William Inge
American playwright William Inge was born in Independence, Kansas in 1913. He developed an early love for theater, performing in many high school plays and attending many shows at the Independence Memorial Hall where his Boy Scout troop met. It wasn't until he met Tennesee Williams, though, that he became inspired to write plays. Before that he worked as a drama and music critic and an English teacher.
His success at playwrighting made him one of the premier American playwrights,
producing such classics as Come Back,
Little Sheba, the Pulitzer Prize winning Picnic,
and Bus Stop.
Several of his plays made the jump from Broadway to Hollywood. Picnic being made into a Columbia Pictures film in 1954 starring William Holden, Kim Novak, and Rosalind Russel. Bus Stop was released by Fox in 1956 starring Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray, and Eileen Heckart. Dark was released in 1960, starring Dorothy McGuire, Robert Preston, Shirley Knight, Eve Arden, and Angela Lansbury.
In 1960, Inge wrote his first screenplay, Splendor in the Grass, which starred Natalie Wood, Pat Hingle, and Warren Beatty. He won an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.
Throughout his life, Inge suffered from depression, a disease that would eventually lead him to commit suicide at age 60.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Where’s Daddy |
Natural Affection |
Splendor in the Grass |
A Loss of Roses |
Come Back, Little Sheba |
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs |
Picnic |
My Son is a Splendid Driver |
