Tennessee Williams Wounded Genius

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
  • INFORMAÇÕES
    Título Original: Tennessee Williams: Wounded Genius
    Dirigido por: Paul Budline
    Gênero: Biografia, Documentário
    Ano: 1998
    Duração: 44 Minutos

ความคิดเห็น • 556

  • @Sameoldfitup
    @Sameoldfitup 3 ปีที่แล้ว +154

    “Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?”― Tennessee Williams.....

    • @jeanettesdaughter
      @jeanettesdaughter 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Yes it has Tenn😢

    • @divergentsenior
      @divergentsenior 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Guitarist, songwriter, poet and performer ("Classical Gas") once wrote a poem call the Present. It goes like this:
      "Here it
      Was"
      I always thought that was the best description of being unable to capture this ephemeral moment.

    • @brandona230
      @brandona230 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      does he say that in an interview?

    • @cosmicman621
      @cosmicman621 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      ...thanks for the quote...

    • @susannetartarilla2484
      @susannetartarilla2484 2 ปีที่แล้ว

  • @susanschaffner4422
    @susanschaffner4422 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

    Immortality lives in the pen of a genius. Tennessee Williams is forever the quintessential playwright.

  • @deeprollingriver5820
    @deeprollingriver5820 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    As a southerner I just love Tennessee Williams

  • @jeanettesdaughter
    @jeanettesdaughter 3 ปีที่แล้ว +110

    Nicely done. I started reading him as a young teenager to learn about sex ( since no one talked about it but everyone obviously wanted it!). Instead what I learned about was love’s many faces: some pretty, some quite nasty. I also learned about loyalty, grief, broken families like my own and tenacity, the sheer will to live despite all of that grief. Survival. Here’s to you: Mr. Tenacity Williams. We hardly knew you.

  • @catman8670
    @catman8670 3 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    I love talent, and I don’t give a damn about one’s sexual orientation!

  • @russelliott6751
    @russelliott6751 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +14

    He was a good friend. I met him and Marion accidentally. I was a telephone lineman at the time. While driving by they stopped to talk with me. They invited me to meet them later. That friendship grew over the years. He once asked me to read his draft for Sweet Bird of Youth. I read it and realized he had written me into the draft. I was surprised. At that time I was later working for DeSoto at the Fountainbleu Hotel. I was an artist working for DeSoto creating portraits for celebrities and movie stars. He was crazy about my mother and often would come over and play cards. Those were great days and great memories. I later moved back to New York. Many years later he invited me for lunch. He was staying at the Elyse Hotel in New York. That was a sad day as he accidentally fell and died in his room. I miss him so.

    • @vedantsridhar8378
      @vedantsridhar8378 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You're really lucky to be good friends with a true legend

  • @nicolelouis8968
    @nicolelouis8968 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Tennessee Williams stirred my heart and soul as a young actress. I adored his plays. He had an exquisite sensitivity that was able to penetrate into human fragility and express it with such poetic words. And in contrast they portray man's ugliness and often bullying nature. They soared to another level where human nature was raw with all it's beauty and ugliness. His characters live on etched in our souls and will never die. He is one of the truly greats and it was an honour to play his characters. I choked watching his brother in full recognition, choke up. Knowing what I know now, it wouldn't surprise me if he was murdered.

  • @OumyNeferti
    @OumyNeferti 6 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    I doubt his "depression" was entirely based on what the critics wrote. Aging as a lonely gay man is very hard. I suspect that played a big part.

    • @mo1240
      @mo1240 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      He was "doted upon" and possibly somewhat spoiled in a way. A kid calling school "a jail" is usually kind of picky.

    • @WindWipper
      @WindWipper 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      @@mo1240 Government-run public schools ARE jails/prison!! Especially when you are gifted, as he _was._ You are sentenced to over 13 years in the government-run institution, told what to think and how to think, force-fed bullshit, denied adequate exercise (made to sit all day at a desk) and then released into society all brainwashed!

    • @danielappel1368
      @danielappel1368 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yes, it certainly is.

    • @davidtrindle6473
      @davidtrindle6473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Why dig so deep for an explanation? He was addicted!! And none of his friends or docs helped him

    • @hazelwray5307
      @hazelwray5307 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@mo1240 It wasn't uncommon to view school as jail - there were quite a few "picky kids" lol

  • @Sameoldfitup
    @Sameoldfitup 3 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    “How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.”― Tennessee Williams

  • @mitologia5346
    @mitologia5346 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    my favorite playwriter

  • @ianmartinezcassmeyer
    @ianmartinezcassmeyer 3 ปีที่แล้ว +187

    Am I the only one who found it touching that his brother choked up when he talked about him at the end? They may have had their differences, as most siblings do, but that sibling bond persists forever.

    • @IvoMiller
      @IvoMiller 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      I noticed it too

    • @kittenfuud
      @kittenfuud 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Yes that was touching indeed.

    • @nkley1
      @nkley1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Oh, yes. That got me right in the depths of my heart and soul.....having that same kind of relationship with my own brothers.

