The life of Joseph Heller (1923–1999), the Coney Island-born bombardier who turned his war into Catch-22, one of the great anti-war satires.
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Joseph Heller 16
1923Joseph Heller born in BrooklynJoseph Heller is born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, to poor Russian-Jewish immigrants.
1942Heller joins the Army Air ForcesJoseph Heller enlists at 19 and trains as a bombardier.
1944Heller flies 60 missions from CorsicaJoseph Heller flies 60 combat missions as a B-25 bombardier over Italy and France, the experience behind Catch-22.
1949Heller studies at OxfordAfter degrees from New York University and Columbia, Joseph Heller spends a year at Oxford as a Fulbright scholar.
1952Heller works in advertisingJoseph Heller writes copy for Time, Look and McCall's while writing his novel at night.
1955Heller publishes the first chapter of Catch-18The opening chapter of Joseph Heller's novel appears in New World Writing under the title Catch-18.
1961Heller publishes Catch-22Joseph Heller's novel of Captain Yossarian appears. The title is changed from Catch-18 to avoid confusion with Leon Uris's Mila 18.
1962Heller's Catch-22 becomes a bestsellerCatch-22 tops the British bestseller list and becomes a word-of-mouth success in paperback in America.
1970Heller's Catch-22 filmedMike Nichols directs the film of Joseph Heller's novel, with Alan Arkin as Yossarian.
1974Heller publishes Something HappenedThirteen years after Catch-22, Joseph Heller's second novel follows a corporate employee's inner life.
1979Heller publishes Good as GoldJoseph Heller's satire of Washington politics appears.
1981Heller paralysed by Guillain-Barré syndromeJoseph Heller is paralysed by the nerve disorder and spends months in hospital, recovering with help from friends including Mel Brooks.
1984Heller publishes God KnowsJoseph Heller retells the life of King David as a comic novel.
1994Heller publishes Closing TimeJoseph Heller's sequel to Catch-22 follows Yossarian into old age.
1998Heller publishes Now and ThenJoseph Heller publishes a memoir of growing up in Coney Island.
1999Joseph Heller dies in East HamptonJoseph Heller dies of a heart attack at his home on Long Island, aged 76.