Williams, Tennessee, 1911-1983

Thomas Lanier Williams was born on March 26, 1911 in Columbus, Mississippi. His father, Cornelius, a salesman who was largely absent had a bad relationship with Tennessee, the second of his three children. Consequently, Tennessee was raised predominantly by his mother, Edwina, and maternal grandparents. His often strained and disturbed family life became the fodder for many of his plays. After moving to New Orleans in his late 20s, and adopting the name Tennessee, Williams began to write prolifically. His major break came when he won a writing contest and landed an agent, Audrey Wood. Between 1945 to 1947 two plays by Williams establish his place as a major American playwright: The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire . The latter won him a Drama Critics' Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded a second Pulitzer Prize in 1955 for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof . Williams went on to produce such critical and popular hits as Summer and Smoke (1948), The Rose Tattoo (1951), Camino Real (1953), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). The many works that followed were not understood by the critics of his day and are only now beginning to find and audience. In addition to his two Pulitzers, Williams was nominated four times for the Tony Award for Best Play. He won the Tony only once for The Rose Tattoo (1951). Sometime before 1975 Williams produced a frank memoir in which he openly wrote of his homosexuality, alcoholism/drug addiction, and mental illness. This was published in a very modified form as Memoirs (1975). Williams died in New York City on February 25, 1983. His plays continue to be produced and enjoyed, a testament to his status as one of the greatest of American playwrights.