Horton Foote(1916-2009)
- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Horton Foote, the Pulitzer Prize-winning dramatist and Oscar-winning
screenwriter, was born on March 14, 1916, in Wharton, Texas. He says at
the age of ten, he had a "calling" to become an actor, and when he was
16 he convinced his parents to allow him to go to acting school. With
their blessing he went to Pasadena, California, where he studied acting
for two years at the Pasadena Playhouse. Subsequently, he moved to New
York City and studied at Tamara Daykarhanova's Theatre School where he was
inculcated with Michael Chekhov's version of the Second Studio technique
developed at the Moscow Art Theatre. In time, Foote the dramatist would
be hailed as the "American Chekhov," and his education does link him to
the Russian master.
Foote was one of the founders of the American Actors Company. He racked
up some minor roles on stage, and decided that becoming a dramatist was
his best insurance policy for ensuring he received decent roles. In
1944 he made his Broadway debut with "Only the Heart." His fate was
sealed when he received better reviews for his writing than for his
acting.
Throughout the 1940s Foote continued to write for the theater,
including experimental works. He started to write for television to
support himself, soon becoming one of the mainstays of the Golden Age
of television drama. He wrote teleplays for Playhouse 90 (1956), The Philco Television Playhouse (1948) and
The United States Steel Hour (1953). Foote won an Oscar for Best Adapted screenplay for Harper Lee's
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which was the movie debut of Robert Duvall. Foote also continued to
prosper on Broadway, with his plays "The Chase," "The Trip to
Bountiful" with Lillian Gish and "The Traveling Lady" with Kim Stanley.
After the film of "Mockingbird," Foote adapted "The Traveling Lady" as
the movie Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965), but he began to grow disillusioned with Hollywood
due to its treatment of his work. Despite being produced by multiple
Oscar-winner Sam Spiegel, adapted by Lillian Hellman, and directed by Arthur Penn, as
well as featuring one of Marlon Brando's finest performances, the film
version of The Chase (1966) was a debacle. It was excoriated by the critics and
a flop at the box office.
Now out of favor both in Hollywood and on Broadway, Foote went into an
exile of sorts in New Hampshire. Ten years after "To Kill a
Mockingbird," Duvall gave a brilliant performance in Tomorrow (1972), the movie
made from Foote's adaptation of William Faulkner's eponymous story. The film is
a small masterpiece, and was well-reviewed by critics. Foote, whom
Duvall calls "the rural Chekhov," wrote an original screenplay for the
actor ten years after their collaboration on "Tomorrow." Tender Mercies (1983)
brought both of them Oscars, for Best Original Screenplay for Foote and
Best Actor for Duvall. A couple of years later, Geraldine Page would win the
Best Actress Oscar for Foote's The Trip to Bountiful (1985), which brought him his third
Academy Award nomination.
In the 1970s he presented his nine-play cycle "Orphans' Home," based on
his family. He remained active as as dramatist and screenwriter
throughout the 1980s and '90s, and in 1995, his play "The Young Man
From Atlanta," was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Nominated for
an Emmy in 1959 for adapting Faulkner's short story "The Old Man" for
"Playhouse 90," he would win the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a
Miniseries or a Special 42 years later for his second adaptation of the
story (Old Man (1997)). He remains active in the 21st century, well into his
90s.
Among Foote's prose works are "Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood"
(1999), an account of life in Wharton, Texas. Hoote created the
fictional town of Harrison, Texas, which he used as the locale for many
of his plays. The first two installments of his autobiography,
"Farewell," and "Beginnings," were published in 1999 and 2001,
respectively.
In addition to his Pulitzer Prize and two Oscars, Foote was honored
with the William Inge Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American
Theatre in 1989, a Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy of Arts and
Letters in 1998, the Writer's Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement
award in 1999, and the PEN American Center's Master American Dramatist
Award in 2000.
