World Literary Awards

← Back to Home

Albert Horton Foote Jr.

アルバート・ホートン・フート・ジュニア

Albert Horton Foote Jr.

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1916-03-14 （Wharton, Texas, U.S.）
Died
2009-03-04 （Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.） age 92
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Religion
Christian Science
Residence History
Wharton, Texas (birthplace, longtime residence) → Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California (residence) → Nyack, New York (church activity) → New Boston, New Hampshire (lived and taught Sunday school)

Career

Occupations
playwright, screenwriter
Active Years
1931-2009
Influenced By
W. B. Yeats, William Faulkner (adapted several works)
Influenced
Robert Duvall (actor/collaborator), Hallie Foote (daughter, actress)
Nominations
Tony Award — Best Play nominee for The Young Man From Atlanta (1997)

Education

Pasadena Playhouse
Period: 1931-1932
Country: United States
Studied theater early; began career as an actor but later concentrated on writing.
Carson-Newman University (honorary)
Degree: 名誉博士（人文学）
Year of Graduation: 2006
Country: United States
Received an honorary doctorate in 2006.
Spalding University (honorary)
Degree: 名誉博士（人文学）
Year of Graduation: 1987
Country: United States
Received an honorary doctorate in 1987.

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1995
Work: The Young Man From Atlanta
Organization: Pulitzer Prize Board
Result: winner
Academy Award – Adapted Screenplay
1963
Work: To Kill a Mockingbird
Category: Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: winner
Academy Award – Original Screenplay
1984
Work: Tender Mercies
Category: Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: winner
Academy Award – Adapted Screenplay (nomination)
1986
Work: The Trip to Bountiful
Category: Screenplay Adapted from Another Medium
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: nominee
Primetime Emmy Award – Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or Special
1997
Work: Old Man (television adaptation)
Organization: Television Academy (Emmys)
Result: winner
National Medal of Arts
2000
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts / U.S. President
Result: winner
Independent Spirit Award – Best Screenplay
1986
Work: The Trip to Bountiful
Organization: Independent Spirit Awards
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

To Kill a Mockingbird (screenplay)

1962 film screenplay (social drama)

Screenplay adapted from Harper Lee's novel; depicts racism and justice in the American South.

race and justicecoming of agemorality
Adaptations
  • [film] To Kill a Mockingbird / ロバート・マリガン (1962)

Tender Mercies

1983 film screenplay (original)

Story of a washed-up country singer finding a new life; themes of redemption and quiet emotion.

redemptionlonelinessrelationships

The Trip to Bountiful

1953 play / film screenplay

An elderly woman's poignant final journey to her hometown of Bountiful; successful both on stage and film.

homeagingmemory
Adaptations
  • [film] The Trip to Bountiful / ピーター・マスタソン (1985)

The Young Man From Atlanta

1995 play (drama)

A drama about family, loss, and truths of the past. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

familylossthe past

The Orphans' Home Cycle

1962 cycle of plays

A cycle of nine plays about a father-figure and extended family; intimate portrayals of Southern life and memory.

family historynostalgiamemory

Bibliography

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (screenplay, 1962)
  • Tender Mercies (screenplay, 1983)
  • The Trip to Bountiful (play 1953 / screenplay 1985)
  • The Young Man From Atlanta (play, 1995)
  • The Orphans' Home Cycle (cycle of plays)
  • 1918 (play/screenplay, film 1985)
  • Farewell: A Memoir of a Texas Childhood (memoir, 1999)
  • Beginnings (memoir, 2001)

Adaptations

  • To Kill a Mockingbird (film, 1962)
  • Tender Mercies (film, 1983)
  • The Trip to Bountiful (film, 1985)
  • Old Man (television adaptations, 1958 & 1997)
  • Lily Dale (television film, 1996)
  • Convicts (film)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
realistic dialogueattention to ordinary-life detailquiet, understated narration
Recurring Motifs
small Texas townsfamily bonds and tensionsmemory and nostalgia

Legacy

Horton Foote was an important American playwright and screenwriter, honored with the Pulitzer Prize, multiple Academy Awards, and the National Medal of Arts. His subtle portrayals of ordinary Southern life have had a lasting influence on contemporary American theatre and film.

Museums

  • Horton Foote Theatre (Wharton County Junior College) Wharton, Texas, U.S.

Academic Societies

  • Baylor University (Visiting Distinguished Dramatist)

Archives

  • DeGolyer Library (collection holdings)
  • Carson-Newman University (related materials)

In Popular Culture

  • Often referred to as 'America's Chekhov' for his quiet character studies

Quotes

  • "I know that people think I have a certain style, but I think style is like the color of the eyes. I don't know that you choose that."
    Source: Interview with Stuart Spencer (BOMB Magazine, Spring 1986) (1986)

Trivia

  • Recommended Robert Duvall for the role of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird.
  • Wrote for stage, film, and television and won two Academy Awards.
  • The Horton Foote Theatre is named for him at Wharton County Junior College.