 Born Emmanuel Beckson and raised in East Harlem and the Bronx, son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, he obtained his first library card at the 96th Street branch of the New York Public Library.In 1943, at age 17, he volunteered for the United States Navy, serving to yeoman 2nd class aboard the destroyer , the only ship in U.S. naval history to survive two underwater mine explosions (Leyte Gulf, South Pacific).He was married since February 9, 1957 to Estelle Zimmerman, with whom he had two sons, Mace and Eric.