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.
“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.....
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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,
@@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)
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.
Love him. He was a grand master and makes Southern Writing great!!! His plays are mind blowing. He drank and drugged a lot, I know but he's an eccentric genius.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. 🤗💎🆗❤️👍🙏
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.
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.🙏✌️💔💙
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
On that cold February night, I was driving past the Elysse Hotel at about 2:30 am, coming home from a music gig. My partner remarked that the greatest living play write lived in that hotel. We gave him his eulogy as his soul lifted.
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.
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.
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.
I'm always puzzled by how so many great artists and creative people lose touch with themselves and become so depressed and beat down as their self esteem diminishes. I learned long ago that anything more than surviving is a bonus and not to depend on the opinions of others to gauge my outlook on life. Well understood humility is the most critical virtue for the weather we must endure if we are to smile for our last moment.
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.
@@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.
@@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.
Thank you Tennessee Williams for living the true American tale, popping it's cherry, and ushering in the Beat poets and other disallusioned beatnixs and the later the Hippie scene and all of it's poetry, plays, and music. You, like all great American celebrities, paid the price for being ahead of your time
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.
@@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!
I had the honor of meeting Mr. Williams at a cast party for one of his plays done in San Francisco 1977. He seemed almost humble when I told him how much I liked the play and his work in general. He was very much the gentleman and smiled throughout the evening. I’ll never forget shaking his hand. Genius!
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.
The opposite is true as well. People in the grip of alcohol and drug addiction push their friends and loved ones away and can be unpleasant and difficult to be near.
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
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.
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!
@@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.
@@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.
@@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.
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.
I'm impressed by the video and I'm sad to see - again - what parents can do wrong. Not only fathers, mothers too. It is great to be remembered about one of the best writers ever. Thanks for uploading Odlaveg Semog.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
There’s a Tennessee Williams quote that’s always stuck with me more than anything else i’ve ever read: “I suppose life always ends badly for almost everybody. We must have long fingers & catch at whatever we can while it is passing near us.” It’s amazing how accurate this was to his own life, the insight he had into his own life & the lives of others. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
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."
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
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.
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.
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!
Great artists are never happy. It is the pain they live with that enables them to reach down and touch that source of pain that is familiar with everyone. They bring it to the surface so we all can see it, experience it and many of us recognize it.
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.
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
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.
People don't read much today and reading a play is a specialized skill but there's a book of short stories that has in it the seeds of all his great plays and I believe it is still in print... "One Arm"
Fabulous documentary of one of America's greatest writer.
His writing and memory will live on forever.
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.
You're really lucky to be good friends with a true legend
Immortality lives in the pen of a genius. Tennessee Williams is forever the quintessential playwright.
No writer ever could you write so perfectly and poetically about The Human Condition!! Absolute true genius!
also Oscar Wilde
“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.....
Yes it has Tenn😢
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.
does he say that in an interview?
...thanks for the quote...
❤
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.
As a southerner I just love Tennessee Williams
Dear God! I miss this A&E. The true Arts & Entertainment channel.
“How beautiful it is and how easily it can be broken.”― Tennessee Williams
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.
Nicely said
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
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
❤️
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,
Little sincerity is a dangerous thing. A great deal can be absolutely faital.😷❄️
I want to read something he wrote
@@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)
Thank you
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.
Thank goodness for Audrey Wood! We can thank this woman for bringing this remarkable artist to our world.
I'm from Columbus,Ms too,(here now),and every time I pass his house I think of all Williams did for the theater.
Love him. He was a grand master and makes Southern Writing great!!! His plays are mind blowing. He drank and drugged a lot, I know but he's an eccentric genius.
Actually quite intoxicating.
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.
I noticed it too
Yes that was touching indeed.
Oh, yes. That got me right in the depths of my heart and soul.....having that same kind of relationship with my own brothers.
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.
I noticed and it got to me too
I absolutely love his works. Always will.
Did you read 'A streetcar named desire'?
@@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! 👍
Wonderful writing. Hands down my favorite story teller. So poetic....
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.
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.
If that is true, why are his first editions selling for almost nothing on E-bay?
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. 🤗💎🆗❤️👍🙏
I've read all Williams plays. OMG it is wonderful &. Rarely can a male write so well for a woman!
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.
Williams is the greatest playwright America ever had. I was moved by the deep love and regard that his brother Dakin had for him...
THE BEST AMERICAN PLAY WRITER OF THE 20TH CENTURY. I WORKED WITH HIM IN LATER LIFE AND HE WAS A PERFECT GENTELEMAN
Ahhh
Huhhhhhhhhugyghyhggggyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyyygyygyygyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyygyyyygyyyyyyygyyyyygyyyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyvyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyygyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyygyyyyygyyyyyygyyyygyyyyyyyyyygyyyyyyygyyyyyyyyyyyyyggyyyyyyyggyygyggygyygygygygtyg/ttttttttttt/ttt///t/t/t//ttft/f////ft/ vvt tg//tgttg/tftfttttfttfttt/tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttfffttftttttttttttttttttttttttt/t//tt/ttt/ttfttttttt/tt
T tt/tttcttttftttttttttttttttctf/ttfftttttffftftctttftftfttftfffttffttftftfttttftttfftttft/tttttftttttttftttttfttttttttfttttftttttttfftfffftftttttfttftttctftctftftfttftffffttttfttttftttfttttfttftttftttttftttttttttttttttttttfftfftfttttttttfttfttttffftfftttfttttttcftfttttfttftttfttftf/tfttftttfftttttttfttfttttfffttftftfttfftttttttftftfttfttfftttfttftffttffttfttfttfftttfffttttttttfttftfffttttttftftttttttt/tcttcffttttftfttfftfffcttfftttcttftttfttftctfttttffttttftttcttft/ttfttftfttftfttftfctfftttffttttftftffftttt/ttcg ^11111211111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111aaaa
@@kaylenecrossan6084 YOU MUST BE A TRUMPER BECAUSE YOUR BRAIN DEAD
I rewatched King of the Hill and Bill's cousin, Gilbert was compared to Tennessee Williams and I had no idea this man existed.
