Clifford Irving was an American novelist and investigative reporter who became infamous for orchestrating one of the greatest literary hoaxes of the 20th century. In the early 1970s, he claimed to have co-authored an authorized autobiography of the reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, which he sold to McGraw-Hill for a massive advance. The elaborate fraud was exposed shortly before the book's publication, leading to international scandal and Irving's imprisonment. Despite the disgrace, he continued to write and publish numerous books of both fiction and non-fiction throughout his life.