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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Joan Greenwood to James Handy
A. R. Gurney, Jr. Biography (1930-)
Full name, Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr; born November 1, 1930, in Buffalo, NY;son of Albert Ramsdell (in real estate business) and Marion (maiden name, Spaulding) Gurney; married Mary Forman Goodyear, June 8, 1957; children: George, Amy, Evelyn, Benjamin. Addresses: Agent: Gersh Agency, 232 North Canon Dr., Suite 201, Beverly Hills, CA 90210.
- Nationality
- American
- Gender
- Male
- Occupation
- Playwright, novelist, educator
- Birth Details
- November 1, 1930
- Buffalo, New York, United States
Famous Works
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CREDITS
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Stage Appearances
- Andrew Makepeace Ladd III, Love Letters, Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1989
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WRITINGS
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Stage Plays
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Love in Buffalo, produced at School of Drama, Yale University, NewHaven, CT, 1958
- (With others) Tom Sawyer (musical), produced at Starlight Theatre,Kansas City, MO, 1959
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The Bridal Dinner, produced by Community Players, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, 1962
- (Under pseudonym Peter Gurney) Around the World in Eighty Days (two-act musical; based on the book by Jules Verne), published by Dramatic Publishing (New York City), 1962
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The Rape of Bunny Stuntz (one-act), produced by Playwrights Unit,Cherry Lane Theatre, New York City, 1962, published by Samuel French (New York City), 1964
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The Comeback (one-act), produced at Image Theatre, Cambridge, 1964, published by Dramatists Play Service (New York City), 1966
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The Open Meeting (one-act), produced at Atma Coffeehouse Theatre,Boston, MA, 1965, published by Samuel French, 1968
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The David Show (one-act), produced at Boston University Playwrights Workshop, Tanglewood, MA, 1966, then Players Theatre, New York City, 1968,published by Samuel French, 1968
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The Golden Fleece (one-act), produced at Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, 1968, then in New York City, 1968, published by Samuel French, 1967
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Tonight in Living Color (includes The David Show and TheGolden Fleece), produced at Actors Playhouse, New York City, 1969
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The Love Course (one-act), produced at Theatre Company of Boston,Boston, 1970, then King's Head Theatre, London, 1974, published by Samuel French, 1969, published as Public Affairs, Samuel French, 1992
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Scenes from American Life (two-act), produced at Boston UniversityPlaywrights Workshop, 1970, then Forum Theatre, Lincoln Center Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1971, published by Samuel French, 1970
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The Problem (one-act), produced at King's Head Theatre, 1973, published by Samuel French, 1968
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The Old One-Two (one-act), produced at Brandeis University Theatre, Waltham, MA, 1973, then King's Head Theatre, 1975, published by Samuel French, 1971
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Children (two-act), produced at Mermaid Theatre, London, 1974, then Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, 1976, published by Samuel French, 1975
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Who Killed Richard Cory? (one-act), produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1976, revised version produced as Richard Cory,Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown, MA, 1986, published by Samuel French, 1976
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The Middle Ages, produced at Mark Taper Forum Laboratory, Los Angeles, 1977, then York Theatre at St. Peter's Church, New York City, 1983, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1978
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The Wayside Motor Inn, produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, 1977, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1979
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The Golden Age, produced at Greenwich Theatre, London, 1980, thenJack Lawrence Theatre, New York, City, 1984, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1984
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The Dining Room, produced at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, New York City, 1981, then Astor Place Theatre, New York City, 1982, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1982
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What I Did Last Summer, produced at Circle Repertory Theatre, 1983, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1983
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The Perfect Party (two-act), produced at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, 1986, published by Doubleday (New York City), 1986
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Sweet Sue, produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1986, then Music Box Theatre, New York City, 1987, published by Dramatists Play Service,1987
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Another Antigone, produced at Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, 1987, then Playwrights Horizons Theatre, 1988, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1988
- "White Walls," in Urban Blight (musical revue), lyrics by RichardMaltby, Jr., music by David Shire, produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, 1988
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The Cocktail Hour, produced at Old Globe Theatre, then Promenade Theatre, New York City, 1988-1989, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1989
