James Kirkwood, Jr.
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James Kirkwood, Jr. (August 22, 1925 – April 22, 1989) was an American playwright and author born in Los Angeles, California. His father, James Kirkwood, Sr. was an actor and director in silent films and his mother was actress Lila Lee. He died in 1989 of spinal cancer.
He wrote the semi-autobiographical novel There Must be a Pony, which was made into a television film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Robert Wagner. In the story, the main character (Jimmy) acted in the 1950s TV series, Valiant Lady, as Kirkwood himself did in real life. 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.
Kirkwood was a personal friend of Clay Shaw, the New Orleans businessman tried on conspiracy charges by District Attorney Jim Garrison in the murder of President John F. Kennedy. Shaw was later acquitted and the story of the trial spawned Kirkwood's book American Grotesque.
He won Broadway's 1976 Tony Award as writer for Best Book (Musical) with collaborator Nicholas Dante for A Chorus Line. Other awards include the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize for Best Drama (both for A Chorus Line). He also wrote the comedic play Legends! which toured the USA with Mary Martin and Carol Channing in the mid-1980s. The plot concerns a producer with 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. The show 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 in New York, on Broadway. The show closed on the road. Kirkwood wrote a book about the production of Legends! entitled The Diary of a Mad Playwright.
A revival of Legends! has been mounted with Joan Collins and Linda Evans of Dynasty fame. Booked for more than 30 cities in the United States and Canada beginning in autumn 2006, the play is scheduled to make its long-awaited Broadway debut in Spring 2007.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by none |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical 1975-1976 for A Chorus Line |
Succeeded by Thomas Meehan for Annie |
[edit] Bibliography
- Novels
There Must Be A Pony!
Good Times/Bad Times
Hit Me with a Rainbow
Some Kind of Hero (novel)
P.S. Your Cat Is Dead
I Teach Flying (unfinished)
- 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
[edit] External links
- GLBTQ entry
- imdb entry
- The James Kirkwood collection at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University contains unpublished manuscripts, letters and memorabilia
- The James Leo Herlihy collection at the same location contains several poems written by Kirkwood and sent to Herlihy, along with several letters from Kirkwood to Herlihy
