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James Kirkwood Jr.

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This article is about the playwright and author. For other people with the same name, see James Kirkwood (disambiguation).
James Kirkwood
Kirkwood in 1975
Kirkwood in 1975
BornJames Kirkwood Jr.
(1924-08-22)22 August 1924
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died21 April 1989(1989-04-21) (aged 64)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Notable worksP.S. Your Cat Is Dead
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Drama (1976)

James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway hit A Chorus Line.

Biography

Kirkwood was born in Los Angeles. His father James Kirkwood Sr. was an actor and director in silent films, and his mother was actress Lila Lee. After their divorce, he spent much of his time with his mother's family in Elyria, Ohio, where he graduated from high school.

Career

From 1953 to 1957, he played Mickey Emerson on the soap opera Valiant Lady.[1] Kirkwood wrote the semi-autobiographical novel There Must Be a Pony, made into a television film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Wagner. Other novels include P.S. Your Cat Is Dead (adapted into a play of the same name, which was, in turn, adapted into a film by Steve Guttenberg), Good Times/Bad Times, Some Kind of Hero, and Hit Me with a Rainbow.

In 1959, Kirkwood appeared on Perry Mason as Johnny Baylor, son of Sen. Harriman Baylor, in "The Case of the Foot-Loose Doll."

In 1970, Simon & Schuster published Kirkwood's American Grotesque about the trial of Clay Shaw.[2] Shaw, a New Orleans businessman, was tried by New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison on charges that he was involved in a conspiracy to assassinate United States President John F. Kennedy and later acquitted.[2][3] Kirkus Reviews wrote that "Kirkwood's portrait of Shaw as St. Sebastian is overdone to the point of self defeat" and that "the book does clinch the impression that legal grounds for the conspiracy charges were insufficient."[2]

Kirkwood won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama with collaborator Nicholas Dante for A Chorus Line.

Kirkwood also wrote the comedic play Legends! which toured the United States with Mary Martin and Carol Channing in 1987. The plot concerns a producer with a sure-fire commercial script, but no credibility, who lures two out-of-work but long-time feuding actresses "of a certain age" to star in his putative Broadway production. Legends! was the most financially successful road production of that season, but when producers insisted on cutting an important speech about breast cancer by Mary Martin's character, the actress declared she would complete her contractual obligation, but would not open the play on Broadway, and the show closed on the road. [citation needed] Kirkwood wrote a book about the production of Legends! titled Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing.

A revival of Legends! was mounted with Joan Collins and Linda Evans of Dynasty fame. It toured more than 30 cities in the United States and Canada beginning in autumn 2006, but did not appear on Broadway as had been planned.

Personal life

In 1968, Kirkwood signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War (his novel Some Kind of Hero is centered on a prisoner of war in, and back home from, Vietnam).[4]

Kirkwood died in his Manhattan apartment of AIDS-related complications in 1989.[5]

Literary Prize

In Kirkwood's memory, his friends and admirers established the James Kirkwood Literary Prize to honor new generations of fiction writers for their literary achievements. The competition is hosted by the UCLA Extension Writers' Program, and the winner is determined by Andrew Morse, the prize's benefactor.

Works

Novels

Plays

  • U.T.B.U. (Unhealthy To Be Unpleasant)
  • Legends!
  • A Chorus Line (book – co-authored with Nicholas Dante)
  • Stage Stuck (co-authored with Jim Piazza)

Nonfiction

  • American Grotesque
  • Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing, about production of the play Legends! (Dutton, 1989)

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1980 Oh, God! Book II Psychiatrist 2
1981 Mommie Dearest Master of Ceremonies
1986 The Supernaturals Captain (final film role)

References

  1. ^ TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. pp. 671. ISBN 0-7607-5634-1.
  2. ^ a b c Kirkus Reviews (November 1, 1970). "American Grotesque". kirkusreviews.com. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved July 20, 2015.
  3. ^ Leonard, John (December 8, 1970). "The Story of Garrison Vs. Shaw". The Day. Vol. 90, no. 134. New London, Connecticut. p. 22. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  4. ^ "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" January 30, 1968 New York Post
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 2018-05-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Further reading

  • Egan, Sean (2011). Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood. Oklahoma: BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1-59393-680-8.
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