Horton Foote Biography (1916-)

Born March 14, 1916, in Wharton, TX; son of Albert Horton (a shopkeeper) andHallie (maiden name, Brooks) Foote; married Lillian Vallish (a theatrical producer), June 4, 1945 (died August 5, 1992); children: Barbara Hallie, AlbertHorton, Walter Vallish, Daisy Brooks. Addresses: Agent: InternationalCreative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211.; Home: 505N. Houston St., Wharton, TX 77488.; Office: c/o Luckyroll, 390 West End Ave., New York, NY 10024.

Nationality
American
Gender
Male
Occupation
Playwright, screenwriter, producer, director, actor
Birth Details
March 14, 1916
Wharton, Texas, United States

Famous Works

  • CREDITS
  • Film Work
  • Coproducer, Tender Mercies, 1983
  • Executive producer, The Trip to Bountiful, Island Pictures, 1985
  • Film Appearances
  • Himself, Fearful Symmetry (also known as Fearful Symmetry: TheMaking of "To Kill a Mockingbird"), 1998
  • Stage Appearances
  • Robert Emmet (one-act), Hudson Theatre, New York City, 1939
  • The Coggerers (one-act), Hudson Theatre, 1939
  • Lorenzo (one-act), Hudson Theatre, 1939
  • The Red Velvet Coat (one-act), Hudson Theatre, 1939
  • Chief Outourou's brother, Mr. Banks of Birmingham (one-act), Hudson Theatre, 1939
  • Texas Town, American Actors Company, New York City, 1942
  • Also appeared in The Eternal Road and The Fifth Column, both New York City.
  • Major Tours
  • Yankee Doodle Comes to Town, 1940
  • Stage Director
  • Goodbye to Richmond, 1946
  • The Roads to Home, Lamb's Theatre, New York City, 1992
  • When They Speak of Rita, Primary Stages, New York City, 2000
  • Also directed Night Seasons.
  • Television Appearances
  • Movies
  • Voice of Old Horace, Lily Dale, Showtime, 1996
  • WRITINGS
  • Plays
  • Wharton Dance, produced at American Actors Theatre, New York City,1940
  • Texas Town, produced at Weidman Studio, New York City, 1941 then Provincetown Playhouse, New York City, 1942
  • Only the Heart, produced at American Actors Company, ProvincetownPlayhouse, 1942 published by Dramatists Play Service (New York City), 1944
  • Out of My House, produced in New York City, 1942
  • Two Southern Idylls (double-bill; includes Miss Lou and The Girls), produced at Neighborhood Playhouse, New York City, 1943
  • The Lonely, produced at Neighborhood Playhouse, 1944
  • Goodbye to Richmond, produced at Neighborhood Playhouse, 1944 alsoproduced in 1946
  • Daisy Lee (one-act), produced at 92nd Street Young Men's Hebrew Association, New York City, 1944
  • Homecoming, produced at King-Smith School of the Creative Arts, Washington, DC, 1944
  • In My Beginning, produced at King-Smith School of the Creative Arts, 1944
  • People in the Show, produced at King-Smith School of the CreativeArts, 1944
  • Return, produced at King-Smith School of the Creative Arts, 1944
  • Celebration, produced at American National Theatre and Academy, New York City, 1950
  • The Chase, produced at Playhouse, New York City, 1952 published byDramatists Play Service, 1952
  • The Traveling Lady, produced at Playhouse, 1954 published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • John Turner Davis (one-act), produced at Sheridan Square Playhouse, New York City, 1956
  • The Midnight Caller (one-act), produced at Sheridan Square Playhouse, 1956 published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • The Trip to Bountiful, produced at Greenwich Mews Theatre, New York City, 1962 published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • Roots in a Parched Ground (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle), published by Dramatists Play Service, 1962
  • (With Robert Duvall) Tomorrow (based on the short story by WilliamFaulkner), produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, New York City, 1968 published by Dramatists Play Service, 1963
  • (Author of book) Gone with the Wind, produced at Drury Lane Theatre, London, 1972 then Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, 1973
  • A Young Lady of Property, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1976
