'''Thomas Lanier Williams III''' (March_26, 1911 – February_25, 1983), better known by the pen name '''Tennessee Williams''', was a noted Playwright. The name "Tennessee" was a name given to him by college friends because of his southern accent and his father's background in Tennessee. He won the Pulitzer_Prize_for_Drama for ''A_Streetcar_Named_Desire'' in 1948 and for ''Cat_On_a_Hot_Tin_Roof'' in 1955. In addition to those two plays, ''The_Glass_Menagerie'' in 1945 and ''The_Night_of_the_Iguana'' in 1961 received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards. His 1952 play ''The_Rose_Tattoo'' (dedicated to his partner, Frank Merlo), received the Tony_Award for best play. Genre critics maintain that Williams writes in the Southern_Gothic style.
==Biography==
Tennessee Williams's family was a troubled one providing inspiration for much of his writings. He was born in Columbus,_Mississippi, and his family moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi by the time he was 3; the family moved, again, to St. Louis, Missouri in 1918. His father, Cornelius Williams, was a travelling shoe salesman who grew increasingly abusive as his children grew older. Edwina Williams, Tennessee's mother, was a descendant of genteel southern life, and was somewhat smothering. Dakin Williams, Tennessee's brother, was often favored over Tennessee by their father.
For many years Williams lived in the French_Quarter of New_Orleans,_Louisiana. He first moved there in 1939 to write for the WPA and lived first at 722 Toulouse Street (now a Bed_and_breakfast); he wrote ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1947) while living at 632 St. Peter Street.
Tennessee was close to his sister, Rose Williams, who was perhaps the greatest influence on him. She was an elegant, slim beauty who was subject to severe nervous attacks and was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Mentally ill and emotionally disturbed, she spent most of her adult life in mental hospitals. After various unsuccessful attempts at therapy, her parents eventually allowed a prefrontal lobotomy in an effort to treat her. The operation, performed in 1943, in Washington,_D.C. went badly, and Rose remained incapacitated for the rest of her life.
Rose's failed lobotomy was a hard blow to Tennessee, who never forgave his parents for allowing the operation. It may have been one of the factors that drove him to Alcoholism. The common "mad heroine" theme that appears in many of his plays may have been influenced by his sister.
Characters in his plays are often seen to be direct representations of his family members. Laura Wingfield in ''The_Glass_Menagerie'' is understood to be modeled on Rose. Some biographers say that the character of Blanche DuBois in ''A_Streetcar_Named_Desire'' is based on her as well. The motif of lobotomy also arises in ''Suddenly,_Last_Summer''. Amanda Wingfield in ''The Glass Menagerie'' can easily be seen to represent his mother. Many of his characters can be considered autobiographical, including Tom Wingfield in ''The Glass Menagerie'' and Sebastian in ''Suddenly, Last Summer''. Actress Anne_Meacham was a close personal friend of Tennessee Williams and played the lead in many of his plays, including but not limited to ''Suddenly, Last Summer''.
In his memoirs, the playwright claims he became sexually active as a teenager; his biographer, Lyle Leverich, maintained this actually occurred later, in his late 20s. His physical and emotional relationship with his secretary, Frank Merlo, lasted from 1947 until Merlo's death from cancer in 1961, and provided stability when Williams produced his most enduring works. Merlo was a balance to many of Williams's depressions, especially the fear that like his sister, Rose, he would become insane. The death of his lover drove Williams into a deep decade-long depression.
Tennessee Williams was the victim of a gay-bashing in January 1979 in Key West, being beaten by five teenage boys, but was not seriously injured. The episode was part of a spate of anti-gay violence that had occurred after a local Baptist minister ran an anti-gay newspaper ad. Some of his literary critics spoke ill of the "excesses" present in his work, but these were, for the most part, merely attacks on Williams' sexuality.
Tennessee Williams died after he choked on a bottle cap at the age of 71. However, some (among them is Dakin Williams, his brother) believe he was murdered. Alternately, the police report from his death seems to indicate that drugs were involved, as it states that pills were found under his body.
He was interred in the Calvary_Cemetery,_St._Louis,_Missouri, despite his stated desire to be buried at sea at approximately the same place as the poet Hart_Crane, whom he considered one of his most significant influences. He left his literary rights to Sewanee,_The_University_of_the_South in honor of his grandfather, Walter Dakin, an alumnus of the University. The funds today support a creative writing program.
