Horton Foote | |
|---|---|
| Born | Albert Horton Foote Jr. (1916-03-14)March 14, 1916 Wharton, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | March 4, 2009(2009-03-04) (aged 92) Hartford, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter |
| Notable works | To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) Tender Mercies (1983) Old Man (1997) The Trip to Bountiful (1985) |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1995) Academy Awards (1962, 1983) Emmy Award (1997) National Medal of Arts (2000) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916 – March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards forTo Kill a Mockingbird, which was adapted from the 1960novel of the same name byHarper Lee,[1] and the film,Tender Mercies (1983). He was also known for his notable live television dramas produced during theGolden Age of Television.
Foote received the 1995Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his playThe Young Man From Atlanta. He was the inaugural recipient of theAustin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. In 2000, he was awarded theNational Medal of Arts.[2]
Foote was born in 1916 inWharton, Texas, the son of Harriet Gautier "Hallie" Brooks and Albert Horton Foote.[3] His younger brothers were Thomas Brooks Foote (1921–44), who died in aerial combat over Germany during World War II, and John Speed Foote (1923–95).
Foote moved to California, where he studied theater at thePasadena Playhouse in 1931–32. He began his career as an actor, but was also writing plays. After getting better reviews for his plays than for his acting, during the 1940s he focused on writing. He became one of the leading writers for American television during the 1950s,[4] beginning with an episode ofThe Gabby Hayes Show.
His playThe Trip to Bountiful premiered March 1, 1953, onNBC with the leading cast members (Lillian Gish,Eva Marie Saint) reprising their roles onBroadway later that year.[5][6][7] He later adapted the play into a feature film.[3]
Throughout the 1950s, Foote wrote forThe Philco Television Playhouse,The United States Steel Hour,Playhouse 90,Studio One, andArmchair Theatre, among others. He continued into the 1960s withITV Playhouse andDuPont Show of the Month.[8][6][9]
He twice adaptedWilliam Faulkner's "Old Man" to television, in 1958 and 1997.[10] Each received an Emmy nomination. In 1997 Foote wonOutstanding Writing of a Miniseries or Special).[11]
Foote's plays were produced onBroadway,Off-Broadway,Off-Off-Broadway and atregional theatres, such as theGoodman Theatre in Chicago.[12][13][14][15]
He wrote the English adaptation of the original Japanese book for the 1970 musicalScarlett, a musical adaptation ofGone with the Wind.[16]
He won the 1995Pulitzer Prize for Drama forThe Young Man From Atlanta.[17] TheGoodman Theatre production that was taken to Broadway in 1997 was nominated for theTony Award Best Play, but did not win. The production starredRip Torn,Shirley Knight andBiff McGuire. Knight and McGuire were also nominated for Tony Awards.[18]
In 1996, Foote was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[19]
In 2000, Foote was honored with thePEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award as a Master American Dramatist.[20]
His three-play biographical series (three full-length pieces comprising three one-act plays each), mainly about his father,The Orphans' Home Cycle, ran in repertory Off-Broadway in 2009–2010. These plays areRoots in a Parched Ground,Convicts,Lily Dale,The Widow Claire,Courtship,Valentine's Day,1918,Cousins, andThe Death of Papa.[13] The combined productions received a SpecialDrama Desk Award "To the cast, creative team and producers of Horton Foote's epicThe Orphans' Home Cycle".[21] Some plays had previously been produced separately.Convicts,Lily Dale,Courtship,Valentine's Day and1918 were filmed, and the latter three were shown on PBS in 1987 as a mini-series titledThe Story of A Marriage.[22]
In describing his three-play work,The Orphans' Home Cycle, the drama critic for theWall Street Journal said this: "Foote, who died last March, left behind a masterpiece, one that will rank high among the signal achievements of American theater in the 20th century."[23]
Foote received anAcademy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay and theWriters Guild of America Screen Award for his adaptation ofTo Kill a Mockingbird in 1963.[24] Foote did not attend theOscars ceremony in 1963 because he did not expect to win, and so was not present to collect the award in person; it was accepted on his behalf by the film's producer,Alan J. Pakula.[25]
Foote personally recommended actorRobert Duvall for the part ofBoo Radley inTo Kill a Mockingbird after meeting him during a 1957 production ofThe Midnight Caller atNeighborhood Playhouse in New York City. The two would work together many more times in the future. Foote had described Duvall as "our number one actor."[25]
Foote's script for the 1983 filmTender Mercies had been rejected by many American film directors before Australian directorBruce Beresford finally accepted it; Foote later said, "this film was turned down by every American director on the face of the globe."[citation needed] The film received five 1984 Academy Award nominations, includingBest Picture andBest Original Screenplay (which Foote won).[26] Duvall won theAcademy Award for Best Actor for his performance.[26] Aware of his failure to attend the 1963 ceremony, Foote made sure to attendthe 1984 ceremony. The film also earned Foote theWriters Guild of America Award for Best Screenplay.[25]
Other film scripts includeBaby the Rain Must Fall starringSteve McQueen andLee Remick, which was based on his playThe Travelling Lady. The film was directed byRobert Mulligan, who had worked with Foote onTo Kill a Mockingbird in 1962.[27][28]
Foote generally wrote screenplays that were based on his plays, such as the semi-autobiographic trilogy of1918 (1985),[29]On Valentine's Day (1986)[30] andCourtship (1987).[31]1918 andOn Valentine's Day were shot on location inWaxahachie, Texas.
