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Horton Foote





PLAYWRITING CAREER

Foote has had plays produced on Broadway , Off-Broadway , Off-Off-Broadway and at many Regional Theatres . They include ''Getting Frankie Married—and Afterwards'', which received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory in 2002 , ''The Carpetbagger's Children'', ''Last of the Thortons'', ''The Chase'', '' The Trip To Bountiful ,'' ''The Habitation of Dragons'', ''Night Seasons'', ''Tomorrow'', ''The Orphan's Home Cycle'' (''Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts, Lily Dale, The Widow Claire, Courtship, Valentine's Day, 1918, Cousins, The Death of Papa''), ''Dividing the Estate'', ''Talking Pictures'', ''The Roads to Home'', ''Laura Dennis'', ''Vernon Early'' and many One-act Plays . He wrote the English adaptation of the original Japanese book for the 1970 musical '' Scarlett ''. He won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize For Drama for '' The Young Man From Atlanta ''. The Goodman Theatre production that was presented on Broadway in New York City in 1997 was nominated for Best Play, but did not win. The production starred Rip Torn , Shirley Knight and William Biff McGuire . Knight and McGuire were also nominated for Tony Awards.


SCREENWRITING CAREER

Foote received an Academy Award For Writing Adapted Screenplay and the Writers Guild Of America Screen Award for his adaptation of '' To Kill A Mockingbird '' in 1962 . His original screenplay Tender Mercies won an Academy Award For Writing Original Screenplay , as well as the Writers Guild Of America Award for Best Screenplay.

His other film scripts include '' Baby The Rain Must Fall '' starring Steve McQueen and Lee Remick , which was based on his play ''The Travelling Lady''. The film was directed by Robert Mulligan who had worked with Foote on ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' a few years earlier.

Foote generally wrote screenplays that were based on his plays, such as the semi-autobiographic trilogy of ''1918'' (1985), ''On Valentine's Day'' (1986) and ''Courtship'' (1987).

His screenplay for The Trip To Bountiful (1985) garnered him another Academy Award nomination. The film, in which star Geraldine Page won an Academy Award for Best Actress, was based on his 1953 television play that was later adapted for Broadway.

He also adapted works by other authors such as John Steinbeck ('' Of Mice And Men '' directed by and starring Gary Sinise with John Malkovich ) and William Faulkner (a 1997 television adaptation of ''Old Man'', for which Foote won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing of a Miniseries or Special). He also adapted Faulkner's short story into the 1972 film ''Tomorrow'' starring Robert Duvall . Foote had originally adapted the story into a play before it was made into a film. Leonard Maltin, in his movie guide book, calls the movie the best film adaptation of any of Faulkner's work.

Playwright Lillian Hellman adapted his play for the 1966 film '' The Chase '' with Marlon Brando , Jane Fonda and Robert Redford .


TRIVIA


His children are in show business: actors Horton Foote, Jr. and Hallie Foote; playwright Daisy Foote and director Walter Foote. All four have worked with their father in at least several projects.

His cousin is actor-turned-director '', ''Convicts'' and the Hallmark Hall of Fame television production of ''Lily Dale'', which starred Mary Stuart Masterson.

REFERENCES


Horton Foote Jr. is no longer an actor like his sister, Barbara Hallie, but a restauranteur of Tavern on Jane and Tavern on Dean in New York City. Walter Foote has retired from his days as a director and is a commercial real estate attorney in Westchester County.


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