    • @stephaniedescoteaux4759
      @stephaniedescoteaux4759 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      To have such a great brother to look up too.... a consolation for having survived the family. He 's alienated by his bother's alcoholism and abandoned by his suicide. That is a tragedy too. Go for it play wrights.

    • @juancarlos9592
      @juancarlos9592 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      I noticed and it got to me too

  • @senniewhite6301
    @senniewhite6301 5 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    Tennessee Williams captured in his work the tortured, artistic and the primitive. Kim hunter perfectly complimented the Raw Sexuality of M.
    Brando.

  • @Imeraldgyrl
    @Imeraldgyrl 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    Dear God! I miss this A&E. The true Arts & Entertainment channel.

  • @nhmooytis7058
    @nhmooytis7058 6 ปีที่แล้ว +91

    No wonder he lost his mind. My parents drank bourbon by the tumbler full after he retired, both went totally nuts. Alcohol is a terrible drug...yet it's legal.

    • @davidtrindle6473
      @davidtrindle6473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Ditto, only my parents started in their 20s. What a cruel mess

    • @jillgarlick2122
      @jillgarlick2122 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It all comes down to personal responsibility, words that have become worse than swear words today. Yes, alcohol is legal, but nobody forces it down your throat. I was not an alcoholic but drank too much, acknowledged it finally and gave up I enjoy marvellous good health coming up to 70, due at least in part to no alcohol and no cigarettes and DEFINITELY no drugs. Alcohol is directly responsible for at least 25% of all common cancers but people still indulge. Personal responsibility!

    • @nhmooytis7058
      @nhmooytis7058 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@jillgarlick2122 I defined alcoholic as drinking too much and so considered myself, so I got sober in 1988 and at 68 3/ 4 am also in great health. Losing 110 pounds since 2015 helped too.

    • @jillgarlick2122
      @jillgarlick2122 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@nhmooytis7058 great, a kindred spirit. Feels so good to be alcohol free for nearly 13 years and cigarette free for 32 years. I have list some weight too and it makes do much difference. We need to look after ourselves.

    • @nhmooytis7058
      @nhmooytis7058 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jillgarlick2122 never did smoke, quit drinking because my parents were both alcoholics and I saw where it ends.,l I porked up BIGLY after mentalpause. Finally couldn’t stand myself any more, so I started losing weight.

  • @mpcc2022
    @mpcc2022 3 ปีที่แล้ว +93

    There will always be the narcissistic, envious, and cynical among us that wish to tear down what is exemplary and beautiful.

    • @nkley1
      @nkley1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      As many as what becomes a societal narcissism.

    • @어정화-i3r
      @어정화-i3r 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@nkley1 nn9nn9 99m

    • @어정화-i3r
      @어정화-i3r 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@nkley1 nn9nn9 99m 9i 9n ni n

    • @leeboriack8054
      @leeboriack8054 3 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      What some people can not understand, achieve or control, they will demonize or destroy.

    • @mpcc2022
      @mpcc2022 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@leeboriack8054 You are absolutely correct!

  • @citizen1163
    @citizen1163 8 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    love Tennesse Williams. ..Thanx for upload

    • @citizen1163
      @citizen1163 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      sorry *Tennessee*

  • @vladynick
    @vladynick 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    He remains my most favorite modern day playwright.

  • @llc9721
    @llc9721 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I was in Period of Adjustment, his only comedy. What a thrill it was to say his words on stage. I also directed Streetcar, again a magnificent play.

  • @nativevirginian8344
    @nativevirginian8344 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I love these old shows from the History Channel, and Biography. The 90s-the last time this country had any maturity & common sense.

  • @ilovesweetsalways8978
    @ilovesweetsalways8978 8 ปีที่แล้ว +170

    Tennessee Williams could never have been a "has been". Maybe his genius came at a price which was his childhood,and ultimately his sanity. But his great works lives on.

    • @windstorm1000
      @windstorm1000 8 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      absolutely

    • @beatnikrn2945
      @beatnikrn2945 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Well said!

    • @davidtrindle6473
      @davidtrindle6473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      He got addicted to alcohol and his art suffered. No one helped him, not even his shrink who should have referred him to AA

    • @phaedra5283
      @phaedra5283 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I will never understand how people with none of his talent get license to break this great genius down because they get older and decide to do less work.

