Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954

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Lynn Riggs (1899-1954), playwright and poet, author of "Green Grow the Lilacs," the basis for the musical "Oklahoma!"

From the description of Lynn Riggs screenplays, 1937-1942. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702198916

From the description of Lynn Riggs papers, 1924-1954. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 702135763

Oklahoma poet and dramatist.

From the description of Letters : of Lynn Riggs, 1931, 1941. (University of Virginia). WorldCat record id: 30793411

Rollie Lynn Riggs was born in northeast Indian Territory [now Oklahoma] on August 31, 1899 to William Grant Riggs, a rancher and banker, and Rose Ella Buster Gills Riggs. After his mother died in 1901, several members of the Riggs family aided in raising Lynn and his two siblings. He was educated at the Eastern University Preparatory School in Claremore before taking off to seek his fortune at age 17 in Chicago and Los Angeles. At 21, he returned home to enroll in the University of Oklahoma, financing his education by mortgaging a small acreage which had been allotted to him by virtue of his mother's Cherokee Indian ancestry.

Riggs left school in the middle of his final year and at the suggestion of friends, he made his way to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he sought to recover his health at Sunmount Sanatorium. His crisis soon turned to be a deciding event in his life, for in Santa Fe, he found a community of artists who nurtured his nascent desire to write. His first major production, of the one-act play, Knives from Syria, was mounted by the Santa Fe Players in 1924. He soon dedicated himself to play-writing, writing his first major play, Big Lake, while teaching English at the Lewis Institute in Chicago.

Big Lake was produced in New York, where Riggs moved in 1926 to continue his development as a playwright. The next two years saw his completion and the successful production of several plays, including, Sump'n Like Wings, A Lantern to See By, and Rancor, all of which expounded on memories of growing up in Oklahoma. In 1928, to add to his successes, Lynn Riggs was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship to continue his playwriting. The following year was spent travelling throughout Europe, visiting regional theaters and constructing what would become his greatest success, Green Grow the Lilacs.

Upon his return to the United States in 1929, his play Roadside was produced, and the Theatre Guild began negotiations to stage Green Grow the Lilacs. This newest play became a hit in early 1931, setting up Riggs as a writer much-in-demand. The next decade would have Riggs leading a more secure, if scattered existence. He built a house in Santa Fe, though lived for periods in Los Angeles and New York. While working on new works for the stage, he served as a screenwriter for Paramount and Universal Studios, co-authoring such films as Garden of Allah, and The Plainsman. His social circle widened as well. Among his close friends in Hollywood were Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Franchot Tone, who had played the role of Curly in the original New York production of Green Grow the Lilacs.

Though Riggs continued to write through the 1940s, he focused his energy on other activities. In 1941, he taught a course, "Drama and the Playwright," at Baylor University. From 1942-44, he served in the U.S. military, eventually scripting documentary films for the Office of War Information. It was while he was still enlisted that Oklahoma!, the Pulitzer-citation winning musical version of Green Grow the Lilacs, debuted. Though this beloved staple of the American stage would prosper for years, Riggs found it difficult to mount successful runs of his new works, which focused on more contemporary events in his life, such as his experiences in Santa Fe, as detailed in Laughter From A Cloud.

Riggs worked slowly through the 1950s, creating a historical drama for Western Reserve University, publishing a short story, "Eben, The Hound, and the Hare" in 1952, and working on a novel set in Oklahoma. Though he lived principally on Shelter Island, New York, he travelled often to Chapel Hill to work on projects. His health began to deteriorate after his 50th birthday and he eventually found himself plagued by stomach problems. The full extent of his medical condition was revealed in Spring of 1954, when he was found to have cancer. He died on June 29 of that year in New York City.

