Biography

Philip Van Doren Stern was born on September 10, 1900 in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania, USA. He was a writer, known for It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and It Happened One Christmas (1977). He died on July 31, 1984 in Sarasota, Florida, USA.

[on "the Greatest Gift", the short story that inspired It's a Wonderful Life (1946)] The idea came to me complete from start to finish--a most unusual occurrence, as any writer will tell, for ordinarily a story has to be struggled with, changed around and mixed up.

[on "The Greatest Gift"] I had become fond of the story that nobody wanted.

[on "the Greatest Gift"] It is a universal story for all people in all times.