    • @Moonewitch
      @Moonewitch 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      THIS! 💯💯💯💯💯

  • @bawoman
    @bawoman 6 ปีที่แล้ว +148

    Tennessee was not only a genius, he was a genius with intense compassion for people.....those 2 things together are what made magic, magic that will last until Earths last spin.The world will never forget you , Tenn,

    • @michaelbaughman4017
      @michaelbaughman4017 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Little sincerity is a dangerous thing. A great deal can be absolutely faital.😷❄️

    • @nolabooth2904
      @nolabooth2904 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I want to read something he wrote

    • @bawoman
      @bawoman 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@nolabooth2904 I recommend his first 2 major plays in order, Glass Menagerie and A streetcar named desire, though ideally you catch a decent performance of them, they're better than just reading them and there are some good performances of both plays here on youtube (though if you can get the 51 version of Streetcar even better)

    • @nolabooth2904
      @nolabooth2904 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thank you

    • @divergentsenior
      @divergentsenior 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I love all of his work, but am particularly partial to "The Long Hot Summer"-- even before that fabulous and perfectly cast movie. Must edit that this was an aggregate of Faulkner, not Williams.
      My favorite Tennessee work is “A Streetcar Named Desire.” But “Cat on a Hit Tin Roof” is a close second.

  • @jeanreynolds1425
    @jeanreynolds1425 3 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    Tennessee bared his soul to the world, and it repaid him by disrespect of the man and his genius.

  • @kennoe6634
    @kennoe6634 6 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    I'm from Columbus,Ms too,(here now),and every time I pass his house I think of all Williams did for the theater.

  • @asinelliplatamona8348
    @asinelliplatamona8348 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Best Screen Writer Ever ☆

  • @acastrohowell
    @acastrohowell 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Such a wonderful talented man 🥰

  • @zero_bs_tolerance8646
    @zero_bs_tolerance8646 8 ปีที่แล้ว +68

    I have loved Tennessee Williams all my life, even when I didn't know it. As a child, I'd seen "Streetcar" and "The Glass Menagerie" on TV and was enthralled. As an adult, I'd realized that this Tennessee Williams person was the amazing man who wrote these fabulous plays and I've been a die-hard fan ever since. He was a true genius. No one else could bring out the bittersweet truths of human nature, all the ugliness and all the beauty. Thank you for this terrific upload. Enjoyed it very much.

  • @shanenoel1270
    @shanenoel1270 7 ปีที่แล้ว +57

    this was really heartbreaking. While this man was doing well everyone praised him....gave him awards. When he needed them they turn their backs on him. The entertainment industry's​ is a vile, wicked, heartless and greedy conglomerate of vipers. If they make you be careful...They will break you fast and furious.

    • @vansonia
      @vansonia 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      very wise. indeed, that surprises me.

    • @nhmooytis7058
      @nhmooytis7058 6 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Shane Noel Amen to that. Look how many formerly lauded stars die sick and alone, where are their friends when they need them?

    • @kittenfuud
      @kittenfuud 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@nhmooytis7058 Not just stars, everyday people. "Oh, they're fine, just look at their Facebook post!" When truly they're friendless and faking it.. We are a sick society that doesn't give a damn about humanity.

    • @nhmooytis7058
      @nhmooytis7058 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@kittenfuud most FB posts fall into 3 categories: the narcissistic “look how wonderful my life is” stuff; the virtue signaling garbage; and the vapid platitudes. I have a cousin who posts every sad lost dog story she can find , and an ex-friend who finds the sappiest saccharine crapola imaginable. None if these things show any intelligence, creativity or real insight into human experience. Pathetic.

    • @06BIBOI
      @06BIBOI ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Dick York is another one that stands out with a similar situation !

  • @patricias5122
    @patricias5122 6 ปีที่แล้ว +39

    Thank goodness for Audrey Wood! We can thank this woman for bringing this remarkable artist to our world.

  • @divox9pqr
    @divox9pqr 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    A handsome little man with a mighty genius

  • @lokisfriend
    @lokisfriend 7 ปีที่แล้ว +52

    Baby Doll was the first exposure I had to T.W.'s work, I was completely enthralled and fell in love with Eli Wallach as well. I have watched every piece of T.W.'s work I can find. Thank you for this bio, it is so tragic what truly artistic people must go through for their gifts.

  • @flypurplecat4774
    @flypurplecat4774 8 ปีที่แล้ว +37

    I've read all Williams plays. OMG it is wonderful &. Rarely can a male write so well for a woman!

  • @brober
    @brober 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    A liitle old man in a Panama hat sent a drink over to my table at a restaurant in Key West in 1982. My buddies all thought it was funny and we laughed uproariously. The waiter told me it was Tennessee Williams. I had no idea who that was. I was 19yo and a fool.

  • @seanglennon4012
    @seanglennon4012 3 ปีที่แล้ว +53

    Good old A&E Before "reality tv" forced everyone to streaming apps

    • @hazelwray5307
      @hazelwray5307 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Streaming

    • @christienelson1437
      @christienelson1437 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@hazelwray5307 Ha, ha, ha, ha. Can’t stop laughing at the irony!🤣🤣😂💕🎇🎆

    • @deborahcookston9373
      @deborahcookston9373 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I miss it so much

  • @do9138
    @do9138 5 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    Does it really matter that his later plays were not as highly respected? Williams is revered in both theatrical and literary circles as one of the most brilliant artists America has ever produced. He wrote at least four plays that are part of the literary canon of Western culture. His works will live along side those of Euripides, Voltaire, and Shakespeare, and his art will touch minds and hearts for endless generations.

