Tennessee Williams
Birthday:
26 March 1911, Columbus, Mississippi, USA
Birth Name:
Thomas Lanier Williams
Tennessee Williams met long-term partner Frank Merlo in the summer of 1948 (Merlo died of lung cancer in the fall of 1963). Though separated briefly in 1961 and again in 1962, the two were partners for 15 years. Merlo acted as his personal manager/secretary.Williams spent much of his most prolific years in Rome, Italy, and his enduring friendship w...
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Tennessee Williams met long-term partner Frank Merlo in the summer of 1948 (Merlo died of lung cancer in the fall of 1963). Though separated briefly in 1961 and again in 1962, the two were partners for 15 years. Merlo acted as his personal manager/secretary.Williams spent much of his most prolific years in Rome, Italy, and his enduring friendship with Italian stage and screen legend Anna Magnani lasted 24 years and inspired both "The Rose Tattoo" and "Orpheus Descending". Magnani realized the lead parts of these two plays, which were written for her, in their film versions. The turbulent and inspirational friendship shared between Williams and Magnani is the subject of the internationally acclaimed play "Roman Nights" by Franco D'Alessandro.Aside from his published "Memoirs", the only authorized biographical book on Williams is by Bruce Smith, entitled "Costly Performances - Tennessee Williams; The Last Stage." This book deals with the last four years of Williams' life (1979-1983). Show less «
Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory.
Why did I write? Because I found life unsatisfactory.
[on Marlon Brando] He loves the light! See how the light shines through him? . . . I shouldn't be partial, but he is my favorite one.
[on Marlon Brando] He loves the light! See how the light shines through him? . . . I shouldn't be partial, but he is my favorite one.
A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.
A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages.
Eli Wallach has discovered the secret of pissing people off. He's happy.
Eli Wallach has discovered the secret of pissing people off. He's happy.
Why pick on [Elia] Kazan just because he made a mistake sixteen years ago and joined the Communist Party when he didn't know what it was all...Show more »
Why pick on [Elia] Kazan just because he made a mistake sixteen years ago and joined the Communist Party when he didn't know what it was all about? If you keep it up, there won't be anybody out here but those who know how to make B-pictures. Show less «
[on alcoholic episodes in his later years] I was always falling down, and I would always say, 'I'm about to fall down', and almost nobody ev...Show more »
[on alcoholic episodes in his later years] I was always falling down, and I would always say, 'I'm about to fall down', and almost nobody ever caught me. Show less «
[re his assignment to write screenplay for Lana Turner] I think that it is one of the funniest but most embarrassing things that ever happen...Show more »
[re his assignment to write screenplay for Lana Turner] I think that it is one of the funniest but most embarrassing things that ever happened to me, that I should be expected to produce a suitable vehicle for this actress. I feel like an obstetrician required to successfully deliver a mastodon from a beaver. Show less «
[on public acknowledgment of his homosexuality] To feel some humiliation and a great deal of sorrow at times is inevitable. But feeling guil...Show more »
[on public acknowledgment of his homosexuality] To feel some humiliation and a great deal of sorrow at times is inevitable. But feeling guilty is foolish. I am a deeper and warmer and kinder man for my deviation. More conscious of need in others, and what power I have to express the human heart must be in large part due to this circumstance. Show less «
[on celebrity] Being successful,and famous makes such demands! I wanted it and still want it with one part of me, but that isn't the part of...Show more »
[on celebrity] Being successful,and famous makes such demands! I wanted it and still want it with one part of me, but that isn't the part of me that is important or creative. Show less «
[April 1947] Nobody sees anybody truly. Vanity, fear, desire, competition - all such distortions within our own egos - condition our vision ...Show more »
[April 1947] Nobody sees anybody truly. Vanity, fear, desire, competition - all such distortions within our own egos - condition our vision of those in relation to us. Add to those distortions in our own egos, the corresponding distortions in the eyes of the others - and you see how cloudy the glass must become through which we look at each other. Show less «
[1983] I've gone from good reviews, to bad reviews, to no reviews.
[1983] I've gone from good reviews, to bad reviews, to no reviews.
[May 1982] I don't understand my life, past or present, nor do I understand life itself. Death seems more comprehensible to me.
[May 1982] I don't understand my life, past or present, nor do I understand life itself. Death seems more comprehensible to me.
Tennessee Williams's Photos
