Hanff began her career writing plays, several of which were produced off-Broadway in the 1940s. She later supported herself as a television screenwriter during the "Golden Age of Television," contributing scripts to programs such as The Adventures of Ellery Queen and The Hallmark Hall of Fame. Her other works include Underfoot in Show Business (1962), a humorous memoir of her struggling theatrical years; The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street (1973), a travel memoir about her long-awaited visit to London; Apple of My Eye (1977), an affectionate homage to New York City; and Q's Legacy (1985), which describes how a book by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch inspired her lifelong self-education and led to her famous correspondence. Hanff died in New York City at the age of 80.
Helen Hanf
Helene Hanff (April 15, 1916 – April 9, 1997) was an American writer born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is best remembered for her 1970 book 84, Charing Cross Road, a charming collection of letters exchanged over twenty years with Frank Doel, a London bookseller she never met in person. Beloved on both sides of the Atlantic, the book was adapted into a stage play, a BBC broadcast, and a celebrated 1987 film starring Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins.