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Sat 11 Nov 2007Writer whose books made easy transition to the screenIra Levin: There can be no better way to mourn the passing of the novelist and playwright Ira Levin, at the age of 78, than late in the evening to pour a glass of bourbon, start reading his first novel, A Kiss Before Dying - and wonder what that knocking in the pipes might really be. At his best, Levin plumbed the depths.He wrote only seven novels, but they included one that prompted the gothic revival, Rosemary's Baby, as well as The Stepford Wives, The Boys from Brazil and Sliver, all of which were made into films - and made their author a great deal of money.