Cleveland Play House (CPH) is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1915 and built its own noted theater complex in 1927. Currently the company performs at the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square where it has been based since 2011.
113-506: Cleveland Play House is organized like most American theater companies, with a board of directors and a number of administrators. The Board of Directors is chaired by Anne Marie Warren. The Artistic Director is Laura Kepley. The Managing Director was Kevin Moore until his death in 2020. The theater's national directors are Alan Alda , Austin Pendleton , and Joel Grey . The theatre received
226-515: A Tony Award . Williams's work reached wider audiences in the early 1950s when The Glass Menagerie and A Streetcar Named Desire were adapted into motion pictures. Later plays also adapted for the screen included Cat on a Hot Tin Roof , The Rose Tattoo , Orpheus Descending , The Night of the Iguana , Sweet Bird of Youth , and Summer and Smoke . After the extraordinary successes of
339-569: A game show panelist on the 1968 revival of What's My Line? , and on I've Got a Secret during its 1972 syndication revival. Alda wrote several of the stories and poems featured in Marlo Thomas ' television show Free to Be... You and Me . In early 1972, Alda was selected to play Hawkeye Pierce in the TV adaptation of the 1970 film M*A*S*H . He was nominated for 21 Emmy Awards , and won five. He took part in writing 19 episodes, including
452-421: A 2005 St. Jude Children's Hospital -produced one-hour special TV show Fighting for Life . His wife, Arlene, and he are also close friends of Marlo Thomas , who is very active in fund-raising for the hospital that her father, Danny Thomas founded. The television special featured Ben Bowen as one of six patients being treated for childhood cancer at Saint Jude. Alda and Marlo Thomas had also worked together in
565-802: A B.A. in English in August 1938. He later studied at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City. Speaking of his early days as a playwright and an early collaborative play called Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay! , Williams wrote, "The laughter ... enchanted me. Then and there the theatre and I found each other for better and for worse. I know it's the only thing that saved my life." Around 1939, he adopted Tennessee Williams as his professional name, in acknowledgement of his Southern accent and roots. Williams's writings reference some of
678-502: A Good Wife Be a Good Sport?" A year later, his short story " The Vengeance of Nitocris " was published (as by "Thomas Lanier Williams") in the August 1928 issue of the magazine Weird Tales . These early publications did not lead to any significant recognition or appreciation of Williams's talent, and he would struggle for more than a decade to establish his writing career. Later, in 1928, Williams first visited Europe with his maternal grandfather Dakin. From 1929 to 1931, Williams attended
791-587: A centerpiece production. Cleveland Play House has showcased many playwrights and their emerging work at New Ground Theatre Festival, including Jordan Harrison ( Marjorie Prime , 2013), George Brant ( Grounded , 2014), Elizabeth A. Davis ( Joe , 2014), Kirsten Greenidge ( Little Roe Boat or, Conjecture , 2016), and Eric Coble( Fairfield , 2014, Feed 2016, These Mortal Hosts , 2017). Alan Alda , Joel Grey , Margaret Hamilton , Paul Newman , Elizabeth Hartman , Eleanor Parker , June Squibb , Ray Walston , Jack Weston , Grant Show and James Riordan are among
904-642: A co-starring role as Dr. Robert Gallo in the 1993 television film And the Band Played On . He continued appearing in the films of his friend Woody Allen, including Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996). When asked about the controversy surrounding Allen in 2019, Alda stated, "I'd work with him again if he wanted me. I'm not qualified to judge him... I just don't have enough information to convince me I shouldn't work with him. And he's an enormously talented guy." Alda played Nobel Prize–winning physicist Richard Feynman in
1017-422: A combination of "sweetness" and "beastliness". Because Carroll had a drug problem, as did Williams, friends including Maria Britneva saw the relationship as destructive. Williams wrote that Carroll played on his "acute loneliness" as an aging gay man. When the two men broke up in 1979, Williams called Carroll a "twerp", but they remained friends until Williams died four years later. On February 25, 1983, Williams
1130-454: A different area and period of theatre, as well as a cumulative study of voice, movement, and technique. Cleveland Play House teaches pre-K to MFA so children can start learning and developing skills when they are young. New Ground Theatre Festival (formerly known as FusionFest) is an annual showcase of new theatrical works. Cleveland Play House develops and presents a variety of new work from nationally recognized artists, and each year produces
1243-556: A frequent panelist on What's My Line? and To Tell the Truth . He also wrote and starred in the title role of the 1979 political drama film The Seduction of Joe Tynan . His favorite episodes of M*A*S*H are " Dear Sigmund " and "In Love and War". In 1996, Alda was ranked 41st on TV Guide ' s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time. Alda's prominence in M*A*S*H provided him a platform to speak out on political topics. He has been
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#17327799665431356-506: A long Broadway run. Elia Kazan (who directed many of Williams's greatest successes) said of Williams: "Everything in his life is in his plays, and everything in his plays is in his life." The Glass Menagerie won the award for the best play of the season, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. The huge success of his next play, A Streetcar Named Desire , cemented his reputation as a great playwright in 1947. During
1469-566: A long era of growth and prosperity. A new Cleveland Play House facility, built in 1927, housed the Brooks Theatre and the Drury Theatre. To accommodate its growth, CPH in 1949 opened the 77th Street Theatre in a converted church, which featured America's first open stage – the forerunner of the thrust stage that was popularized in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s, the 77th Street Theatre was closed, Cleveland Play House purchased
