RIP Ira Levin

Ira Levin was a phenomenal suspense and horror writer. His knack for infusing the ordinary with menace and dread is something I can only hope to emulate in my own work.

I had the opportunity to star as the young playwright in Levin's play, "Deathtrap," when I was in college. It remains one of my favorite roles, and I'll never forget getting stabbed by my onstage adversary, my good friend Mark Briggs, in the chest with an arrow—repeatedly—while the blood bag stubbornly refused to pop. When it finally did, showering us both with blood, the audience gasped. But those few seconds felt like hours, and I was dying in more ways than one.

We'll miss you, Ira.

Here's an obituary.