His screenplay forThe Trip to Bountiful (1985) won him theIndependent Spirit Award for Best Screenplay[32] as well as an Academy Award nomination, whileGeraldine Page won theAcademy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.[33]
He also adapted works by other authors, such asJohn Steinbeck (Of Mice and Men, directed by and starringGary Sinise withJohn Malkovich).[34]
In addition to Faulkner'sOld Man, Foote adapted Faulkner's short storyTomorrow as a1972 film of the same name starring Robert Duvall. Foote had previously adapted the story as a play for television's Playhouse 90 in 1960.[35]Leonard Maltin, in his movie guide book, calls the movie the best film adaptation of any of Faulkner's work. On the subject of Faulkner, Foote said, "Faulkner I never met but evidently he liked [my adaptations] because he's allowed me to share the dramatic copyrights to bothOld Man andTomorrow ... So in other words, you have to get both our permissions to do it."[36]
PlaywrightLillian Hellman adapted his 1952 play and 1956 novel for the 1966 filmThe Chase, withMarlon Brando,Jane Fonda andRobert Redford.[37][38][39]
Foote provided the voice ofJefferson Davis forKen Burns's critically acclaimed documentary,The Civil War (PBS, 1990). Adaptations of his playsThe Habitation of Dragons (TNT, 1992) andLily Dale (Showtime, 1996) preceded the Showtime production ofHorton Foote's Alone (1997). His final work was the screenplay forMain Street, a 2010 dramatic film.[citation needed]
Foote was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2006 fromCarson-Newman University.[40]
He received an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 1987 fromSpalding University (Louisville, Kentucky).
One of Foote's primary biographers is Dr. Gerald Wood, former chairman of the English Department at Carson-Newman. Books by Wood about Foote includeHorton Foote and the Theater of Intimacy andHorton Foote: A Casebook (Taylor & Francis, 1998,ISBN 08-15-325444; rev. Routledge, 2014,ISBN 11-35-636028). Wood and Marion Castleberry co-editedThe Voice of an American Playwright: Interviews with Horton Foote (Mercer University Press, 2012,ISBN 978-0881463972).
Baylor University also holds close ties with Foote. In 2002, Foote accepted the title as "Visiting Distinguished Dramatist" with the Baylor Department of Theatre Arts.[41]
Tess Harper, an actress who worked with Foote onTender Mercies, described him as "America'sChekhov. If he didn't study the Russians, he's a reincarnation of the Russians. He's a quiet man who writes quiet people." Regarding his own writing, Foote said, "I know that people think I have a certain style, but I think style is like the color of the eyes. I don't know that you choose that."[25]
Foote made an effort to employ lifelike language in his writing, citingW. B. Yeats's work as an example of this realistic approach. In an interview with playwright Stuart Spencer, Foote discusses his writing and material: "I think there's certain things you don't choose. I don't think that you can choose a style; I think a style chooses you. I thinkthat's almost an unconscious choice. And I don't know that you can choose subject matter, really. I think that's almost an unconscious choice. I have a theory that from the time you're 12 years old all your themes are kind of locked in.".[42]
The Fine Arts Building at the college located inWharton, Texas, Wharton County Junior College, is named the Horton Foote Theatre. He was known to be a large supporter of the arts in his hometown ofWharton, Texas. A Horton Foote Scholarship is awarded at the school to one student per year who excels in theatre.[43]
In December 2000, President Bill Clinton presented Foote with theNational Medal of Arts, saying that he was "the nation's most prolific writer for stage, film, and television."[44][45]
Foote was married to Lillian Vallish Foote (1923–1992)[46] from June 4, 1945, until her death in 1992.[47] Their four children are actors Albert Horton Foote III andHallie Foote; playwright Daisy Brooks Foote; and director, writer and lawyer Walter Vallish Foote.[6]
They have worked on projects with their father. Hallie and Albert Horton Foote III (also known as Horton Jr.) appeared in their father's film1918 (1985). Hallie has appeared on stage in her father's works, including, for example,Dividing the Estate in 2008,[48]The Orphans' Home Cycle Part III: The Story of a Family in 2010[49] andHarrison, TX: Three Plays by Horton Foote Off-Broadway in 2012.[50] Daisy wrote the playWhen They Speak of Rita (2000) in which Hallie appeared and was directed by their father.[51]
Foote was introduced toChristian Science while in California and went on to become a dedicated member of the church. He served as a First Reader in a branch church inNyack, New York, and also taught Sunday School for many years while living inNew Boston, New Hampshire.[52][53]
Foote was the voice ofJefferson Davis in the 11-hour PBS seriesThe Civil War (1990).[54][55]Shelby Foote wrote the comprehensive three volume, 3000-page history, together titledThe Civil War: A Narrative, upon which the series was partially based and who appeared in almost ninety segments. The two Footes were cousins.[56]
Foote was the cousin of actor/directorPeter Masterson who directed three of his screenplays, includingThe Trip to Bountiful,Convicts and the Hallmark Hall of Fame television production ofLily Dale, starringMary Stuart Masterson, Peter's daughter.
Foote died inHartford, Connecticut, on March 4, 2009, at the age of 92, while he was working on a production ofThe Orphans' Home Cycle to premiere in the city.[3][57][6] At the time of his death, he lived in his hometown ofWharton, Texas, and thePacific Palisades section of Los Angeles.[3]
The Orphans' Home Cycle is a series of nine plays concerning Horace Robedaux (an alias for Horton Foote's father, Albert Horton Foote Sr.), Elizabeth Vaughn (his mother Harriet Gauthier "Hallie" Brooks), and their extended families.
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