Medoff, Mark Howard

Mark Medoff, playwright, born 1940.

Mark Medoff was born March 18, 1940, in Mount Carmel, IL. In 1949, his family moved to Miami Beach, Florida, where he spent his childhood and graduated from high school. Medoff enrolled at the University of Miami, and received a B.A. in 1962. He majored in English and minored in Psychology. In fall 1964, Medoff enrolled at Stanford University, where he received a Master's of Arts in English in 1966. Medoff then became an Instructor of English at New Mexico State University. He became an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing in the English Department at NMSU in 1967. The University and Medoff developed a relationship that accommodated his writing projects, which enabled him to produce several Broadway and off-Broadway plays. His first success was "When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?" which won the Obie, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards in 1973. That same year, New Mexico State University awarded Medoff with the Westhafer Award, its highest teaching honor. In 1978, Medoff was named Chair of the Drama Department at NMSU. His play, "Children of a Lesser God," received Broadway's highest honor, the Tony Award, in 1980. The same year, he was awarded the highly coveted New Mexico's Governor's Award. Medoff later wrote the play "The Hands of Its Enemy," as well as motion picture screenplays for "Clara's Heart" and "City of Joy." In addition to his writing credits, he directed the film "Children on Their Birthdays." Medoff has also published several short stories and poems. He has one published novel, "Dreams of Long Lasting," and has written drafts for several others. Mark Medoff retired from New Mexico State University in 1993. Mark Medoff and his wife, Stephanie, have three daughters.