Harry Grey

Herschel Goldberg (November 2, 1901 – October 1, 1980), better known as Harry Grey, was a Russian Jewish-American criminal and writer. His first book, ''The Hoods'' (1952), was the model for the 1984 film ''Once Upon a Time in America'' by Sergio Leone, where his part was played by Robert De Niro. The memoir — partially factual, partially subconsciously altered, and partially fictional — was written when Goldberg was incarcerated at Sing-Sing.

After ''The Hoods'', Grey published two more books, ''Call Me Duke'' (1955) and ''Portrait of a Mobster'' (1958), also based on his experience as a gangster, but these were far less successful and as a consequence the conclusion to ''The Hoods'' contained in ''Call Me Duke'' went largely unnoticed. A "Golden Palm Star", part of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, was dedicated to Grey in 1999. Provided by Wikipedia