Walter Tevis author page

Walter Tevis biography

Walter Stone Tevis (1928–1984) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born on 28 February 1928 in San Francisco, California.

He studied at the University of Kentucky, earning a BA in English in 1949 and an MA in English literature in 1954. He later taught English literature and creative writing at Ohio University.

Tevis is best known for his novels that inspired major film and television adaptations. His works include The Hustler (1959) and its sequel The Color of Money (1984), both about the pool player “Fast Eddie” Felson. The Hustler was adapted into the 1961 film starring Paul Newman, and The Color of Money into the 1986 film directed by Martin Scorsese.

His science fiction novel The Man Who Fell to Earth (1963) was adapted into a 1976 film starring David Bowie and later into a television series.

In 1983 he published The Queen’s Gambit, the story of chess prodigy Beth Harmon, which was adapted into a critically acclaimed Netflix limited series in 2020.

Walter Tevis died of lung cancer on 9 August 1984 in New York City.