John Steinbeck home in California to attend any performance of the play during its New York run, telling director George S. Kaufman that the play as it existed in his own mind was "perfect" and that anything presented on stage would only be a disappointment. Steinbeck wrote two more stage plays ("The Moon Is Down" and "Burning Bright"). "Of Mice and Men" was also adapted as a 1939 Hollywood film, with Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lennie (he had filled the role in the Los Angeles stage production) and Burgess Meredith as George. Meredith and Steinbeck became close friends for the next two
John Steinbeck In 1958 the street that Steinbeck described as "Cannery Row" in the novel, once named "Ocean View Avenue", was renamed "Cannery Row" in honor of the novel. The town of Monterey has commemorated Steinbeck's work with an avenue of flags depicting characters from "Cannery Row", historical plaques, and sculptured busts depicting Steinbeck and Ricketts. On February 27, 1979 (the 77th anniversary of the writer's birth), the United States Postal Service issued a stamp featuring Steinbeck, starting the Postal Service's Literary Arts series honoring American writers. On December 5, 2007, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver inducted Steinbeck