From the guide to the Lynn Riggs papers, 1924-1954, (Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Henderson, Alice Corbin, 1881-1949. Papers, 1861-1987 (bulk 1920-1949). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Spud Johnson Papers TXRC00-A8., 1896-1973, (bulk 1920-1968) Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn Papers, 1927-1994. University of Oklahoma, Bizzell Memorial Library
referencedIn Powell, Dawn. Dawn Powell Papers, 1910-1998. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
creatorOf Theatre Aquarius Archives (University of Guelph). Oklahoma! / music by Richard Rodgers ; lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein ll ; based on the play "Green Grow the Lilacs" by Lynn Riggs ; original dances by Agnes de Mille ; directed and choreographed by Max Reimer & David Connolly, 2006 - Production photos [electronic resource]. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn José Limón papers, ca. 1927-1972 The New York Public Library. Jerome Robbins Dance Division.
referencedIn Alice Corbin Henderson Collection TXRC92-A24., 1861-1987 Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
creatorOf Lynn Riggs papers, 1924-1954 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Theatre Aquarius Archives (University of Guelph). Oklahoma! / music by Richard Rodgers ; lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein ll ; based on the play "Green Grow the Lilacs" by Lynn Riggs ; original dances by Agnes de Mille ; directed and choreographed by Max Reimer & David Connolly, 2006 - House Program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Grand Theatre Collection (University of Guelph). Oklahoma! : high school project, based on Green Grow the Lilacs by Lynn Riggs / by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II ; book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II ; directed by Campbell Smith, designer Joanne Thompson, 2005 - technical drawings. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
referencedIn Riley, Robert Shawn. Printed materials, 1931-1998. University of Oklahoma, Bizzell Memorial Library
creatorOf Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979. Oklahoma! : adapted from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical comedy for wide-screen production / by Sonya Levien and William Ludwig ; April 27, 1953. HCL Technical Services, Harvard College Library
referencedIn Preliminary sketches for sets for Green grow the lilacs, 1931? New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. All the way home a play / by Lynn Riggs 1948. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. Noel Kaho papers on Lynn Riggs, 1940-1990. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. Letters : of Lynn Riggs, 1931, 1941. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. Russet mantle : a comedy / by Lynn Riggs. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Aaron Copland Collection, 1841-1991, (bulk 1911-1990) Library of Congress. Music Division
creatorOf Limón, José. Papers, [ca. 1927]-1972. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979. Green grow the lilacs; musical version. Music by Richard Rodgers. Book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein, 2nd. New York Public Library System, NYPL
creatorOf Johnson, Walter Willard, 1897-1968. Spud Johnson Papers, 1896-1973 (bulk 1920-1968). Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Yaddo records, 1870-1980 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. Out of dust a play / by Lynn Riggs 1950. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library
creatorOf Papers, [ca. 1927]-1972. New York State Historical Documents Inventory
creatorOf Stratford Festival Collection (University of Guelph). Oklahoma! / book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, music by Richard Rodgers, based upon the play "Green Grow the Licas" by Lynn Riggs, original dances by Agnes de Mille ; directed and choreographed by Donna Feore, designed by Patrick Clark, 2007 - house program. University of Guelph. McLaughlin Library
creatorOf Mabie, Edward Charles, 1892-1956. Papers of Edward C. Mabie, 1910-1954. University of Iowa Libraries
creatorOf Riggs, Lynn, 1899-1954. Lynn Riggs screenplays, 1937-1942. Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Lipscomb, W. P. (William Percy), 1887-1958. The garden of Allah, 1936 May 15 / by Robert Hichens ; screenplay by W.P. Lipscomb ; adaptation by Willis Goldbeck ; directed by Richard Boleslawski ; dialogue by Lynn Riggs ; produced by David O. Selznick. Ohio State University Libraries
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
associatedWith Braunlich, Phyllis Cole. person
associatedWith Caldwell, Richard M. person
associatedWith Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990 person
associatedWith Crowell, Mr., person
associatedWith Fry, Maggie Culver, 1900- person
associatedWith Gary, Raymond. person
associatedWith Grand Theatre Collection (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Henderson, Alice Corbin, 1881-1949 person
associatedWith Henneke, Ben Graf, 1914- person
associatedWith Johnson, Walter Willard, 1897-1968 person
associatedWith Jones, Shirley, 1934- person
associatedWith Kaho, Noel. person
associatedWith Limón, José. person
associatedWith Limón, José. person
associatedWith Limón, José person
associatedWith Lipscomb, W. P. (William Percy), 1887-1958. person
associatedWith Mabie, Edward Charles, 1892-1956. person
associatedWith Matthews, J. B. (Joseph Brown), 1894-1966 person
associatedWith Morrison, Leo. person
associatedWith Naya, Ramon. person
associatedWith Naya, Ramon. person
associatedWith O'Neil, George, 1898-1940. person
associatedWith Powell, Dawn. person
associatedWith Rodgers, Richard, 1902- person
associatedWith Rodgers, Richard, 1902-1979. person
associatedWith Rogers, Will, 1879-1935. person
associatedWith Stratford Festival Collection (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Theatre Aquarius Archives (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Theatre Aquarius Archives (University of Guelph) corporateBody
associatedWith Weller, Samuel MacLeary. person
associatedWith Yaddo (Artist's colony) corporateBody
associatedWith Young, Stark, 1881-1963. person
associatedWith Zinnemann, Fred, 1907- person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Oklahoma
Oklahoma
United States
Subject
American literature
Dramatists, American
Motion picture plays
Motion pictures
Prompt-book
Occupation
Activity

Person

Birth 1899-08-31

Death 1954-06-30

Americans

English

Information

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SNAC ID: 70178823