1582-716: A modest house in Key West, Florida were Williams's happiest and most productive. Shortly after their breakup, Merlo was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer. Williams returned to him and cared for him until his death on September 20, 1963. In the years following Merlo's death, Williams descended into a period of nearly catatonic depression and increasing drug use, which resulted in several hospitalizations and commitments to mental health facilities. He submitted to injections by Dr. Max Jacobson , known popularly as Dr. Feelgood, who used increasing amounts of amphetamines to overcome his depression. Jacobson combined these with prescriptions for
1695-478: A muscle, you need to exercise it. Take a break; think about what you've done." Filmmaker David Wain explained, "The joke was that in saying how bad these campers are, she compares them to a truly respected theater company. I figured why not make a reference to my hometown?" Alan Alda Alan Alda ( / ˈ ɑː l d ə / ; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo ; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and
1808-693: A new narrative. The show premiered at the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival. The show was recorded on CD and distributed by Ghostlight Records . In 2014 Williams was one of the inaugural honorees in the Rainbow Honor Walk , a walk of fame in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood noting LGBTQ people who have "made significant contributions in their fields." In 2015, The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans
1921-603: A play about rebellion against religious upbringing, he became the first freshman to receive honorable mention in a writing competition. At University of Missouri, Williams joined the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, but he did not fit in well with his fraternity brothers. After he failed a military training course in his junior year, his father pulled him out of school and put him to work at the International Shoe Company factory. Although Williams hated
2034-598: A recurring role on NBC 's The Office . Elizabeth A. Davis (class of 2006), was nominated for a Tony for her performance in Once . During the students' third year in the program, they are engaged on an Actors' Equity contract in a Cleveland Play House main stage production. Students conclude their studies by performing in an agent showcase in New York. During their term of study, the students are also cast in readings and other smaller productions. Each year of study focuses on
2147-577: A result, the Play House in its early years performed for a select group of individuals interested in avant-garde art, rather than the larger community of Cleveland. The Play House was founded midway through a decade of cultural renaissance in Cleveland. Through a partnership of idealistic vision and philanthropic largess, many of Cleveland's major cultural organizations were formed between 1910 and 1920—Cleveland Music School Settlement, Karamu House ,
2260-579: A strong and vocal supporter of women's rights and the feminist movement . He co-chaired, with former First Lady Betty Ford , the Equal Rights Amendment Countdown campaign. In 1976, The Boston Globe dubbed him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon" for his activism on behalf of the Equal Rights Amendment. During M*A*S*H ' s run and continuing through the 1980s, Alda embarked on
2373-532: A successful career as a writer and director, with the ensemble dramedy , The Four Seasons being perhaps his most notable hit. After M*A*S*H , Alda took on a series of roles that either parodied or directly contradicted his "nice guy" image. He then partnered with producer Martin Bregman on various films, first with an agreement at Universal Pictures in 1983, then it was moved to Lorimar Motion Pictures in 1986. In 1988, Alda starred opposite Ann-Margret in
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#17327799665432486-672: A supporting player in Gone Are the Days! , a film version of the Broadway play Purlie Victorious , which co-starred Ruby Dee and her husband, Ossie Davis . Other film roles followed, such as his portrayal of author, humorist and actor George Plimpton in the film Paper Lion (1968), as well as The Extraordinary Seaman (1969), and the occult-murder-suspense thriller The Mephisto Waltz with actresses Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Parkins . During this time, Alda frequently appeared as
2599-541: A three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce in the CBS wartime sitcom M*A*S*H (1972–1983). He also wrote and directed numerous episodes of the series. After starring in the films Same Time, Next Year (1978), California Suite (1978), and The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979), he made his directorial film debut The Four Seasons (1981). Alda
2712-518: A time in the reserves in New York City. In a 2013 interview, he joked that he was in charge of a mess tent. Alda's half-brother Antony Alda was born in 1956 and also became an actor. Alda began his career in the 1950s as a member of the Compass Players , an improvisational comedy revue directed by Paul Sills . He later joined the improvisational group Second City in Chicago. He joined
2825-500: A toxic level of Seconal . He wrote in his will in 1972: I, Thomas Lanier (Tennessee) Williams, being in sound mind upon this subject, and having declared this wish repeatedly to my close friends-do hereby state my desire to be buried at sea. More specifically, I wish to be buried at sea at as close a possible point as the American poet Hart Crane died by choice in the sea; this would be ascrnatible [sic], this geographic point, by
2938-507: A warm-hearted lawyer who represents a stage director ( Adam Driver ) during the divorce proceedings. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal , Alda discussed the effects of his illness, mainly Parkinson's disease , and other related issues. He stated, "I have this tremor. It's not part of the script so I didn't want it to be distracting if Noah thought it would be distracting." Alda has received widespread acclaim for his performance. Alda has done extensive charity work. He helped narrate
3051-736: A young child, Williams nearly died from a case of diphtheria that left him frail and virtually confined to his house during a year of recuperation. At least partly due to his illness, he was considered a weak child by his father. Cornelius Williams, a descendant of East Tennessee pioneers, had a violent temper and was prone to use his fists. He regarded what he thought was his son's effeminacy with disdain. Edwina, locked in an unhappy marriage, focused her attention almost entirely on her frail young son. Critics and historians agree that Williams drew from his own dysfunctional family in much of his writing and that his desire to break free from his puritan upbringing propelled him towards writing. When Williams