Horton Foote's success can be attributed to his honest examination of
the human condition, and why some people survive tragedies while others
are destroyed. His central themes of the sense of belonging and longing
for home have resonate with audiences for 60 years.
screenwriter, was born on March 14, 1916, in Wharton, Texas. He says at
the age of ten, he had a "calling" to become an actor, and when he was
16 he convinced his parents to allow him to go to acting school. With
their blessing he went to Pasadena, California, where he studied acting
for two years at the Pasadena Playhouse. Subsequently, he moved to New
York City and studied at Tamara Daykarhanova's Theatre School where he was
inculcated with Michael Chekhov's version of the Second Studio technique
developed at the Moscow Art Theatre. In time, Foote the dramatist would
be hailed as the "American Chekhov," and his education does link him to
the Russian master.
Foote was one of the founders of the American Actors Company. He racked
up some minor roles on stage, and decided that becoming a dramatist was
his best insurance policy for ensuring he received decent roles. In
1944 he made his Broadway debut with "Only the Heart." His fate was
sealed when he received better reviews for his writing than for his
acting.
Throughout the 1940s Foote continued to write for the theater,
including experimental works. He started to write for television to
support himself, soon becoming one of the mainstays of the Golden Age
of television drama. He wrote teleplays for Playhouse 90 (1956), The Philco Television Playhouse (1948) and
The United States Steel Hour (1953). Foote won an Oscar for Best Adapted screenplay for Harper Lee's
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), which was the movie debut of Robert Duvall. Foote also continued to
prosper on Broadway, with his plays "The Chase," "The Trip to
Bountiful" with Lillian Gish and "The Traveling Lady" with Kim Stanley.
After the film of "Mockingbird," Foote adapted "The Traveling Lady" as
the movie Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965), but he began to grow disillusioned with Hollywood
due to its treatment of his work. Despite being produced by multiple
Oscar-winner Sam Spiegel, adapted by Lillian Hellman, and directed by Arthur Penn, as
well as featuring one of Marlon Brando's finest performances, the film
version of The Chase (1966) was a debacle. It was excoriated by the critics and
a flop at the box office.
Now out of favor both in Hollywood and on Broadway, Foote went into an
exile of sorts in New Hampshire. Ten years after "To Kill a
Mockingbird," Duvall gave a brilliant performance in Tomorrow (1972), the movie
made from Foote's adaptation of William Faulkner's eponymous story. The film is
a small masterpiece, and was well-reviewed by critics. Foote, whom
Duvall calls "the rural Chekhov," wrote an original screenplay for the
actor ten years after their collaboration on "Tomorrow." Tender Mercies (1983)
brought both of them Oscars, for Best Original Screenplay for Foote and
Best Actor for Duvall. A couple of years later, Geraldine Page would win the
Best Actress Oscar for Foote's The Trip to Bountiful (1985), which brought him his third
Academy Award nomination.
In the 1970s he presented his nine-play cycle "Orphans' Home," based on
his family. He remained active as as dramatist and screenwriter
throughout the 1980s and '90s, and in 1995, his play "The Young Man
From Atlanta," was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Nominated for
an Emmy in 1959 for adapting Faulkner's short story "The Old Man" for
"Playhouse 90," he would win the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a
Miniseries or a Special 42 years later for his second adaptation of the
story (Old Man (1997)). He remains active in the 21st century, well into his
90s.
Among Foote's prose works are "Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood"
(1999), an account of life in Wharton, Texas. Hoote created the
fictional town of Harrison, Texas, which he used as the locale for many
of his plays. The first two installments of his autobiography,
"Farewell," and "Beginnings," were published in 1999 and 2001,
respectively.
In addition to his Pulitzer Prize and two Oscars, Foote was honored
with the William Inge Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American
Theatre in 1989, a Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy of Arts and
Letters in 1998, the Writer's Guild of America's Lifetime Achievement
award in 1999, and the PEN American Center's Master American Dramatist
Award in 2000.
Horton Foote's success can be attributed to his honest examination of
the human condition, and why some people survive tragedies while others
are destroyed. His central themes of the sense of belonging and longing
for home have resonate with audiences for 60 years.