Robert Woodruff Anderson
Encyclopedia
Robert Woodruff Anderson (born April 28, 1917, New York City
– February 9, 2009) was an American
playwright
, screenwriter
, and theater producer.
He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy
, which he later said he found a lonely experience. While there he fell in love with an older woman, an event which later became the basis of the plot of Tea and Sympathy. Anderson also attended Harvard University
, where he took an undergraduate as well as a master's degree.
He may be best-remembered as the author of Tea and Sympathy
. The play made its Broadway
debut in 1953 and was made into an MGM film in 1956; both starred Deborah Kerr
and John Kerr
.
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
, a collection of four one-act comedies, opened in New York in 1967 and ran for more than 700 performances. His other successful Broadway plays were Silent Night, Lonely Night (1959) and I Never Sang for My Father (1968).
He also wrote the screenplays for Until They Sail
(1957), The Nun's Story
(1959), and The Sand Pebbles
(1966). He was Oscar-nominated for The Nun's Story as well as his 1970 screen adaptation of I Never Sang for My Father
. He also authored many television scripts, including the TV play The Last Act Is a Solo (1991), and the novels After (1973) and Getting Up and Going Home (1978).
He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
in 1981.
Anderson was married to Phyllis Stohl from 1940 until her death in 1956 and to actress Teresa Wright
from 1959 until their divorce in 1978. Anderson died of pneumonia
on February 9, 2009 at his home in Manhattan
, aged 91. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
for seven years prior to his death.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
– February 9, 2009) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, and theater producer.
He was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
, which he later said he found a lonely experience. While there he fell in love with an older woman, an event which later became the basis of the plot of Tea and Sympathy. Anderson also attended Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, where he took an undergraduate as well as a master's degree.
He may be best-remembered as the author of Tea and Sympathy
Tea and Sympathy
Tea and Sympathy is a 1953 stage play in three acts by Robert Anderson.-Broadway premiere:It received its premiere on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 30, 1953 in a production by The Playwrights' Company, directed by Elia Kazan and designed by Jo Mielziner. The play starred...
. The play made its Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1953 and was made into an MGM film in 1956; both starred Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
and John Kerr
John Kerr (actor)
John Kerr is an American actor from a family rooted in British and Broadway stage, and a lawyer.- Early life :Kerr's parents, Geoffrey Kerr and June Walker, were both stage and film actors, and his grandfather was Frederick Kerr, a famed British trans-Atlantic character actor in the period...
.
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running
You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running is a collection of four unrelated one-act comedy plays by Robert Anderson.In The Shock of Recognition, playwright Jack Barnstable auditions Richard Pawling for a role that requires nudity and discovers the overeager actor is more than willing to...
, a collection of four one-act comedies, opened in New York in 1967 and ran for more than 700 performances. His other successful Broadway plays were Silent Night, Lonely Night (1959) and I Never Sang for My Father (1968).
He also wrote the screenplays for Until They Sail
Until They Sail
Until They Sail is a 1957 American black and white CinemaScope drama film directed by Robert Wise. The screenplay by Robert Anderson, based on a story by James A. Michener included in his 1951 anthology Return to Paradise, focuses on four New Zealand sisters and their relationships with U.S...
(1957), The Nun's Story
The Nun's Story (film)
The Nun's Story is a 1959 Warner Brothers film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Audrey Hepburn. Based upon the 1956 novel of the same title by Kathryn Hulme, the story tells of the life of Sister Luke , a young Belgian woman who decides to enter a convent and make the many sacrifices...
(1959), and The Sand Pebbles
The Sand Pebbles (film)
The Sand Pebbles is a 1966 American period war film directed by Robert Wise. It tells the story of an independent, rebellious U.S. Navy Machinist's Mate aboard the fictional gunboat USS San Pablo in 1920s China....
(1966). He was Oscar-nominated for The Nun's Story as well as his 1970 screen adaptation of I Never Sang for My Father
I Never Sang for My Father
I Never Sang for My Father is a 1970 American film, based on a play by the same name, which tells the story of a college professor who wants to get out from under the thumb of his aging father yet still has regrets about his plan to leave him behind when he marries a younger woman and moves to...
. He also authored many television scripts, including the TV play The Last Act Is a Solo (1991), and the novels After (1973) and Getting Up and Going Home (1978).
He was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
American Theatre Hall of Fame
The American Theatre Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the Executive Committee. In an announcement at a luncheon meeting on March 1972, he said that the new Theater Hall of Fame would be located in the Uris Theatre . James M...
in 1981.
Anderson was married to Phyllis Stohl from 1940 until her death in 1956 and to actress Teresa Wright
Teresa Wright
Teresa Wright was an American actress. She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1942 for her performance in Mrs. Miniver. That same year, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress nomination for her performance in Pride of the Yankees opposite Gary Cooper...
from 1959 until their divorce in 1978. Anderson died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
on February 9, 2009 at his home in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, aged 91. He had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
for seven years prior to his death.
Selected Plays
- Tea and SympathyTea and SympathyTea and Sympathy is a 1953 stage play in three acts by Robert Anderson.-Broadway premiere:It received its premiere on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 30, 1953 in a production by The Playwrights' Company, directed by Elia Kazan and designed by Jo Mielziner. The play starred...
(1953) - All Summer Long (1955)
- Silent Night, Lonely Night (1959)
- You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's RunningYou Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's RunningYou Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running is a collection of four unrelated one-act comedy plays by Robert Anderson.In The Shock of Recognition, playwright Jack Barnstable auditions Richard Pawling for a role that requires nudity and discovers the overeager actor is more than willing to...
(1967) - I Never Sang for My Father (1968)
- Solitaire/Double Solitaire (1970)
- Absolute StrangersAbsolute StrangersAbsolute Strangers is a 1991 made-for-television CBS docudrama featuring Happy Days star Henry Winkler returning to his first major TV role in eight years....
(1991) - The Last Act Is a Solo (1991)