3164-761: A young doctor with his understanding of medical procedures, which he had learned from M*A*S*H . He also talks about his mother's battle with schizophrenia . The title comes from an incident in his childhood, when Alda was distraught about his dog dying and his well-meaning father had the animal stuffed . Alda was horrified by the results, and took from this that sometimes we have to accept things as they are, rather than desperately and fruitlessly trying to change them. His second memoir, Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself (2008), weaves together advice from public speeches he has given with personal recollections about his life and beliefs. His third memoir, If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? My Adventures in
3277-674: A young woman. In 1943, as her behavior became increasingly disturbing, she was subjected to a lobotomy , requiring her to be institutionalised for the rest of her life. As soon as he was financially able, Williams moved Rose to a private institution just north of New York City , where he often visited her. He gave her a percentage interest in several of his most successful plays, the royalties from which were applied toward her care. The devastating effects of Rose's treatment may have contributed to Williams's alcoholism and his dependence on various combinations of amphetamines and barbiturates . After some early attempts at relationships with women, by
3390-546: Is also known for his roles on Broadway acting in Purlie Victorious (1961) and receiving three Tony Award nominations for his performances in The Apple Tree (1967), Jake's Women (1992), and Glengarry Glen Ross (2005). In 2008 he received a Grammy Award for Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording nomination for Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself . In 2019, Alda received
3503-693: Is buried. According to the New York Times , "most of his estate was left to the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn., with the bulk of it to remain in trust for his sister during her lifetime." Rose Williams, Tennessee's sister, died in 1996 after many years in a mental institution in New York state; the university subsequently received about $ 7 million, which supports a creative writing program. From February 1 to July 21, 2011, to commemorate
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3616-429: Is named for him. The Tennessee Williams Key West Exhibit on Truman Avenue houses rare Williams memorabilia, photographs, and pictures including his famous typewriter. At the time of his death, Williams had been working on a final play, In Masks Outrageous and Austere , which attempted to reconcile certain forces and facts of his own life. This was a continuing theme in his work. As of September 2007, author Gore Vidal
3729-985: Is now located along the lakeshore in Cleveland, and administrative offices and education center are on East 13th Street. The list of plays and playwrights that have had premiers at Cleveland Play House is impressive, the most notable being Tennessee Williams ' You Touched Me , and Bertolt Brecht 's Mother Courage . Other notable premiers include The Pleasure of Honesty by Luigi Pirandello , Simone by Ben Hecht , Translations by Brian Friel , A Decent Birth by William Saroyan , Command by William Wister Haines , Ten Times Table by Alan Ayckbourn , The March on Russia by David Storey , The Archbishop's Ceiling by Arthur Miller , First Monday in October by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee , Lillian by William Luce, The Cemetery Club by Ivan Menchell, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds by Paul Zindel , Jerusalem by Seth Greenland , The Smell of
3842-666: Is said to be inspired by "two old men at the Strand buying a copy of Alda's book". Before bringing Alda onstage, Mulaney said, "This is genuinely the best guest we ever had." From 2018 to 2020, Alda portrayed psychiatrist Dr. Arthur Amiot in the Showtime 's Ray Donovan . He reprised this role in Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022). In 2019, Alda appeared in Noah Baumbach 's thirteenth film, Marriage Story , as
3955-735: The 2015 Regional Theatre Tony Award on June 7, 2015 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City . In the early 1900s Cleveland theatre featured mostly vaudeville, melodrama, burlesque and light entertainment. In 1915 a select group of ten Clevelanders met in the home of Charles S. and Minerva Brooks to discuss the formation of an Art Theatre. Those present in addition to the Brooks were Walter and Julia McCune Flory, Raymond O'Neil , Ernest and Katharine Angell , Henry and Anna Hohnhorst, George Clisbee, Grace Treat, and Marthena Barrie. Together, they formed Cleveland Play House and named O'Neil as
4068-766: The Cleveland Museum of Art , the Cleveland Orchestra , the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History . After moving through several facilities in its first two years, the Play House purchased and renovated a church at Cedar Avenue and East 73rd Street, and opened the Cedar Avenue Theatre in December 1917. The new facility seated 160 and marked a turn toward professionalism. Soon after this,
4181-675: The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Senator Arnold Vinick in the NBC series The West Wing . Other Emmy-nominated roles include in And the Band Played On in 1993, ER in 2000, 30 Rock in 2009, and The Blacklist in 2015. He also had recurring roles in The Big C (2011–2013), Horace and Pete (2016), Ray Donovan (2018–2020), and The Good Fight (2018–2019). Alda
4294-623: The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 2018. He has also received numerous Honorary degrees . Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams , was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller , he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. At age 33, after years of obscurity, Williams suddenly became famous with
4407-565: The Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award . He hosts the podcast Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda and previously hosted Science Clear+Vivid . Alda was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo on January 28, 1936, in Manhattan , New York City . He spent his childhood travelling around the United States with his parents, in support of his father's job as a performer. His father, Robert Alda (born Alfonso Giuseppe Giovanni Roberto D'Abruzzo),
4520-596: The U.S. Navy during World War II . This was the enduring romantic relationship of Williams's life, and it lasted 14 years until infidelities and drug abuse on both sides ended it. Merlo, who had become Williams's personal secretary, took on most of the details of their domestic life. He provided a period of happiness and stability, acting as a balance to the playwright's frequent bouts with depression. Williams feared that, like his sister Rose, he would fall into insanity. His years with Merlo, in an apartment in Manhattan and
