Billie Letts
Billie Dean Letts (née Gipson; May 30, 1938 – August 2, 2014) was an American novelist and educator. She was a professor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University.
Family
She was married to professor-turned-actor Dennis Letts until his death in 2008. The couple had three children: Dana, Tracy Letts, a playwright, and Shawn (a jazz musician/composer).[1][2]
Personal life
Letts was born as Billie Dean Gipson[3] in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Virginia M. (Barnes), a secretary, and William C. Gipson.[4][5] She married Dennis Letts, a professor and actor, in 1958.[3] Dennis Letts served as his wife's editor for her own novels.[3][6] He died of lung cancer in Tulsa on February 22, 2008, aged 73.[3][6]
Death
Billie Letts died in a Tulsa hospital from pneumonia on August 2, 2014, aged 76. She had recently been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.[7][8]
Novels
- Where the Heart Is (1995)
- The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (1998)
- Shoot the Moon (2004)
- Made in the U.S.A. (2008)
Awards and nominations
- 1994 Walker Percy Award [1]
- 1996 Oklahoma Book Award [2]
- 1998 Oprah's Book Club – Best Novel nominee – Where the Heart Is
References
- ^ Letts family information Archived April 28, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, twbookmark.com; accessed August 13, 2014.
- ^ Excerpt from Playbill Archived March 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine; accessed August 13, 2014.
- ^ a b c d "TV and film actor Dennis Letts dies". Tulsa World. 2008-02-24. Retrieved 2008-03-00.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Billie Jean Gipson Letts (1938–2014) – Find A Grave Memorial". findagrave.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Letts, Billie 1938–". highbeam.com. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ a b "Dennis Letts, 73, a Professor Who Became Broadway Actor, Dies". New York Times. Associated Press. 2008-02-25. Retrieved 2008-03-08.
- ^ Obituary for Billie Letts, nytimes.com, August 5, 2014; accessed August 13, 2014.
- ^ Dee Duren. "Best-Selling Oklahoma Author Billie Letts Dies". NewsOn6.com. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
External links
- Author interview: Billie Letts at Hachette Book Group USA
- Interview With Billie Letts (July 2004)
- 1938 births
- 2014 deaths
- 20th-century American novelists
- 21st-century American novelists
- American educators
- American women novelists
- Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma
- Southeastern Oklahoma State University people
- Deaths from pneumonia
- Infectious disease deaths in Oklahoma
- 20th-century women writers
- 21st-century women writers