    • @jeanreynolds1425
      @jeanreynolds1425 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      If that is true, why are his first editions selling for almost nothing on E-bay?

    • @rickartdefoix1298
      @rickartdefoix1298 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Agree. Ahead of his time, Tennessee had a hard childhood and youth. Some of the Tennessee works will remain among the best American and worldwide playwrights. Sweet Bird of Youth, Suddenly Last Summer, A Street Car Named Desire, The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof are milestones of Theater. Read also his Short Stories and liked them though some were tough ones. Remember partially his well known about Fontana Bella and the terrible one about the black coloured man and the worker. A shocking interracial affair. There's also a moving lover's monologue while the rain keeps falling. TW could be very poetic and touching. Tennessee was a tortured gay whose sister drama was a matter that made him suffer. Read his Memoirs and found them revealing in several aspects. With Eugene O'Neil, Arthur Miller and Edward Albee, the Fathers of American Theater. An excellent author, no doubt. 🤗💎🆗❤️👍🙏

  • @walterharper79
    @walterharper79 3 ปีที่แล้ว +59

    THE BEST AMERICAN PLAY WRITER OF THE 20TH CENTURY. I WORKED WITH HIM IN LATER LIFE AND HE WAS A PERFECT GENTELEMAN

    • @kaylenecrossan6084
      @kaylenecrossan6084 3 ปีที่แล้ว

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    • @walterharper79
      @walterharper79 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@kaylenecrossan6084 YOU MUST BE A TRUMPER BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN DEAD

    • @WilliamsWrestlin
      @WilliamsWrestlin 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I rewatched King of the Hill and Bill's cousin, Gilbert was compared to Tennessee Williams and I had no idea this man existed.

    • @walterharper79
      @walterharper79 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@WilliamsWrestlin If you want some great experiences watch Streetcar Named Desire, The Rose Tattoo, and The Fugitive Kind but not king of the hill

    • @Justice-fe2xl
      @Justice-fe2xl 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      The best American playwright who ever lived.

  • @gattamelata1940
    @gattamelata1940 8 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    A wounded genius indeed. The greatest American playwright. He surpassed O'Neill and Miller

    • @jcmangan
      @jcmangan 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @gattamelata1940 And Albee and Wilder. In any case he is in the Top 5.

    • @bernardliu8526
      @bernardliu8526 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Not O’Neill !

    • @janel342
      @janel342 10 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Not Miller!

    • @RK-su4hs
      @RK-su4hs 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@jcmanganSam Shepherd

    • @jcmangan
      @jcmangan 9 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@RK-su4hs David Mamet

  • @josi4251
    @josi4251 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    One of my former students was waiting tables in Collinsville, IL, where she served Dakin Williams (whom she knew relatively well) and an older gentleman he introduced as Tom. She said, "You're Tennessee Williams." He said yes, and she proceeded to ask him some questions about his works. He said, "It seems you have had a very good teacher." (Alas, it wasn't me who taught her his works but my dear friend, who also introduced me to his plays.) He was legendary and gave us great gifts.

  • @JustAPrayer
    @JustAPrayer 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I’m surprised this video didn’t mention how much he hated the Cat On a Hot Tin Roof movie for censoring the homosexuality. Williams was furious by this movie and actually stood outside theaters and told people not to buy tickets because it “set Hollywood back fifty years.”

  • @suzannal6047
    @suzannal6047 3 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    No writer ever could you write so perfectly and poetically about The Human Condition!! Absolute true genius!

    • @RK-su4hs
      @RK-su4hs 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      also Oscar Wilde

  • @HeronCoyote1234
    @HeronCoyote1234 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +17

    How did “Suddenly Last Summer” not get mentioned? I finally watched it (on TH-cam, no less), and was stunned by the writing, the acting, just everything.
    Now I want to go back and watch as many of his plays/movies as I can.

    • @bobbyantonelli7978
      @bobbyantonelli7978 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      I agree wholeheartedly with you! I have seen that movie so many times and never get tired of it. I feel exactly the same; I would love to go back and watch ALL the movies right now! I watched BABY DOLL last week, but I need more after this video.

    • @tmamone83
      @tmamone83 2 หลายเดือนก่อน

      I saw this on A&E when it first aired back in the '90s, and I think originally there was a segment about "Suddenly Last Summer." Not sure what happened to it in this upload.

  • @windstorm1000
    @windstorm1000 6 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Williams faifthfully wrote 4-5 hours every morning--very early--no matter what he was 'on' or hung over from-- when the rest of us are basically shaving or putting on lipstick. he was writing immortal plays! may we all leave such a legacy--'wounded' or not!! His writing was his savior. and he stuck to it till his death.

  • @WindWipper
    @WindWipper 8 ปีที่แล้ว +72

    Those poor children. Oh the things parents do to their children. : (

    • @ianmartinezcassmeyer
      @ianmartinezcassmeyer 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      As Philip Larkin wrote, "They fuck you up, your mum and dad / They may not mean to, but they do / They fill you with the faults they had / And add some extra just for you."

