Name at birth: Henry Graham Greene

Graham Greene was a popular and critically acclaimed author during the 20th century, a British writer known for stranger-in-a-strange-land stories such as 1955's The Quiet American. By his own claim, Greene wrote both "entertainments" and "serious novels," many of them political thrillers. An editor, essayist, playwright and novelist, Greene's other famous works include Brighton Rock (1938), Our Man in Havana (1958) and The Honorary Consul (1973). He had a long association with the movies, and was involved in This Gun for Hire (1942, with Alan Ladd), The Third Man (1949, starring Orson Welles) and Loser Takes All (1956).