William Inge - Playwright

Born on May 3, 1913, in Independence, Kansas, William Motter Inge was the youngest of five children. Inge was educated at the University of Kansas at Lawrence where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech and Drama in 1935. He earned a Master of Arts Degree from the George Peabody College for Teachers in 1943. Inge then moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he landed a job as the drama and music critic for the St. Louis Times. When working at the paper he met Tennessee Williams, who invited the young critic to attend a production of THE GLASS MENAGERIE. Inge was so inspired by Williams' play that he decided to try his hand as a playwright. After completing his first script, FARTHER OFF FROM HEAVEN (1947), Inge sent a copy to Williams who recommended it for production. The play was produced in Dallas, Texas. Inge's next literary effort, COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA (1950) earned him the title of "most promising playwright of the 1950 Broadway season," but his career was only beginning to gain momentum as he had three more successive Broadway triumphs. PICNIC (1953) won him a Pulitzer Prize, the Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Circle Award, and the Theatre Club Award. In addition, PICNIC was made into a film in 1955, directed by Joshua Logan and starring William Holden, Kim Novak, Rosalind Russell and Cliff Robertson.  Back on Broadway, next came BUS STOP (1955) and two years later, THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS (1957), a reworking of his first play. By this time, critics were hailing Inge as another Tennessee Williams. Unfortunately, his later works would not fulfill that promise. THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS was followed by a string of box office failures including A LOSS OF ROSES (1960), NATURAL AFFECTION (1963), WHERE'S DADDY? (1966) and THE LAST PAD (1970). Inge's only real success during this period was his screenplay for Splendor in the Grass (1961) for which he won an Academy Award. Convinced that he could no longer write, Inge fell into a deep depression, and on June 10, 1973, at his home in the Hollywood Hills, William Inge took his own life.