    • @KoreaMojo
      @KoreaMojo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      And their caregivers and close confidants too. It's a cycle only the strongest mind can find the courage and interest to face and fight.

    • @WindWipper
      @WindWipper 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@ianmartinezcassmeyer Lol well stated and accurate!

    • @jamieholmes5443
      @jamieholmes5443 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Pain that is not transformed is transmitted

  • @CMHism
    @CMHism 3 หลายเดือนก่อน +2

    The last part about him wondering how someone could like him saddened me.

  • @boomerang905
    @boomerang905 6 ปีที่แล้ว +65

    I absolutely love his works. Always will.

    • @vedantsridhar8378
      @vedantsridhar8378 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Did you read 'A streetcar named desire'?

    • @boomerang905
      @boomerang905 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@vedantsridhar8378 I did not read the book but saw the movie many times. I read Cat on Hot Tin Roof and have the movie. I loved all his works! 👍

  • @hdrake1000
    @hdrake1000 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    Love him. He was a grand master and makes Southern Writing great!!! His plays are mind blowing.

  • @AlexandraRieloff
    @AlexandraRieloff 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Critics are insidious. To sit here and hear this man say 'I can still write if they'll let me', reminds me of what traitors people are.

    • @dotsyjmaher
      @dotsyjmaher 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      His face right after he said that was REALLY telling...then right back into that charming smile he had.

  • @939bb
    @939bb 8 ปีที่แล้ว +44

    In the summer of 1971, then high school student, I attended a performance of Tennessee Williams' "Out Cry" at the Ivanhoe Theater in Chicago where it premiered, and while it may not have been a great play, it was rather daring, experimental, fascinating to watch, and perhaps ahead of its time. I give Tennessee credit for breaking out in new directions and taking chances late in life rather than trying to reprise his greatest hits.

    • @michelez715
      @michelez715 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Those later experimental plays, where Williams was going in new directions, are now being recognised as important works. He chose the artist's prerogative to try new things, and it was the critics who were unable to accept change and development and innovation.

  • @MissPerriwinkle
    @MissPerriwinkle ปีที่แล้ว +2

    his laugh, so fun, he musta been a blast to hang with.....

  • @beatnikrn2945
    @beatnikrn2945 3 ปีที่แล้ว +25

    To me, the greatest writers were from the south: Mitchell, Capote, Harper Lee, Maya Angelou, Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams was the greatest of the greats! America’s William Shakespeare.

    • @jeanettesdaughter
      @jeanettesdaughter 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Don’t forget Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Richard Wright, Black Boy. Something about the South...

    • @Missangie827
      @Missangie827 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      don't forget Flannery O'Conner

    • @rharvey2124
      @rharvey2124 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Check out Horton Foote also.

    • @vedantsridhar8378
      @vedantsridhar8378 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Lol in this year we read works from both Maya Angelou and Tennessee Williams

    • @sg639
      @sg639 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@Missangie827 You are so right. So right.

  • @11pmeade
    @11pmeade 6 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    On the bright side, he had an ok life. He did what he loved - wrote, drank, drugged, relations. He had money, friends. Life turned around for him but that's normal for the strivers. Careful how high you go, it's a long way down.

  • @chrisn7259
    @chrisn7259 8 ปีที่แล้ว +77

    So many stories from this era about terrible, abusive fathers. Tragic how so many men love making the babies only to terrorize them as they grow.

    • @windstorm1000
      @windstorm1000 8 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      many men are raised to be abusive--\its a vcious cyle.

    • @flyinspirals
      @flyinspirals 8 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      yep. and it's still always a man's job to end it.

    • @bawoman
      @bawoman 7 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Women too....let's not forget that

    • @tundrawomansays5067
      @tundrawomansays5067 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Mothers have always been considered sacrosanct.
      Which is absolutely Bull Shit.
      Each year in the US, the Federal Health and Human Service releases a report on Child Maltreatment. Read I‎t and weep: On every indicator of child abuse and neglect, mommy-dearest far outranks the father’s.
      And by default, mommy gets physical custody 96% of the time.

    • @royperkins3851
      @royperkins3851 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Fathers leave or abuse? Not always most love and sacrifice for their families only a ass abuses only a dog leaves ! A real man can
      Love and teach his children without being a girlly man and he can be a man without being a thug! Some of us manage it every day!

  • @ergot57
    @ergot57 8 ปีที่แล้ว +77

    For a place so many consider an intellectual desert Mississippi produces an enormous amount of talent.

    • @Meemeeseecoo
      @Meemeeseecoo 7 ปีที่แล้ว +20

      People like to negatively criticize places in which they've never even been to.

    • @ergot57
      @ergot57 7 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      We have a Tenn festival each year here in Clarksdale. People come from all over the globe for this and our Blues festivals. He continued to visit his uncle here for years after their move to St Louis. His uncle was here and the homes still.

