Anderson, Robert Woodruff

Robert Woodruff Anderson was born in New York City on April 28, 1917, the son of Myra and James Anderson. He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy (1931-35), and at Harvard University, where he received both his A.B. (magna cum laude) in 1939 and his M.A. in 1940. After completion of the latter, Anderson married Phyllis Stohl, a director at the Erskine School in Boston. Anderson's relationship with Stohl and his involvement in the theatrical productions at the Erskine, first as an actor and then as a teacher, shaped his years at Harvard.

From 1942 to 1946, Anderson served as a lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, earning a Bronze Star. It was there that his talent as a playwright was first recognized, and he was awarded First Prize in a National Theatre Conference for his play Come Marching Home. After World War II, Anderson taught playwriting at the American Theatre Wing in New York. During this time he continued to write, but is was not until the production of his play All Summer Long in 1952 that Anderson emerged as a serious talent.

In 1953 the play for which Anderson is most commonly remembered, Tea and Sympathy, was first produced. The play was a magnificent success and secured Anderson a distinguished place in the theater community. The years following this achievement were among Anderson's most prolific. Despite the difficulties often involved in getting his works produced, Anderson's plays once staged were consistently heralded as both a popular and critical success. Such plays include: Silent Night, Lonely Night, The Days Between, You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running, I Never Sang For My Father, and Solitaire and Double Solitaire.

During the height of his success as a playwright, Anderson suffered a tremendous personal loss. His wife Phyllis Stohl Anderson, perhaps the greatest influence on and supporter of his early work, died in 1956 of cancer. Anderson was remarried in 1959 to actress Teresa Wright. They were divorced in 1978.

In addition to his work as a playwright, Anderson also wrote a number of screenplays (many of which were based on his own plays), radio and television plays, and novels. He held and continues to hold various prestigious roles within the theater community, such as president of the New Dramatists Committee, 1955-56; president of the Dramatists Guild, 1971-73; and vice-president, Authors League of America, 1980-. Additionally, Anderson has been the recipient of a vast number of awards and prizes including a National Theatre Conference prize, 1945; Rockefeller fellowship, 1946; Writers Guild of America award, for screenplay, 1970; ACE award for television, 1991; and election to the Theater Hall of Fame, 1980.

More recently, Anderson has been the co-editor of a textbook series entitled Elements of Literature, published in 1988. He continues to contribute to the screen and stage with such works as The Last Act is a Solo, Absolute Strangers, and The Kissing Was Always the Best Part.

From the guide to the Papers, 1931-1999 (inclusive), 1960-1980 (bulk), (Harvard Theatre Collection, Houghton Library, Harvard College Library, Harvard University)