  • Night Seasons, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1977 later Bergen Community College, Teaneck, NJ, 1993 then Signature Theatre Company, 1994
  • Courtship (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle),produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1978 published by Dramatists Play Service, and with Valentine's Day and 1918, Grove Press, 1987
  • 1918 (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle), produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1979 later Delaware Theatre Company, Wilmington, 1988-1989 published with Valentine's Day and Courtship,Grove Press, 1987
  • In a Coffin in Egypt, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1980
  • Valentine's Day, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1980 published with 1918 and Courtship, Grove Press, 1987
  • The Man Who Climbed the Pecan Trees, produced at Loft Theatre, LosAngeles, 1981 later produced as part of Marathon '88: Series C, Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1988-1989
  • The Old Friends, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1982
  • The Roads to Home (contains three one-acts: "Nightingale," "The Dearest of Friends," and "Spring Dance"), produced at Manhattan Punch Line Theatre, New York City, 1982 revived at Lamb's Theatre, New York City, 1992 published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • Cousins (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle), produced at Loft Theatre, 1983
  • "The Road to the Graveyard" (one-act), produced as part of Marathon '85, Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York City, 1985
  • Courtship/Valentine's Day, produced at Stage One, Dallas, TX, 1985
  • One Armed Man, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1985
  • The Prisoner's Song, produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1985
  • Blind Date (one-act), produced at HB Playwrights Foundation, 1985then produced as part of Marathon '86, Ensemble Studio Theatre, 1986 published by Dramatists Play Service.
  • The Widow Claire (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home"cycle), produced at Circle in the Square, New York City, 1986
  • Lily Dale (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle),produced at Samuel Beckett Theatre, New York City, 1986-1987
  • The Habitation of Dragons, produced at Pittsburgh Public Theatre,1988
  • The Death of Papa (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home"cycle), produced at Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT, 1999 published byDramatists Play Service, 1989
  • Dividing the Estate, produced at McCarter Theatre, Princeton, NJ,1989
  • Talking Pictures, produced at Asolo Theatre Company, Sarasota, FL,1990 later Signature Theatre Company, New York City, 1994
  • Laura Dennis, produced at Signature Theatre Company, 1995
  • The Young Man from Atlanta, produced at Signature Theatre Company,1995 then Huntington Theatre, Boston, MA, 1995 later Alley Theatre, Houston,TX, 1996 published by Penguin.
  • Vernon Early, produced at Carolyn Blount Theatre, Montgomery, AL,1998
  • The Last of the Thortons, produced at Signature Theatre, 2000
  • The Carpetbagger's Children, produced at Stages Repertory Theatre,Houston, TX, 2001
  • Also wrote Themes and Variations, produced by Productions, Inc., Washington, DC; and Convicts (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans'Home" cycle).
  • Play Collections
  • A Young Lady of Property (contains The Dancers, A YoungLady of Property, The Old Beginning, John Turner Davis, Death of the Old Man, and The Oil Well), Dramatists Play Service,1954
  • Harrison, Texas: Eight Television Plays, Harcourt (San Diego, CA),1959
  • Three Plays (contains Roots in a Parched Ground, The OldMan, and Tomorrow), Harcourt, 1962
  • Selected One-Act Plays, Southern Methodist University (Dallas, TX), 1989
  • Three Trips to Bountiful, Southern Methodist University, 1993
  • Horton Foote: Four New Plays (includes Habitation of Dragons, Night Seasons, Dividing the Estate, and Talking Pictures), Smith and Kraus (Newbury, VT), 1993