    • @tuforu4
      @tuforu4 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      yeh the have no prisons there..

    • @bluecollarlit
      @bluecollarlit 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I'm amazed at how many great musicians came from Clarksdale, Mississippi...

    • @comparedtowhat2719
      @comparedtowhat2719 6 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ergot57 - Yes it does! Faulkner, Tennessee, Richard Wright, Muddy Waters, BB, ...

  • @Beadbud5000
    @Beadbud5000 6 ปีที่แล้ว +24

    It is a good thing that his later works are now also being recognized as good plays. Small Craft Warnings being one. Spectacular man!

  • @mynamedoesntmatter8652
    @mynamedoesntmatter8652 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    A lifetime ago we sat out in the yard and on the porch of the family home in Columbus with a picnic and other refreshments. I picked mint for tea. There was so much mint all over that yard that just strolling around bruised it, sending the aroma wafting everywhere through that early summer afternoon. It was almost like giving myself a little foot spa treatment at the same time. So cool there, beneath the trees that were lush with new summer green leaves. It had been a lovely late afternoon and evening. I remember it well, and fondly. One day I’ll drive over there again one day maybe, I think. See how the mint is doing.

  • @haroldfadorka3816
    @haroldfadorka3816 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I think his heavy drinking and drug use was a result of his being a queer in his era. I'm not trying to be anti gay, I'm just saying in his time his lifestyle was more difficult to navigate.
    I could be wrong.
    He left a remarkable legacy.

  • @anairenemartinez165
    @anairenemartinez165 8 ปีที่แล้ว +32

    I adored him, his plays, absolutely worshipped him. And when he died in NY I went, I had to go to Frank Campbell Funeral Home for Broadway stars. I was so moved, I went to a corner and openly cried, the people there obviously friends of him looked at me like who is she? I was nobody, just his greatest fan. May God keep you, Tennessee

  • @mckavitt13
    @mckavitt13 8 ปีที่แล้ว +42

    I thank you for this soulful gaze into Tennessee Williams's "wounded genius" & broken heart.

  • @claudettedelphis6476
    @claudettedelphis6476 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +8

    Fabulous documentary of one of America's greatest writer.
    His writing and memory will live on forever.

  • @victoriateague9012
    @victoriateague9012 6 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    He was a lovely child.😪

  • @Demebeso714
    @Demebeso714 3 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    Horrible childhood.. Brilliant writer..

  • @sarahmurphy6759
    @sarahmurphy6759 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    What about " Suddenly Last Summer " ? I thought he wrote that one too.

  • @waynebrasler
    @waynebrasler 7 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    Tom's brother was such a sweet man and so good to me. I was a guest at his hilltop home across the Mississippi and he took me and Paul Thiel to dinner at an elegant steak house in downtown St. Louis; Tennessee had a booth there honoring him. In his home on a glass top table in the dining room was a glass menagerie, including a unicorn. When I realized what I was seeing I wept. Tom hated St. Louis but his brother felt in the end that is where he belonged, with the family, and he did not fulfill Tom's wishes out of love, not to be cruel. Tom's brother firmly believe he was murdered because he knew too much about the death of Marilyn Monroe. I got to know Daken because both Paul Thiel and Deanna Hansen, Normandy people, were his friends. St. Louis did its best to crush Tom but he prevailed. It did so much to crush me but I prevailed. But I knew very early in the game that I had to get out of there and that came to me without me even trying. It was meant to be.

    • @thebiscuitrose
      @thebiscuitrose 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Wayne Brasler tennessee was murdered? What? Noooo.

  • @springranch1384
    @springranch1384 6 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Hmmm.
    Was 'Suddenly Last Summer' mentioned? In spite of key elements being omitted, and even though he disliked the movie adaptation, it was a haunting and beautiful gem.
    And so eminently quotable! 🙄
    Thank you for uploading.

  • @TheNomadicview
    @TheNomadicview 6 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    i think it is important to add that the play "Suddenly Last Summer" took a lot of painful elements of his life, such as, his controling mother, his sister's lobotomy, attempts to silence a traumatized victim.
    in his memoirs, Williams claimed that his mother had Rose lobotomized to keep her from telling everybody about her father molesting her. Whether that was true, it is impossible to know. Rose would hardly have been a credible source. But we can say, at least, that Williams tended to believe it and put the story- in a fictionalized version- on the stage.

    • @bawoman
      @bawoman 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      He never said that....that it was to keep quiet about her dad molesting her. I read his Memoires. All he said that it was mainly her mother that made the decision, nothing about his dad molesting her. Don't make shit up, 'kay?

    • @therespectedlex9794
      @therespectedlex9794 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      His mother looked attractive, in a sister of Morticia Addams kind of way.

