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William Motter Inge

ウィリアム・モッター・インジ

Wiriamu Motter Inji

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1913-05-03 （Independence, Kansas）
Died
1973-06-10 （Los Angeles, California） age 60
Nationality
American
Languages
English
Religion
Unknown
Residence History
Independence, Kansas → Nashville, Tennessee → Wichita, Kansas → Columbus, Kansas → Columbia, Missouri → St. Louis, Missouri → Los Angeles, California

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Novelist, Screenwriter
Active Years
1947-1973
Affiliations
Stephens College, Washington University in St. Louis, University of California, Irvine
Memberships
Sigma Nu, American Theater Hall of Fame
Influenced By
Tennessee Williams
Influenced
James Dean, Marcia Cebulska
Nominations
Bus Stop Tony Award for Best Play nomination, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs Tony Award nominations

Education

Independence Community College
Country: United States
University of Kansas
Speech and Drama
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Year of Graduation: 1935
Country: United States
George Peabody College for Teachers
Degree: Master of Arts
Year of Graduation: 1938
Country: United States
Dropped out initially, completed Master's

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Drama
1953
Work: Picnic
Organization: Columbia University
Result: Winner
Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
1961
Work: Splendor in the Grass
Organization: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Result: Winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Come Back, Little Sheba

1950 Drama

A middle-aged couple grapples with loss and delusion.

SolitudeLossDelusion
Adaptations
  • [Film] Come Back, Little Sheba / Daniel Mann (1952)

Picnic

1953 Drama

Small-town Kansas life and frustrated desires among women.

Sexual tensionMidwestern lifeFrustration
Adaptations
  • [Film] Picnic / Joshua Logan (1955)

Bus Stop

1955 Drama

Romance between a cowboy and a singer at a bus stop.

RomanceLonelinessRedemption
Adaptations
  • [Film] Bus Stop / Joshua Logan (1956)

The Dark at the Top of the Stairs

1957 Drama

Family tensions in 1930s Oklahoma.

FamilyAntisemitismDarkness
Adaptations
  • [Film] The Dark at the Top of the Stairs / Delbert Mann (1960)

Splendor in the Grass

1961 Screenplay

Teenage love and mental breakdown in 1920s Kansas.

YouthMadnessRepression

Bibliography

  • Come Back, Little Sheba (1950)
  • Picnic (1953)
  • Bus Stop (1955)
  • The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957)
  • A Loss of Roses (1959)
  • Natural Affection (1963)
  • Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff (1970)
  • My Son Is a Splendid Driver (1971)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realistic portrayals of Midwestern lifeSuppressed emotionsPoetic realism
Recurring Motifs
Solitary protagonistsStrained sexual relationsSmall-town ennui

Health

  • Alcoholism
    1940年代-1973年
    Affected writing; joined AA in 1947
  • Depression
    1970年代初頭
    Led to suicide in 1973

Legacy

Known as the 'Playwright of the Midwest' for depicting heartland small-town life. Broadway successes in 1950s, Pulitzer and Oscar winner. Legacy honored by festivals and collections post-suicide.

Museums

  • William Inge Center for the Arts Independence Community College, Independence, Kansas Opened in 1982

Academic Societies

  • American Theater Hall of Fame

Archives

  • William Inge Collection, Independence Community College
  • Kenneth Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas
  • Harry Ransom Center

In Popular Culture

  • Featured in Brooklyn Rail interviews with influenced playwrights

Quotes

  • When I was a boy in Kansas, my mother had a boarding house. There were three women school teachers... I sensed every woman's failure... the sorrow and the emptiness in their lives.
    Source: Background on Picnic (1953)

Trivia

  • Closeted gay
  • Sigma Nu member
  • Star on St. Louis Walk of Fame
  • Suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning