Tom Cole (3) (1933–2009)

Charles Thomas Cole was born in Paterson, New Jersey in 1933. He received a bachelor's degree from Harvard University in 1954. Afterwards, he joined the Army, which sent him to language school to learn Russian. In 1959, he traveled to the Soviet Union as an interpreter with a government-sponsored show more exhibition intended to showcase American science, technology and culture. His job was to explain American-made farm machinery to Russian visitors. He went back to Harvard University and received a master's degree in Russian. He taught Russian and English literature at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His first book, An End to Chivalry (1965), included several stories based on his Russian experiences. He wrote three plays: Medal of Honor Rag, Fighting Bob, and About Time. He wrote the screenplay for the 1986 film Smooth Talk. He died from multiple myeloma on February 23, 2009 at the age of 75. (Bowker Author Biography) show less