  • @2violettina
    @2violettina 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I knew him in Coconut Grove. He used to hang out at the Candle-lite inn and held court with George Black and. Marianne Vercaro if I recall. He encourage me in my desire to be a writer -- my dear, you must let me buy you a drink. But he treated the regulars to a round or two. Old, aging and out of fashion he was still a perfect southern gentleman and we all knew he pick up rough trade along Dixie Highway and felt terrible about it but we could do nothing

  • @RK-su4hs
    @RK-su4hs 9 หลายเดือนก่อน +6

    Life is a pyramid shape for each one of us. We find our direction, build our career/life , reach a peak…then we decline & ultimately go back to our spiritual home
    Tennessee Williams reached heights that many aspire to but never achieve
    A truly remarkable man & writer

  • @user-xn2hf9re8r
    @user-xn2hf9re8r 4 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    His mother was so beautiful.

    • @terr777
      @terr777 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Which pretty well proves beauty isn't everything.

    • @ydcee3123
      @ydcee3123 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@terr777 You damn right. People judge on looks. Not wise at all.

  • @emiliaquistelli5694
    @emiliaquistelli5694 8 ปีที่แล้ว +36

    This is absolutely beautiful, stunning and moving. Such an inspirational and great man. Makes me even more pleased to be studying A Streetcar Named Desire for my literature exam.

    • @windstorm1000
      @windstorm1000 8 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      yes, he was a great artist--and, in spite of his addiction and unhappiness, kept on writing and gave us a immortal canon of art.

    • @cosmoferreiralima9220
      @cosmoferreiralima9220 7 ปีที่แล้ว

      windstorm1000
      l

  • @surejack5
    @surejack5 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    NOT A SINGLE MENTION of Suddenly Last Summer/ How could that be over looked?

  • @beller8501
    @beller8501 6 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    i was born in mississippi like william.southern fathers were suppressed and threw thier rage at thier children.my "father"from arkansas never held me or care for me.abanded me.he did drink lived fantasys with my mad "mother" and left me turned to religion showed no emotion.supressed with his face mask.never went after me to give and see i was safe.thank god that generation is gone 4 ever.healing is the new generation.

    • @Je-Vette
      @Je-Vette 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I'm always amazed by how wonderful his dialogue sounds read ALOUD not just internally read. Read his plays aloud , with another person if possible

  • @irenegronewald7745
    @irenegronewald7745 6 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    i always thought of him as a genius...i still do...a st.louisan...

  • @johnnypastrana6727
    @johnnypastrana6727 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Williams is the greatest playwright America ever had. I was moved by the deep love and regard that his brother Dakin had for him...

  • @BRoyce69
    @BRoyce69 5 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    for context 250$ a week of 1940s $ is like nearly 5000$ a week^ salaried. starting the job he also got a 1000$ bonus ( `17,500$

  • @dashursaqqara436
    @dashursaqqara436 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Critics: Failures at everything they attempt in life, except tearing talented people down....

  • @IvoMiller
    @IvoMiller 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    The Good thing that was Born in Mississippi Columbus

  • @KoreaMojo
    @KoreaMojo 3 ปีที่แล้ว +15

    Nothing like having a best friend little brother.

  • @Inglesao
    @Inglesao 7 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    Great biography!

  • @wandaarnt234
    @wandaarnt234 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    So sad.......tears.....

  • @rounz1
    @rounz1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I wonder if Rose hadn't endured some kind of sexual abuse given that type of father, and a mother who didn't want to know.

  • @Reneekelley68
    @Reneekelley68 8 ปีที่แล้ว +38

    So sad how critics praise you only to rip you apart. I'm literally in tears.

    • @bwsmyhero
      @bwsmyhero 7 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Renee Kelley--Agreed. Eli Wallach, actor and friend of Williams, said, "Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you've got a pretty neck."

    • @cynthialyman2636
      @cynthialyman2636 7 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      So true.

    • @davehallett3128
      @davehallett3128 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      So critics should only sing the praises of those they review. I think critics rightly keep playwrights directors actors etc on their toes so they don t try to get by on just being famous. all the great artists probably don t pay that much attention to critics anyway. I suspect if you re drinking two bottles a day to create your. Art. Most of it s not going to be worth seeing anyway. Everyone peaks then tails off. Some artistes have only four. Movies paintings plays albums. In them. The secret is to quit when you re still relevant and leave em wanting more

    • @causeeffect7624
      @causeeffect7624 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Power plays by all parties. They seesaw.

  • @jv-ep2tc
    @jv-ep2tc 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    when they showed the streetcar with Desire on the front, I burst into tears. I think that is because I view it as a "sign". We all get them in our lives, its what we do with them that matters. After all, thousands of people saw that streetcar. Only TW knew what to do with it.

  • @Makeyouinfamous1
    @Makeyouinfamous1 6 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    She didn't go crazy her father started touching her and she had no one to talk to poor girl

    • @sparx180
      @sparx180 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Kaliah Pleasant That will never be known for sure, if so, I am sure she would have told her brother!

  • @davidtrindle6473
    @davidtrindle6473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Why are so many great writers alcoholics?