==Plays (chronological order)==
* ''Beauty_Is_the_Word'' (1930)
* ''Cairo!_Shanghai!_Bombay!'' (1935)
* ''Candles_to_the_Sun'' (1936)
* ''The_Magic_Tower'' (1936)
* ''Fugitive_Kind'' (1937)
* ''Spring_Storm'' (1937)
* ''Summer_at_the_Lake'' (1937)
* ''The_Palooka'' (1937)
* ''The_Fat_Man's_Wife'' (1938)
* ''Not_about_Nightingales'' (1938)
* ''Adam_and_Eve_on_a_Ferry'' (1939)
* ''Battle_of_Angels'' (1940)
* ''The Long Goodbye'' (1940)
* ''Auto_Da_Fé'' (1941)
* ''The_Lady_of_Larkspur_Lotion'' (1941)
* ''At_Liberty'' (1942)
* ''The_Gentleman_Callers_(Screenplay)'' (1944)
* ''The_Glass_Menagerie'' (1944)
* ''You_Touched_Me_ohhhhhhh__you_toucheed_me'' (1945)
* ''Moony's_Kid_Don't_Cry'' (1946)
* ''This_Property_is_Condemned'' (1946)
* ''Twenty-Seven_Wagons_Full_of_Cotton'' (1946)
* ''Portait_of_a_Madonna'' (1946)
* ''The_Last_of_My_Solid_Gold_Watches'' (1947)
* ''Stairs_to_the_Roof'' (1947)
* ''A_Streetcar_Named_Desire'' (1947)
* ''Summer_and_Smoke'' (1948)
* ''I_Rise_in_Flame,_Cried_the_Phoenix'' (1951)
* ''The_Rose_Tattoo'' (1951)
* ''Camino Real'' (1953)
* ''Hello_from_Bertha'' (1954)
* ''Lord_Byron's_Love_Letter'' (1955) - libretto
* ''Three_Players_of_a_Summer_Game'' (1955)
* ''Cat_On_a_Hot_Tin_Roof'' (1955)
* ''The_Dark_Room'' (1956)
* ''The_Case_of_the_Crushed_Petunias'' (1956)
* ''Baby_Doll'' (1956) - original screenplay
* ''Orpheus_Descending'' (1957)
* ''Suddenly,_Last_Summer'' (1958)
* ''A_Perfect_Anaysis_Given_by_a_Parrot'' (1958)
* ''Garden_District'' (1958)
* ''Something_Unspoken'' (1958)
* ''Sweet_Bird_of_Youth'' (1959)
* ''The_Purification'' (1959)
* ''And_Tell_Sad_Stories_of_the_Deaths_of_Queens'' (1959)
* ''The_Purification'' (1959)
* ''Period_of_Adjustment'' (1960)
* ''The_Night_of_the_Iguana'' (1961)
* ''The_Milk_Train_Doesn't_Stop_Here_Anymore'' (1963)
* ''The_Eccentricities_of_a_Nightingale'' (1964)
* ''Grand'' (1964)
* ''Slapstick_Tragedy_(The_Mutilated_and_The_Gnädiges_Fräulein)'' (1966)
* ''The_Mutilated'' (1967)
* ''Kingdom_of_Earth_/_Seven_Descents_of_Myrtle'' (1968)
* ''Now_the_Cats_with_Jewelled_Claws'' (1969)
* ''In_the_Bar_of_a_Tokyo_Hotel'' (1969)
* ''Will_Mr._Merriweather_Return_from_Memphis?'' (1969)
* ''I_Can't_Imagine_Tomorrow'' (1970)
* ''The_Frosted_Glass_Coffin'' (1970)
* ''Out_Cry'' (1973)
* ''Small_Craft_Warnings'' (1972)
* ''The_Two-Character_Play'' (1973)
* ''The_Red_Devil_Battery_Sign'' (1975)
* ''Demolition_Downtown'' (1976)
* ''This_Is_(An_Entertainment)'' (1976)
* ''Vieux Carré'' (1977)
* ''Tiger_Tail'' (1978)
* ''Kirche,_Kuchen_und_Kinder'' (1979)
* ''Creve Coeur'' (1979)
* ''Lifeboat_Drill'' (1979)
* ''Clothes_for_a_Summer_Hotel'' (1980)
* ''The_Chalky_White_Substance'' (1980)
* ''This_is_Peaceable_Kingdom/Good_Luck_God''
* ''Steps_Must_be_Gentle'' (1980)
* ''The_Notebook_of_Trigorin'' (1980)
* ''Something_Cloudy,_Something_Clear'' (1981)
* ''A_House_Not_Meant_to_Stand'' (1982)
* ''The_One_Exception'' (1983)
==Novels==
* ''The_Roman_Spring_of_Mrs._Stone'' (1950)
* ''Moise_and_the_World_of_Reason'' (1975)
* ''The_Bag_People''
==Short Stories==
* ''Hard_Candy:_a_Book_of_Stories'' (1959)
* ''Three_Players_of_a_Summer_Game_and_Other_Stories'' (1960)
* ''The_Knightly_Quest:_a_Novella_and_Four_Short_Stories'' (1966)
* ''One_Arm_and_Other_Stories'' (1967)
* ''Eight_Mortal_Ladies_Possessed:_a_Book_of_Stories'' (1974)
* ''It_Happened_the_day_the_Sun_Rose,_and_Other_Stories'' (1981)
==Poetry==
* ''In_the_Winter_of_Cities:_Poems'' (1956)
* ''Androgyne,_Mon_Amour:_Poems'' (1977)
==References==
{{wikiquote}}
*''The Kindness of Strangers'', Donald Spoto
*''Memoirs'', Tennessee Williams
*''Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams'', Lyle Leverich
*''His Brother's Keeper: The Life and Murder of Tennessee Williams'', Dakin Williams
==External links==
*Booksfactory article.
* A photograph of Tennessee Williams by Yousuf_Karsh on the website of the National_Gallery_of_Australia.
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