Arthur Neal Gelb was born in East Harlem, New York on February 3, 1924. He dropped out of City College to work as a copy boy for The New York Times in 1944. He graduated from New York University in 1946. He held many positions at The Times including critic, chief cultural correspondent, metropolitan editor, deputy managing editor, and managing editor. He retired at the end of 1989.
He and his wife Barbara Gelb wrote several books together including Bellevue Is My Home, O'Neill, O'Neill: Life with Monte Cristo, and By Women Possessed: A Life of Eugene O'Neill. He died from complications of a stroke on May 20, 2014 at the age of 90.
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