Tennessee Williams
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2011) Tennessee Williams Tennessee Williams (age 54) photographed by Orland Fernandez in 1965 for the 20th anniversary of The Glass Menagerie. Born Thomas Lanier Williams III (1911-03-26)March 26, 1911 Columbus, Mississippi, United States Died February 25, 1983(1983-02-25) (aged 71) New York City, New York, United States Resting place Calvary Cemetery St. Louis, Missouri Nationality American Partner(s) Frank Merlo Pancho Rodríguez y González Parents Edwina and Cornelius Coffin Williams Signature Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983) was an American playwright and author of many stage classics. After years of obscurity, he became suddenly famous with The Glass Menagerie (1944), closely reflecting his own unhappy family background. This heralded a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Orpheus Descending, and Sweet Bird of Youth. His later work attempted a new style that did not appeal to audiences, and alcohol and drug dependence further inhibited his creative output. Williams adapted much of his best work for the cinema, and also wrote short stories, poetry, essays and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.