Reginald Rose was born in New York City and attended City College. After graduation, he worked at a series of odd jobs: receiving clerk, window cleaner, and camp counselor. He then served in the United States Army in World War II, completing his service as a first lieutenant.

After the war, Rose returned to New York City, where he worked first for the publicity department of Warner Bros. studio and then as a copywriter for a small advertising agency. In 1951 he sold his first teleplay, The Bus to Nowhere, then went on to write numerous television scripts in the 1950s and 1960s, including 12 Angry Men, for which he won an Emmy award. He created, supervised, and wrote many episodes of the successful television series The Defenders (1961-1965), for which he received Emmy awards in 1962 and 1963.

Rose's early years as a television writer shaped and colored his entire career...