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Love Letters, produced at Long Wharf Theatre, New Haven, CT, 1989,then Promenade Theatre, 1989, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1989
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The Snow Ball (based on his novel), produced at Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT, 1990, then Old Globe Theatre, 1990, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1992
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The Old Boy, produced at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, 1991, thenOld Globe Theatre, 1991, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1992
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The Fourth Wall, produced at Westport County Playhouse, 1992, thenChicago, IL, 1993, later Primary Stages Theatre, New York City, 2002, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1994
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Later Life, produced at Westside Arts Theatre Upstairs, New York City, 1993, then Playwrights Horizons Theatre, 1993-1994, published by Plume,1994
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A Cheever Evening, produced at Playwrights Horizons Theatre, 1994-1995, published as A Cheever Evening: A New Play Based on the Stories of John Cheever, Dramatists Play Service, 1995
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Sylvia, produced at Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, 1995, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1996
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Overtime, produced at Old Globe Theatre, 1995, then Manhattan Theatre Club Stage II, 1996, published by Dramatists Play Service, 1996
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Let's Do It! (musical; based on work by Cole Porter), produced atLong Wharf Theatre, 1996
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Labor Day (two-act), produced at Old Globe Theatre, then ManhattanTheatre Club Stage I, both 1998
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Darlene and the Guest Lecturer (two one-acts), produced at GeorgeStreet Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ, 1998
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Far East, produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival, 1998, then Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, New York City, 1999
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Ancestral Voices (one-act), produced at Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre,1999
- Librettist, "Strawberry Fields," Central Park (opera), music by Michael Torke, produced at Glimmerglass Opera, Cooperstown, NY, then New York City Opera, both 1999
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Human Events (two-act), produced at George Street Playhouse, 2001
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Buffalo Gal (two-act), produced at Williamstown Theatre Festival,2001, revised version, Studio Arena Theatre, Buffalo, NY, 2002
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Collected Plays
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Four Plays (contains Children,
The Dining Room,
The Middle Ages, and Scenes from American Life), Avon (New York City), 1985
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The Cocktail Hour and Two Other Plays: Another Antigone and The Perfect Party, New American Library (New York City), 1989
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Love Letters and Two Other Plays: The Golden Age and What I Did Last Summer, Plume, 1990
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Later Life and Two Other Plays: The Snow Ball and the Old Boy, Plume, 1994
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Collected Plays, Smith & Kraus (Lyme, NH), Volume 1: EarlyPlays, 1961-1973, 1995, Volume 2: 1977-1985, 1997, Volume 3: 1984-1991, 2000, Volume 4: 1992-1999, 2000
- Also author of the plays "Three People," published in Best Short Plays, 1955-56, edited by Margaret Mayorga, Beacon Press (Boston, MA), 1956; and "Turn of the Century," published in Best Short Plays, 1957-58, edited by Mayorga, Beacon Press, 1958.
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Screenplays
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The House of Mirth, 1972
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Love Letters (based on his stage play), ABC, 1992
- (As Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr.) Sylvia, Paramount, 1995
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Television Specials
- "The Golden Fleece," NET Playhouse, National Educational Television, 1969
- "O Youth and Beauty" (also known as "3 by Cheever: O Youth and Beauty!";based on a story by John Cheever), Great Performances, PBS, 1979
- (As Albert Ramsdell Gurney, Jr.) Kinder, 1981
- "The Dining Room," Great Performances, PBS, 1984
- "The Hit List," Trying Times, PBS, 1989
- Librettist, "Strawberry Fields," Central Park (opera), music by Michael Torke, PBS, 2000
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Far East, PBS, 2001
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Novels
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The Gospel According to Joe, Harper & Row (New York City), 1974
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Entertaining Strangers, Doubleday (New York City), 1977
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The Snow Ball, Arbor House (New York City), 1984
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Early American, 1996
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Other
- Contributor to periodicals, including American Heritage and NewYork Times.
Further Reference
ADAPTATIONS
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The Middle Ages was adapted by Percy Granger for the television special My Brother's Wife, broadcast by ABC in 1989; a musical version of Richard Cory, adapted by Ed Dixon, was produced at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, 1997.
OTHER SOURCES
Books
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Contemporary Dramatists, 6th edition, St. James Press, 1999
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Contemporary Literary Criticism, Gale, Volume 32, 1985, Volume 50,1989
Periodicals
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People Weekly, January 23, 1989, p. 103
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