1. Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
2. Gabrielle Fitzpatrick to Christopher Fulford

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