4633-577: The University of Missouri in Columbia , where he enrolled in journalism classes. He was bored by his classes and distracted by unrequited love for a girl. Soon he began entering his poetry, essays, stories, and plays in writing contests, hoping to earn extra income. His first submitted play was Beauty Is the Word (1930), followed by Hot Milk at Three in the Morning (1932). As recognition for Beauty,
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4746-563: The 100th anniversary of his birth, the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, the home of Williams's archive, exhibited 250 of his personal items. The exhibit, titled "Becoming Tennessee Williams", included a collection of Williams manuscripts, correspondence, photographs and artwork. The Ransom Center holds the earliest and largest collections of Williams's papers, including all of his earliest manuscripts,
4859-410: The 1940s and 1950s, he had more personal turmoil and theatrical failures in the 1960s and 1970s. Although he continued to write every day, the quality of his work suffered from his increasing alcohol and drug consumption, as well as occasional poor choices of collaborators. In 1963, his partner Frank Merlo died. Consumed by depression over the loss, and in and out of treatment facilities while under
4972-456: The 1970s, when he was in his 60s, Williams had a lengthy relationship with Robert Carroll, a Vietnam War veteran and aspiring writer in his 20s. Williams had deep affection for Carroll and respect for what he saw as the younger man's talents. Along with Williams's sister Rose, Carroll was one of the two people who received a bequest in Williams's will. Williams described Carroll's behavior as
5085-549: The 1983 2.5-hour series finale " Goodbye, Farewell and Amen ", which was also the 32nd episode he directed. Alda was the only series regular to appear in all 256 episodes. Alda commuted from Los Angeles to his home in New Jersey every weekend for 11 years while starring in M*A*S*H . His wife and daughters lived in New Jersey and he did not want to move his family to Los Angeles, initially because he did not know how long
5198-570: The Alan Alda "dramatic" years (1977–1983). Alda disagreed with this assessment. In a 2016 interview he said, "I don't like to write political messages. I don't like plays that have political messages. I do not think I am responsible for that." Alda and his co-stars Wayne Rogers and McLean Stevenson worked well together during the first three seasons, but over time tensions developed as Alda's role grew in popularity and disrupted their characters' original 'equal' standing. Rogers and Stevenson left
5311-556: The Art and Science of Relating and Communicating (2017), is a story of his quest to learn how to communicate better, and to teach others to do the same. Alda has received numerous accolades including six Primetime Emmy Awards and six Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for an Academy Award , two BAFTA Awards , a Grammy Award , and three Tony Awards . He was inducted in the Television Hall of Fame in 1994, and received
5424-971: The Bronx, where he was a student staff member of its FM radio station, WFUV . During his junior year, he studied in Paris, acted in a play in Rome, and performed with his father on television in Amsterdam . In 1956, Alda received his Bachelor of Arts degree. A member of the ROTC , he entered the United States Army Reserve and served for six months at Fort Benning . Despite some erroneous reports on military sites that Alda then served in Korea, he has repeatedly said he did not serve there, instead following up active duty of six months at Fort Benning with
5537-606: The CEO of the advertising firm where the main characters worked. In early 2005, Alda starred as Shelly Levene in the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of David Mamet 's Glengarry Glen Ross , for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play losing to his co-star Liev Schreiber . Throughout 2009 and 2010, he appeared in three episodes of 30 Rock as Milton Greene,
5650-669: The CPH artistic staff, where they read their works-in-progress and provide each other with feedback. Many of the plays developed in the Playwrights' Unit have been produced by Cleveland Play House, other Cleveland area theatres, and across the United States. Admission into the Playwrights' Unit is by invitation. Currently the CPH Playwrights' Unit consists of Eric Coble, Michael Geither, David Hansen , Margaret Lynch, Deborah Magid , Michael Oatman & Eric Schmiedl. Founded in 1996,
5763-460: The Director. Their initial productions were performed in a home donated by Cleveland industrialist Francis Drury located at East 85th and Euclid Avenue. O'Neil was a devotee of the artistic ideals of Edward Gordon Craig , and the Play House's earliest productions reflect this. The founders of the Play House were bohemians and suffragists, and were thus outsiders in conservative Cleveland society. As
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#17327799665435876-491: The Kill by Michele Lowe, and Bright Ideas by Eric Coble . Cleveland Play House continues to have a strong commitment to new works, especially those written by Ohio playwrights. T At least one mainstage production in each season is a new play. The Playwrights' Unit is a group of playwrights from the Cleveland area who receive creative and administrative support from Cleveland Play House. The Unit meets regularly with members of
5989-510: The MFA program at Cleveland Play House is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University . The master's degree for actors is a three-year program with a new class beginning study every other year. Tuition is waived, and an annual living stipend is awarded to each student automatically. The most notable graduate to date is Rich Sommer (class of 2004), who is featured on the AMC series Mad Men and had
6102-598: The November 1964 world premiere at the ANTA Playhouse of the stage version of The Owl and The Pussycat , he played Felix the Owl, opposite Pussycat played by actress/singer Diana Sands , an African-American actress; their onstage kiss prompted hate mail. He continued to play Felix the Owl for the 1964–65 Broadway season. In 1966, he starred in the musical The Apple Tree on Broadway with Barbara Harris , and
6215-465: The Play House began to struggle financially, and the Board of Directors became increasingly dissatisfied with Raymond O'Neil's leadership. The resulting arguments led to O'Neil's resignation in 1921. The board subsequently hired Frederic McConnell as the next Director, along with his associates K. Elmo Lowe and Max Eisenstat as assistants. The three transformed CPH into a popular regional theatre, ushering in
