by Roger Fristoe