Tennessee Williams

Born Thomas Lanier Williams March 26, 1911 Birthplace: Columbus, Mississippi Parents: Cornelius and Edwina Williams One of three kids Childhood in Mississippi? Great! Moving to St. Louis, Missouri? Not so great… But his art came from the rough times. Parents’ relationship was strained due to his father’s frequent absence as a salesman

Tennessee Williams Education: University of Missouri Dad pulled him out upon learning that Tennessee’s girlfriend also attended the college Worked at a shoe company Turned to writing in his hard times After a nervous breakdown, he returned to college at University of Iowa, where he graduated

Tennessee Williams Changed his name at age 28 when he moved to New Orleans. Chose Tennessee because his father came from there. New Orleans inspired one of his most famous plays: A Streetcar Named Desire While in New Orleans, he got his writing agent: Audrey Wood.

Most Notable Plays Cat on a Hot Tin Roof – In which his father inspired the character Big Daddy A Streetcar Named Desire – Which won him the Pulitzer Prize The Glass Menagerie – In which Tennessee’s own mother inspired the mother figure, Amanda Wingfield – His mentally fragile sister, Rose, inspired the daughter, Laura

The Glass Menagerie Debuted on Broadway on March 31, 1945 Critics and audiences loved the play Helped him make a true living off of play writing Setting: The South. Plot: A girl and her mother live together in a tenement, where they keep themselves somewhat, sadly removed from the real world

A Street Car Named Desire Debuted on Broadway December 3, 1947 Pulitzer Prize winner Setting: Laurel, Mississippi Plot: Blanche DuBois is an alcoholic Southern Bell who is trying to hide her pitiful life from others. Eventually, however, a man, Stanley, cruelly gets her to tell the truth and then puts her in a mental institution.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Opened on Broadway March 24, 1995 Won a Pulitzer Prize Was Tennessee’s personal favorite play Setting: Mississippi plantation home Plot: A story about a husband and wife trying to overcome marital and family issues. Themes: Greed, repression, death

Sad fact… Tennessee’s sister, Rose, was mentally unstable. While Tennessee was away from home as a teen, Rose was lobotomized (someone literally scraped away the front part of her brain with a pick, which entered the brain from behind the eyeball). The lobotomy was a failure, though, and she ended up even more mentally ill. Thus she was put in a mental hospital for the rest of her life.

More Sadness… Tennessee often suffered from bouts of severe depression. Depression led to alcoholism. Alcoholism led to drugs. Drugs and alcoholism led to death for Tennessee Williams in New York City, February 25, 1983.