6328-667: The Rockefeller funds, Williams moved to New Orleans in 1939 to write for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a federally funded program of the New Deal era. Williams lived for a time in New Orleans' French Quarter , including 722 Toulouse Street, the setting of his 1977 play Vieux Carré . The building is now part of The Historic New Orleans Collection . The Rockefeller grant brought him to
6441-627: The Sears building and the world-renowned architect Philip Johnson designed significant additions for the complex, including the Bolton Theatre. With the 1927 buildings, the Sears building and the Johnson buildings taken together, the complex for CPH became the largest regional theatre complex in the country. In 2009, through a collaboration called "The Power of Three," CPH partnered with Playhouse Square and Cleveland State University to create
6554-553: The Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival has been held annually in New Orleans, Louisiana, in commemoration of the playwright. The festival takes place at the end of March to coincide with Williams's birthday. The Tennessee Williams Songbook is a one woman show written and directed by David Kaplan, a Williams scholar and curator of Provincetown 's Tennessee Williams Festival, and starring Tony Award nominated actress Alison Fraser . The show features songs taken from plays of Williams's canon, woven together with text to create
6667-632: The United States government's fictional Department of Strategic Resources (DeStRes). Alda returned to Broadway in November 2014, playing the role of Andrew Makepeace in the revival of Love Letters at the Brooks Atkinson Theater alongside Candice Bergen . In 2015, Alda appeared as a lawyer, Thomas Watters, alongside Tom Hanks as James Donovan, in Steven Spielberg 's critically acclaimed cold war drama film Bridge of Spies which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture . In 2016, Alda gained critical praise for his performance in Louis C.K. 's acclaimed web-based series Horace and Pete as
6780-449: The acting company at the Cleveland Play House during their 1958–1959 season as part of a grant from the Ford Foundation , appearing in productions such as To Dorothy a Son , Heaven Come Wednesday , Monique , and Job . In 1958, he appeared as Carlyle Thompson III on The Phil Silvers Show in the episode titled "Bilko the Art Lover". Alda portrayed Charlie Cotchipee in the 1961 Ossie Davis play Purlie Victorious on Broadway. In
6893-419: The attention of the Hollywood film industry and Williams received a six-month contract as a writer from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio, earning $ 250 weekly. During the winter of 1944–45, his memory play The Glass Menagerie, developed from his 1943 short story "Portrait of a Girl in Glass", was produced in Chicago and garnered good reviews. It moved to New York where it became an instant hit and enjoyed
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#17327799665437006-403: The biological father of Jack Donaghy , played by Alec Baldwin . In January 2010, Alda hosted The Human Spark , a three-part series originally broadcast on PBS discussing the nature of human uniqueness and recent studies on the human brain. In 2006, Alda contributed his voice to a part in the audio book of Max Brooks ' World War Z . In this book, he voiced Arthur Sinclair Jr., the director of
7119-531: The board of the World Science Festival and is a judge for Math-O-Vision . Alda has an avid interest in cosmology , and participated in BBC coverage of the opening of the Large Hadron Collider , at CERN , Geneva, in September 2008. He was named an Honorary Fellow by the Society for Technical Communication in 2014 for his work with the Center for Communicating Science and the annual Flame Challenge. Alda would like to use his expertise in acting and communication to help scientists communicate more effectively to
7232-460: The control of his mother and brother Dakin, Williams spiraled downward. His plays Kingdom of Earth (1967), In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel (1969), Small Craft Warnings (1973), The Two Character Play (also called Out Cry , 1973), The Red Devil Battery Sign (1976), Vieux Carré (1978), Clothes for a Summer Hotel (1980), and others were all box office failures. Negative press notices wore down his spirit. His last play, A House Not Meant to Stand,
7345-421: The drag." Between 1948 and 1959 Williams had seven of his plays produced on Broadway: Summer and Smoke (1948), The Rose Tattoo (1951), Camino Real (1953), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Orpheus Descending (1957), Garden District (1958), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1959). By 1959, he had earned two Pulitzer Prizes , three New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, three Donaldson Awards , and
7458-406: The early 1970s on a critically acclaimed children's album entitled Free to Be You and Me , which featured Alda, Thomas, and a number of other well-known character actors. This project remains one of the earliest public signs of his support of women's rights. Alda chaired "Men for the Equal Rights Amendment" and was appointed to the International Women's Year Commission. For 14 years, he served as
7571-424: The excitement, mystery and marvels of science. In 1956, while attending Fordham, Alda met Arlene Weiss , who was attending Hunter College . They bonded at a mutual friend's dinner party; when a rum cake accidentally fell onto the kitchen floor, they were the only two guests who did not hesitate to eat it. He addressed the incident saying "We did eat the rum cake off the floor and were inseparable after that. But I
7684-468: The festival produced A Streetcar Named Desire . The U.S. Postal Service honored Williams on a stamp issued on October 13, 1995 as part of its literary arts series. Williams is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame . He is also inducted into the Clarksdale Walk of Fame . On October 17, 2019, the Mississippi Writers Trail installed a historical marker commemorating William's literary contributions during his namesake festival produced by
7797-428: The finest American plays of the 20th century alongside Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night and Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman . Much of Williams's most acclaimed work has been adapted for the cinema. He also wrote short stories, poetry, essays, and a volume of memoirs. In 1979, four years before his death, Williams was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame . Thomas Lanier Williams III
