Larry L. King | |
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 King in 1976 | |
| Born | Lawrence Leo King (1929-01-01)January 1, 1929 Putnam, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | December 20, 2012(2012-12-20) (aged 83) Washington, D. C., U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright Journalist Novelist |
| Language | English |
| Period | 1964–2006 |
| Literary movement | New Journalism |
Lawrence Leo King (January 1, 1929 – December 20, 2012) was an American playwright, journalist, and novelist, best remembered for his 1978Tony Award-nominated playThe Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, which became a long-running production onBroadway and was later turned into afeature film starringBurt Reynolds,Charles Durning, andDolly Parton.[1]
Lawrence Leo King was born on January 1, 1929, inPutnam, Texas, son of Clyde Clayton King, a farmer and blacksmith, and Cora Lee King (née Clark), who introduced him to the writings ofMark Twain. King dropped out of high school to join theArmy. After his military service, and a year as a journalism major atTexas Tech, King worked as a sports and crime reporter for small newspapers in Texas and New Mexico. In 1954, King moved toWashington, D. C., where he worked as an aide to Texas CongressmanJ. T. Rutherford and subsequently toJames C. Wright Jr.
In 1964, King quit his Congressional job to concentrate on his writing, producing many magazine articles and fourteen books of both fiction and non-fiction, and became one of the leading figures in the "New Journalism." Many of his articles, covering a wide range of subjects including politics, sports, and music, were published inHarper's magazine, where his friendWillie Morris was editor-in-chief. His soul-searchingConfessions of a White Racist was nominated for aNational Book Award in 1972, and earned him praise from other writers, includingMaya Angelou. In 1974, he wrote an article about theChicken Ranch brothel inLa Grange, Texas; after the article was published inPlayboy, King and fellow TexanPeter Masterson developed it into the book of theBroadway musical.
King received anEmmy Award in 1982 for the CBS documentaryThe Best Little Statehouse in Texas. In 1988, Austin's Live Oak Theatre presented King's new dramaThe Night Hank Williams Died. The play went on to be produced Off-Broadway and around the nation.[2] In 1989 it received the Helen Hayes Award for best new play, and King was awarded the Mary Goldwater Award from the Theatre Lobby Trust.[3]
Beginning in 1987 and continuing until 2008, King donated his extensive personal archives to the Southwestern Writers Collection/The Wittliff Collections atTexas State University. In 2006, a 70-seat performance space dedicated to producing new works by local and national authors at the Austin Playhouse inAustin, Texas, was renamed the Larry L. King Theatre.
King died on December 20, 2012, at a retirement home inWashington, D. C. He was survived by his third wife, Barbara S. Blaine (who was also his lawyer and literary agent), five children, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.[4][5][6]
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