| Lynn Riggs | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 31, 1899  Claremore |
| Died | June 30, 1954 (aged 54) New York City |
| Occupation | Playwright,poet |
| Notable works | Green Grow the Lilacs (basis forOklahoma!) |
| Notable awards | Guggenheim Fellowship,Oklahoma Hall of Fame,Hall of Great Westerners |
Rollie Lynn Riggs (August 31, 1899 – June 30, 1954)[1] was an American author, poet, playwright and screenwriter. His 1931 playGreen Grow the Lilacs was adapted into the musicalOklahoma!.[2]
Riggs was born on a farm nearClaremore, Oklahoma, (thenIndian Territory).[2] His mother was 1/8[3]Cherokee, and when he was two years old, his mother secured his Cherokeeallotment for him. He was able to draw on his allotment to help support his writing.[4]
He was educated at theEastern University Preparatory School in Claremore, Oklahoma, starting in 1912. Riggs graduated from high school in 1917, and travelled to Chicago and New York City. He worked for theAdams Express Company in Chicago, wrote for theWall Street Journal, sold books atMacy's and swept outWall Street offices. Returning to Oklahoma in 1919, he wrote for theOil and Gas Journal. Travelling to Los Angeles, Riggs worked as an extra in the theatre, and a copyeditor at theLos Angeles Times, which published his first poem. Riggs entered the University of Oklahoma in 1920, and taught English there from 1922–1923.[5] However, Riggs became ill with tuberculosis during his senior year and did not graduate.[4] Riggs then moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico to improve his health and soon joined a group of artists.[2] However, in 1926 he moved back to New York, hoping to work in the Broadway theatres.
Riggs wrote 21 full-length plays, several short stories, poems, and a television script.[4]
His first major production was a one-act play,Knives from Syria, which was produced by the Santa Fe Players in 1925.[5] He began teaching at theLewis Institute in Chicago, while continuing to write. In 1928 he received aJohn Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and travelled to Europe. Riggs began writing his most famous playGreen Grow the Lilacs in the CaféLes Deux Magots on theLeft Bank in Paris.[5] He completed this play five months later inCagnes-sur-Mer, in SouthernFrance.[4][2]
He then lived in Santa Fe, Los Angeles, and New York, and was a screenwriter for Paramount and Universal Studios. Riggs was homosexual[2] and was often a non-romantic escort for Hollywood actresses includingBette Davis andJoan Crawford.[6]
After serving in the military 1942–1944 he worked on an historical drama for Western Reserve University, published the short story "Eben, The Hound, and the Hare" (1952), and worked on the novelThe Affair at Easter, set in Oklahoma.
He moved to Shelter Island, New York after he started receiving a steady income whenGreen Grow the Lilacs was adapted intoOklahoma! in 1943.
Riggs was inducted into theOklahoma Hall of Fame in 1943,[7] and in 1965 he was inducted into theHall of Great Westerners of theNational Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.[8]
Riggs died on June 30, 1954 of stomach cancer in New York City.[2][9] He was buried in Claremore, Oklahoma, where at his funeral the governor had a state flag laid over his coffin. This marked the first instance of this state honor in Oklahoma.[10] Claremore, Oklahoma is home to the Lynn Riggs Memorial.[11]
His home in Santa Fe at 770 Acequia Madre Road is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in theCamino del Monte Sol Historic District.[12] He is further memorialized by the Lynn Riggs Black Box Theater, located in Oklahoma and named in his honor.[13]
Selected plays include:
His first play wasCuckoo in 1920, a farce about college fraternities that was performed at the University of Oklahoma in the spring of 1921.[5] TheTheatre Guild produced hisGreen Grow the Lilacs on Broadway in 1931, where it ran for 64 performances. The musicalOklahoma!, based on Riggs' play, opened on Broadway on March 31, 1943 and ran until May 29, 1948 for 2,212 performances.