7910-419: The host of Scientific American Frontiers , a television show that explored cutting-edge advances in science and technology. In 2010, he became a visiting professor at Stony Brook University . In 2009, he was a founder of the university's Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science . He continues as a member of its advisory board. He is also on the advisory board of the Future of Life Institute. He serves on
8023-436: The irascible Uncle Pete. IndieWire critic Sam Adams described as "his best role in years". In regards to C.K.'s recent scandal, Alda stated, "I respect Louis so much as an artist. But he did a terrible thing, and I hope he finds a way to come to terms with both of those things." Also in 2016, Alda took part in the opening night show of John Mulaney and Nick Kroll 's Oh, Hello at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. The show
8136-475: The late 1930s, Williams began exploring his homosexuality. In New York City, he joined a gay social circle that included fellow writer and close friend Donald Windham (1920–2010) and Windham's then-boyfriend Fred Melton. In the summer of 1940, Williams initiated a relationship with Kip Kiernan (1918–1944), a young dancer he met in Provincetown, Massachusetts . When Kiernan left him to marry a woman, Williams
8249-585: The late 1930s, he worked at a string of menial jobs that included a stint as caretaker on a chicken ranch in Laguna Beach , California. In 1939, with the help of his agent Audrey Wood , Williams was awarded a $ 1,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation in recognition of his play Battle of Angels . It was produced in Boston , Massachusetts in 1940 and was poorly received. Using some of
8362-462: The late 1940s and 1950s, Williams began to travel widely with his partner Frank Merlo (1922 – September 21, 1963), often spending summers in Europe. He moved often to stimulate his writing, living in New York, New Orleans, Key West , Rome, Barcelona , and London. Williams wrote, "Only some radical change can divert the downward course of my spirit, some startling new place or people to arrest the drift,
8475-472: The many actors whose careers began at the Play House which also operates the nation's oldest community-based-theatre-education programs. In the movie Wet Hot American Summer , when upset about the effort of the actors in a camp play, Amy Poehler as "Susie" says: "OK, stop. I feel like I'm watching regional theatre, you guys. God! Am I in the Cleveland Play House or something? Your craft is
8588-428: The marital comedy A New Life . He also appeared frequently in the films of Woody Allen , beginning with Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). Betsy's Wedding (1990) is Alda's last directing credit to date. He was a guest star five times on ER , playing Dr. Kerry Weaver 's mentor, Gabriel Lawrence . During the later episodes, Lawrence was revealed to be in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease . Alda also had
8701-558: The mid-1930s his mother separated from his father due to his worsening alcoholism and abusive temper. They agreed to a legal separation in 1946 but never divorced. In 1936, Williams enrolled at Washington University in St. Louis where he wrote the play Me, Vashya (1937). After not winning the school's poetry prize, he decided to drop out. In the autumn of 1937, he transferred to the University of Iowa in Iowa City , where he graduated with
8814-404: The monotony, the job forced him out of the gentility of his upbringing. His dislike of his new 9-to-5 routine drove Williams to write prodigiously. He set a goal of writing one story a week. Williams often worked on weekends and late into the night. His mother recalled his intensity: Tom would go to his room with black coffee and cigarettes and I would hear the typewriter clicking away at night in
8927-515: The nearby town of Englewood, New Jersey —a fact mirrored in his character's daydream about eating whitefish from the establishment in an episode of M*A*S*H in which Hawkeye sustains a head injury. In Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself , Alda described how as a teen he was raised as a Roman Catholic and eventually he realized he had begun thinking like an agnostic or atheist. While he states that he still prays on occasion, he said he wants to find meaning in this life rather than worrying about
9040-814: The new Allen Theatre Complex in downtown Cleveland. In July 2009, CPH sold its building at 86th Street and Euclid Avenue to Cleveland Clinic . In September 2011, CPH kicked off its 96th consecutive season in the transformed Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square. Two new venues adjacent to the Allen Theatre came on board in January 2012, the Second Stage (renamed the Outcalt Theatre in 2014) and the Helen Rosenfeld Lewis Bialosky Lab Theatre . A new production center
9153-1012: The next one. He states that when he talks to God it often comes at times of fear rather than out of a sense of belief. Furthermore, he does not like to be labeled as an agnostic, stating in an interview for the 2008 question section of the Edge Foundation website, that it was too fancy a word for him. He argues he simply is not a believer and questions why people are so frightened of others who hold beliefs different from their own. On July 31, 2018, Alda appeared on CBS This Morning and announced he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease three years earlier. In 2005, Alda published his first memoir, Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: and Other Things I've Learned . Among other stories, he recalls his intestines becoming strangulated while on location in La Serena, Chile , for his PBS show Scientific American Frontiers , during which he mildly surprised
9266-610: The papers of his mother Edwina Williams, and those of his long-time agent Audrey Wood . In late 2009, Williams was inducted into the Poets' Corner at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. Performers and artists who took part in his induction included Vanessa Redgrave , playwright John Guare , Eli Wallach , Sylvia Miles , Gregory Mosher , and Ben (Griessmeyer) Berry. The Tennessee Williams Theatre in Key West, Florida,
9379-572: The play QED , which had only one other character. Although Peter Parnell wrote the play, Alda both produced and inspired it. From the fall season of 1993 until the show ended in 2005, Alda was the host for Scientific American Frontiers , which began on PBS in 1990. In 1995, he starred as the President of the United States in Michael Moore 's political satire /comedy film Canadian Bacon . Around this time, rumors circulated that Alda
