Ed McBain, aka Evan Hunter, died at his home on Wednesday. Neither name was his original one. He was born Salvatore Lombino on Oct. 15, 1926, in New York City, the only child of a postal employee, Charles Lombino, and his wife, the former Marie Coppola. He started writing while serving in the Navy during World War II. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hunter College and held a teaching job that he would later draw on for "The Blackboard Jungle. Apparently, he dropped his birth name in 1952 because of the prejudice against Italian-Americans, who were expected to be illiterate. -- Internal Virus Database is out-of-date. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.300 / Virus Database: 267.8.6 - Release Date: 6/28/2005