  • @kevinsysyn4487
    @kevinsysyn4487 3 ปีที่แล้ว +28

    The critics did not "literally" murder him. You'd think people talking about a great writer would be a bit more careful in their use of language.

    • @ellie8968
      @ellie8968 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      He killed himself, they’re referring to the fact that their cruelty literally brought about his suicide

    • @mo1240
      @mo1240 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Also, it's so easy to call the Mom "repressed" just because she had ministry roots. Sounds to me like the Dad had the problem & Mom was kind.

    • @stephenvanwoert2447
      @stephenvanwoert2447 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      She could have said "literarily," by their bad reviews. But literally everybody says "literally" these days.

    • @kevinsysyn4487
      @kevinsysyn4487 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@stephenvanwoert2447 Illiteracy is a big problem in the USA even among the educated intelligentsia.

    • @kevinsysyn4487
      @kevinsysyn4487 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Hahaha... I missed that... The constant misuse of that word drives me up the wall...literally... I just banged my head on the ceiling.. OW!

  • @pamelajoyce91
    @pamelajoyce91 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Wonderful writer, one of my favourite playwrights, such a genius, destroyed like so many of his precious kind

  • @shannonbloom4133
    @shannonbloom4133 3 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    What? He was an incredible writer, he lived a very trying and harrowing life, but he was not one of the first casualties of alcoholism and drug addiction. Many authors and creative people through the centuries have suffered and died from alcoholism and addiction. He is one of a large community of creative people lost to addiction.

  • @TrudyPatootie
    @TrudyPatootie 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Tennessee would have been satisfied with this documentary. It showed him Warts and all. One thing he would not be happy about is his not being buried at sea. He expressed this endlessly in writings and to reporters. He would NOT have wanted to be buried with his family. He loved and took care of Rose.. but his mom and dad and brother he would have been appalled.
    His brother would not recognize or accept his homosexuality and was not included in his will. Yes putting him in the hospital to dry out did save his life, but there was a long term grudge between them before that happened. Sibling rivalry was quite apparent.
    Tennessee. Those who love your work know that you suffered throughout your life. The one person you gave your love to was Rose. She diagnosed as schizophrenic. I can't imagine how you felt after she had her lobotomy. Tragic circumstances. Being mentally ill haunted you your lifetime.
    May you RIP and know that those who love you know that you were tormented. It wounds US to know how haunted you were by your demons. RIP.

  • @tuforu4
    @tuforu4 6 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Fathers could be very cruel in by gone days. hardening up the son was some ideas they had..i was working when i was 13....

  • @donnarogers7732
    @donnarogers7732 11 หลายเดือนก่อน +4

    people like Tennessee Williams are once in a Lifetime, maybe 3 or3 lifetimes. He was One of a Kind. The critics who trashed him knew Nothing of his Genius. I pray they may never be forgiven.🙏✌️💔💙

  • @missatrebor
    @missatrebor 3 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Thank you for uploading this enlightening documentary. Time to start reading Tennessee Williams again: his plays, his short stories and his 2 novels.

  • @lenarae707
    @lenarae707 5 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    I don't recall that they mentioned his play, made into a movie, "Suddenly Last Summer", is great

  • @katerineella274
    @katerineella274 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    "an illustrious Tennessee family" hmmm.

  • @carlajenkins1990
    @carlajenkins1990 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    To write that well is to "Burn with Fire and Sing to Heaven." Oscar Wilde

  • @aaronmichaels807
    @aaronmichaels807 6 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    Beautiful man...

  • @wilsonlorialitandtheater
    @wilsonlorialitandtheater 7 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    Genius.

  • @billie.ray.martin
    @billie.ray.martin 8 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    Thank you so much for uploading this. It had me in tears. It's a good one.

    • @gevaldogomes9496
      @gevaldogomes9496  8 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      +Billie Ray Martin It was a pleasure to share this file

    • @AF-wu7mu
      @AF-wu7mu 8 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You gay

    • @ho2cultcha
      @ho2cultcha 8 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      you dumb

    • @mizmdb65
      @mizmdb65 7 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      .

  • @donnarogers7732
    @donnarogers7732 6 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Genus of the human heart,of the human reality of living ,and of words! Great admiration!

  • @flyinspirals
    @flyinspirals 8 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    It just amazes me that they have to say, "Genius is without a doubt a word that has to be applied to Tennessee Williams." Really? There are actually geniuses around you now. Our society makes no effort to understand and, therefore, respect such sensitive people. We want stars, not geniuses. If a genius isn't both, he's sunk. And the genius is optional.

  • @davidtrindle6473
    @davidtrindle6473 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    TW did a great deed for humanity. He exposed the horrors of the dysfunctional family in America. He let the cat out of the bag, and much progress has been made since his loving contributuon to humanity.

    • @sg639
      @sg639 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Trindle: Lesson learned from Chekhov.

  • @BarrySmith70
    @BarrySmith70 5 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    I’m surprised how his career went downhill in his last 20 years. I’m shocked. I hope his later work will eventually get the posthumous acclaim they probably deserve