9492-434: The poets and writers he most admired in his early years: Hart Crane , Arthur Rimbaud , Anton Chekhov , William Shakespeare , Clarence Darrow , D. H. Lawrence , Katherine Mansfield , August Strindberg , William Faulkner , Thomas Wolfe , Emily Dickinson , William Inge , James Joyce , and, according to some, Ernest Hemingway . As Williams was struggling to gain production and an audience for his work in
9605-551: The public". In 2011 Alda wrote Radiance: The Passion of Marie Curie , a full-length play that focuses on Marie Skłodowska Curie 's professional and personal life during the time between the Nobel Prizes won by her for physics and chemistry, from 1903 to 1911. On 18 February 2021, he received the Kavli Foundation 's first-ever Distinguished Kavli Science Communicator award for his pioneering work in communicating
9718-676: The public. In 2014 Alda was awarded the American Chemical Society 's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public for his work in science communication. He was awarded the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal in 2016 "for his extraordinary application of the skills honed as an actor to communicating science on television and stage, and by teaching scientists innovative techniques that allow them to tell their stories to
9831-603: The relationship. Rodríguez and Williams remained friends, however, and were in contact as late as the 1970s. Williams spent the spring and summer of 1948 in Rome in the company of a young man named "Rafaello" in Williams' Memoirs . He provided financial assistance to the younger man for several years afterward. Williams drew from this for his first novel, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone . When he returned to New York City, Williams met and fell in love with Frank Merlo (1921–1963). An occasional actor of Sicilian ancestry, he had served in
9944-539: The role of President Josiah Bartlet before Martin Sheen was ultimately cast in the role. In 2004, Alda portrayed conservative Maine Senator Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese 's Academy Award-winning film The Aviator , in which he co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio . Alda received his first Academy Award nomination for this role in 2005. Alda also had a part in the 2000 romantic comedy What Women Want , as
10057-486: The second. In [his] stories and in those plays, Tennessee validated with his genius our common ticket of transfer."—Biographer and critic Gore Vidal in the Introduction to Tennessee Williams: Collected Stories (1985) Since 2016, St. Louis, Missouri has held an annual Tennessee Williams Festival, featuring a main production and related events such as literary discussions and new plays inspired by his work. In 2018
10170-545: The sedative Seconal to relieve his insomnia. During this time, influenced by his brother, a Roman Catholic convert, Williams joined the Catholic Church, however he never attributed much significance to religion in his personal life. He was never truly able to recoup his earlier success, or to entirely overcome his dependence on prescription drugs. As Williams grew older, he felt increasingly alone; he feared old age and losing his sexual appeal to younger gay men. In
10283-439: The show at the end of the third season. Anticipating the fourth season, Alda and the producers sought a replacement for the surrogate parent role embodied in the character of Colonel Blake. Veteran actor Harry Morgan , who was a fan of the series, joined the cast as Colonel Sherman T. Potter and carried on as one of the show's lead protagonists. Mike Farrell was introduced as Hawkeye's new tentmate BJ Hunnicutt . By 1981, he
10396-418: The show would last. Alda's father Robert Alda and half-brother Antony Alda appeared together in the 20th episode of season eight of M*A*S*H , "Lend a Hand". Robert had previously appeared in "The Consultant" in season three . During the series' first five seasons, its tone was largely that of a traditional "service comedy" in the vein of shows such as McHale's Navy . As the original writers gradually left
10509-486: The show's conclusion in May 2006. He made his premiere in the sixth season's eighth episode, "In The Room", and was added to the opening credits with the 13th episode, "King Corn". In August 2006, Alda won an Emmy for his portrayal of Vinick in the final season of The West Wing . Alda appeared in a total of 28 episodes during the show's sixth and seventh seasons. Alda had been a serious candidate, along with Sidney Poitier , for
10622-467: The show, Alda gained increasing control, and by the final seasons had become a producer and creative consultant. Under his watch, M*A*S*H retained its comedic foundation, but gradually assumed a more serious tone, openly addressing political and social issues. As a result, the 11 years of M*A*S*H are generally split into two eras: the Larry Gelbart / Gene Reynolds "comedy" years (1972–1977), and
10735-461: The silent house. Some mornings when I walked in to wake him for work, I would find him sprawled fully dressed across the bed, too tired to remove his clothes. Overworked, unhappy, and lacking further success with his writing, by his 24th birthday Williams had suffered a nervous breakdown and left his job. Memories of this period and of a particular factory co-worker would contribute to the character Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire . By
10848-428: The success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, Williams attempted a new style that did not appeal as widely to audiences. His drama A Streetcar Named Desire is often numbered on short lists of
10961-535: The various books (biographical) upon his life and death. I wish to be sewn up in a canvas sack and dropped overboard, as stated above, as close as possible to where Hart Crane was given by himself to the great mother of life which is the sea: the Caribbean, specifically, if that fits the geography of his death. Otherwise—whereever fits it [sic]. However, his brother Dakin Williams arranged for him to be buried at Calvary Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, where his mother
11074-642: Was an actor and singer; and his mother, Joan Browne, was a homemaker and former beauty-pageant winner. His father was of Italian descent (D' Abruzzo is a toponymic surname ) and his mother of Irish descent . When Alda was 7, he contracted polio . To combat the disease, his parents administered a painful treatment regimen developed by Sister Elizabeth Kenny , consisting of applying hot woollen blankets to his limbs and stretching his muscles. Alda attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York . He studied English at Fordham University in