  • Getting Frankie Married--And Afterwards: And Other Plays, Smith and Kraus, 1998
  • Screenplays
  • Storm Fear, United Artists, 1956
  • To Kill a Mockingbird, Universal, 1963 published with The Tripto Bountiful and Tender Mercies, Grove Press, 1989
  • Baby, the Rain Must Fall (based on his play The Traveling Lady), Columbia, 1965
  • Hurry Sundown, 1967
  • Tomorrow (based on a story by William Faulkner), Filmgroup, 1971
  • Tender Mercies, Universal, 1983 published with The Trip to Bountiful and To Kill a Mockingbird, Grove Press, 1989
  • 1918, Cinecom International, 1984
  • On Valentine's Day (one of nine plays making up the "Orphans' Home" cycle; also known as Story of a Marriage), Angelika Films, 1985
  • The Trip to Bountiful, Island Pictures, 1985 published with Tender Mercies and To Kill a Mockingbird, Grove Press, 1989
  • Courtship, 1986
  • Convicts (based on his play), Management Company Entertainment Group, 1991
  • Of Mice and Men (based on the novel by John Steinbeck), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1992
  • Pastor's Son, 1993
  • The Man of the House, 1994
  • Lily Dale (based on his play), Producers Entertainment Group, 1996
  • Television Plays
  • Only the Heart, NBC, 1947
  • Ludie Brooks, CBS, 1951
  • The Travelers, NBC, 1952
  • Rocking Chair, NBC, 1953
  • Shadow of Willie Greer, NBC, 1954
  • Roads to Home, ABC, 1955
  • Drugstore: Sunday Noon, ABC, 1956
  • Member of the Family, CBS, 1957
  • The Displaced Person, PBS, 1977
  • Barn Burning, PBS, 1980
  • The Habitation of Dragons, TNT, 1992
  • Lily Dale, Showtime, 1996
  • Old Man (also known as William Faulkner's Old Man), CBS, 1997
  • Alone (also known as Horton Foote's Alone), Showtime, 1997
  • Television Episodes
  • The Gabby Hayes Show, NBC, 1950-1951
  • "The Old Beginning," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "A Young Lady of Property," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "The Trip to Bountiful," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "The Oil Well," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "Expectant Relations," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "The Tears of My Sister," Gulf Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "Midnight Caller," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "John Turner Davis," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "Death of an Old Man," Gulf Playhouse, NBC, 1953
  • "The Dancers," Philco Television Playhouse, NBC, 1954
  • "Flight," Playhouse 90, NBC, 1956
  • "The Old Man" (adapted from the William Faulkner work), Playhouse 90, CBS, 1959
  • "The Shape of the River," Playhouse 90, CBS, 1960
  • "The Night of the Storm" (also known as "Roots in a Parched Ground"), DuPont Show of the Month, CBS, 1960
  • "Tomorrow" (adapted from William Faulkner's short story), Playhouse 90, CBS, 1960
  • The DuPont Show of the Week, NBC, 1961
  • "The Gambling Heart," DuPont Show of the Month, NBC, 1964
  • "Barn Burning" (adapted from William Faulkner's work), American ShortStory, 1980
  • "The Story of a Marriage" (five-part series based on Courtship, Valentine's Day, and 1918), American Playhouse, PBS, 1987
  • "Old Man," Hallmark Hall of Fame, 1996
  • Also wrote "The Displaced Person" (adapted from Flannery O'Connor's work), American Short Story; "Keeping On," American Playhouse, PBS;and episodes for Studio One and U.S. Steel Hour.
  • Novels
  • The Chase, Holt (New York), 1956
  • Autobiography
  • Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood, Scribner (New York), 1999
  • Beginnings: A Memoir, Scribner, 2001
  • Other
  • (With Keith Carter) From Uncertain to Blue, 1989

Further Reference

ADAPTATIONS

  • The Chase was adapted for film by Lillian Hellman for Columbia, 1966.
OTHER SOURCES
    Books
    • Contemporary Literary Criticism, Volume 31, Gale, 1989
    • Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 26: American Screenwriters, Gale, 1984
    Electronic
    • Contemporary Authors Online, Gale Group, 2000

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