Frequently publishing in the
New Yorker during the 1930s and 1940s, Shaw became known as one of the most influential
New Yorker short-story writers. Still, the importance of Shaw's contribution to the twentieth-century American short story has been somewhat obscured by critical controversy concerning his other work, especially his novels. In addition, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, he was frequently condemned for the lavish nature of his life-style in Europe and America.
Shaw was born Irwin Gilbert Shamforoff in the South Bronx, New York, on 27 February 1913. His father was William Shamforoff, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, and his mother was Rose Tompkins Shamforoff, an American-born daughter of a Lithuanian Jewish family. When the future novelist, short-story writer, and playwright was seven, the Shamforoff family moved to Brooklyn, where he enjoyed, until the age of fourteen, a secure and happy childhood. His father changed the name Shamforoff to Shaw in 1923 and began, with his two brothers (Irwin's uncles), a real-estate brokerage company that same year. By 1928 the business was facing bankruptcy and never recovered, closing down completely in 1932.
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