11187-472: Was assigned to a parish in Clarksdale, Mississippi , shortly after Williams's birth. Williams lived in his grandfather's Episcopal rectory with his family for much of his early childhood and was close to his grandparents. Among his ancestors was musician and poet Sidney Lanier . He had two siblings, older sister Rose Isabel Williams (1909–1996) and younger brother Walter Dakin Williams (1919 –2008). As
11300-591: Was born in Columbus, Mississippi , of English, Welsh, and Huguenot ancestry, the second child of Edwina Dakin (August 9, 1884 – June 1, 1980) and Cornelius Coffin "C. C." Williams (August 21, 1879 – March 27, 1957). His father was a traveling shoe salesman who became an alcoholic and was frequently away from home. His mother, Edwina, was the daughter of Rose O. Dakin, a music teacher, and the Reverend Walter Dakin, an Episcopal priest from Illinois who
11413-499: Was captivated by her even earlier in the meal when I heard her at the end of the table laughing at my jokes. She had me at Ha." A year after his graduation, on March 15, they were married. They have three daughters: Eve, Elizabeth, and Beatrice . Two of his eight grandchildren are aspiring actors. Arlene sometimes calls him "Fonzi" in reference to his birth name "Alphonso". The Aldas were long-time residents of Leonia, New Jersey . Alda frequented Sol & Sol Deli on Palisade Avenue in
11526-546: Was completing the play, and Peter Bogdanovich was slated to direct its Broadway debut. The play received its world premiere in New York City in April 2012, directed by David Schweizer and starring Shirley Knight as Babe. The rectory of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Columbus, Mississippi, where Williams's grandfather Dakin was rector at the time of Williams's birth, was moved to another location in 1993 for preservation. It
11639-792: Was considering running for the United States Senate in New Jersey , but he denied this. In 1996, Alda played Henry Ford , founder of the Ford Motor Company , in Camping With Henry and Tom , based on the book by Mark St. Germain and appeared in the comedy film, Flirting with Disaster . In 1997, Alda played National Security Adviser Alvin Jordan In Murder at 1600 . In 1999, Alda portrayed Dr. Gabriel Lawrence in NBC program ER for five episodes and
11752-465: Was distraught. Kiernan's death four years later at age 26 was another heavy blow. On a 1945 visit to Taos, New Mexico , Williams met Pancho Rodríguez y González, a hotel clerk of Mexican heritage. Rodríguez was prone to jealous rages and excessive drinking, and their relationship was tempestuous. In February 1946, Rodríguez left New Mexico to join Williams in his New Orleans apartment. They lived and traveled together until late 1947, when Williams ended
11865-730: Was eight years old, his father was promoted to a job at the home office of the International Shoe Company in St. Louis . His mother's continual search for a more appropriate home, as well as his father's heavy drinking and loudly turbulent behavior, caused them to move numerous times around St. Louis. Williams attended Soldan High School , a setting he referred to in his play The Glass Menagerie . Later he studied at University City High School . At age 16, Williams won third prize for an essay published in Smart Set , titled "Can
11978-520: Was found dead at age 71 in his suite at the Hotel Elysée in New York City . Chief Medical Examiner of New York City Elliot M. Gross reported that Williams had choked to death from inhaling the plastic cap of a bottle of the type used on bottles of nasal spray or eye solution. The report was later corrected on August 14, 1983, to state that Williams had been using the plastic cap found in his mouth to ingest barbiturates and had actually died from
12091-405: Was founded by Co-Artistic Directors Nick Shackleford and Augustin J Correro. The New Orleans–based non-profit theatre company is the first year-round professional theatre company that focuses exclusively on the works of Williams. "[T]here used to be two streetcars in New Orleans. One was named Desire and the other was called Cemeteries . To get where you were going, you changed from the first to
12204-580: Was newly renovated in 2010 for use by the City of Columbus as the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center. Williams's literary legacy is represented by the literary agency headed by Georges Borchardt . In 1985, French author-composer Michel Berger wrote a song dedicated to Tennessee Williams, " Quelque chose de Tennessee " (Something of Tennessee), for Johnny Hallyday . It became one of the singer's more famous songs. Since 1986,
12317-571: Was nominated for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Alda starred in the original Broadway production of the play Art , which opened on March 1, 1998, at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre . The play won the Tony Award for Best Play. Beginning in 2004, Alda was a regular cast member on the NBC program The West Wing , portraying California Republican U.S. Senator and presidential candidate Arnold Vinick , until
12430-481: Was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Owen Brewster in Martin Scorsese 's The Aviator (2004). Other notable film roles include Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993), Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Flirting with Disaster (1996), Tower Heist (2011), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Marriage Story (2019). Alda won
12543-493: Was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for the role. Alda said he became a Mainer in 1957 when he played at the Kennebunkport Playhouse. Alda was part of the cast, along with David Frost , Henry Morgan and Buck Henry , of the American television version of That Was The Week That Was , which ran as a series from January 10, 1964, to May 1965. He made his Hollywood acting debut as
12656-592: Was produced in Chicago in 1982. Despite largely positive reviews, it ran for only 40 performances. In 1974, Williams received the St. Louis Literary Award from the Saint Louis University Library Associates. In 1979, four years before his death, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame . Throughout his life, Williams remained close to his sister, Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia as
12769-447: Was the highest paid person on a TV show with a contract paying him $ 225,000 an episode ($ 5.4 million per season). In his 1981 autobiography, Jackie Cooper , who directed several early M*A*S*H episodes, wrote that Alda concealed a lot of hostility, and that the two of them barely spoke by the end of Cooper's tenure there. During his M*A*S*H years, Alda made several game-show appearances, most notably on The $ 10,000 Pyramid , and as
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