@@WilliamsWrestlin If you want some great experiences watch Streetcar Named Desire, The Rose Tattoo, and The Fugitive Kind but not king of the hill
The best American playwright who ever lived.
I love talent, and I don’t give a damn about one’s sexual orientation!
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.🙏✌️💔💙
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.
I thank you for this soulful gaze into Tennessee Williams's "wounded genius" & broken heart.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
absolutely
Well said!
He got addicted to alcohol and his art suffered. No one helped him, not even his shrink who should have referred him to AA
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.
THIS! 💯💯💯💯💯
Wonderful writer, one of my favourite playwrights, such a genius, destroyed like so many of his precious kind
Genus of the human heart,of the human reality of living ,and of words! Great admiration!
On that cold February night, I was driving past the Elysse Hotel at about 2:30 am, coming home from a music gig. My partner remarked that the greatest living play write lived in that hotel. We gave him his eulogy as his soul lifted.
Tennessee bared his soul to the world, and it repaid him by disrespect of the man and his genius.
He cast his pearls before swine and was trampled.
There will always be the narcissistic, envious, and cynical among us that wish to tear down what is exemplary and beautiful.
As many as what becomes a societal narcissism.
@@nkley1 nn9nn9 99m
@@nkley1 nn9nn9 99m 9i 9n ni n
What some people can not understand, achieve or control, they will demonize or destroy.
@@leeboriack8054 You are absolutely correct!
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.
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.
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.
It is a good thing that his later works are now also being recognized as good plays. Small Craft Warnings being one. Spectacular man!
I'm always puzzled by how so many great artists and creative people lose touch with themselves and become so depressed and beat down as their self esteem diminishes.
I learned long ago that anything more than surviving is a bonus and not to depend on the opinions of others to gauge my outlook on life.
Well understood humility is the most critical virtue for the weather we must endure if we are to smile for our last moment.
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.
very wise. indeed, that surprises me.
Shane Noel Amen to that. Look how many formerly lauded stars die sick and alone, where are their friends when they need them?
@@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.
@@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.
Dick York is another one that stands out with a similar situation !
Thank you Tennessee Williams for living the true American tale, popping it's cherry, and ushering in the Beat poets and other disallusioned beatnixs and the later the Hippie scene and all of it's poetry, plays, and music. You, like all great American celebrities, paid the price for being ahead of your time
Thank you for uploading this enlightening documentary. Time to start reading Tennessee Williams again: his plays, his short stories and his 2 novels.
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.
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
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.
He was "doted upon" and possibly somewhat spoiled in a way. A kid calling school "a jail" is usually kind of picky.
@@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!
Yes, it certainly is.
Why dig so deep for an explanation? He was addicted!! And none of his friends or docs helped him
@@mo1240 It wasn't uncommon to view school as jail - there were quite a few "picky kids" lol
I had the honor of meeting Mr. Williams at a cast party for
one of his plays done in San Francisco 1977. He seemed almost humble when I told
him how much I liked the play and his work in general. He was very much the
gentleman and smiled throughout the evening. I’ll never forget shaking his
hand. Genius!
EagleRockers what an experience! And memory! Write a short story about that evening...I'll read it and recommend it on my blog 😃
You spoke with such elegance about meeting him. Bravo!
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.
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.
windstorm1000
l
Your writings will live on forever. You'll always lives in our heart. The Americas greatest playwright, Rest in Power ❤️
love Tennesse Williams. ..Thanx for upload
sorry *Tennessee*
So called Friends are there when you are riding the Crest of the wave,but desert you when you are on the way down .Love his work 😌
The opposite is true as well. People in the grip of alcohol and drug addiction push their friends and loved ones away and can be unpleasant and difficult to be near.
Tennessee Williams captured in his work the tortured, artistic and the primitive. Kim hunter perfectly complimented the Raw Sexuality of M.
Brando.
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
Great biography!
Beautiful man...
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.
Ditto, only my parents started in their 20s. What a cruel mess
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!
@@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.
@@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.
@@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.
He was a lovely child.😪
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.
Good old A&E Before "reality tv" forced everyone to streaming apps
Streaming
@@hazelwray5307 Ha, ha, ha, ha. Can’t stop laughing at the irony!🤣🤣😂💕🎇🎆
I miss it so much
I've always loved his work...still love it
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.
Don’t forget Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God and Richard Wright, Black Boy. Something about the South...
don't forget Flannery O'Conner
Check out Horton Foote also.
Lol in this year we read works from both Maya Angelou and Tennessee Williams
@@Missangie827 You are so right. So right.
A wounded genius indeed. The greatest American playwright. He surpassed O'Neill and Miller
@gattamelata1940 And Albee and Wilder. In any case he is in the Top 5.
Not O’Neill !
Not Miller!
@@jcmanganSam Shepherd
@@RK-su4hs David Mamet
Best Screen Writer Ever ☆
Yes. Every play he wrote was great!
I'm impressed by the video and I'm sad to see - again - what parents can do wrong. Not only fathers, mothers too. It is great to be remembered about one of the best writers ever. Thanks for uploading Odlaveg Semog.
my favorite playwriter
For a place so many consider an intellectual desert Mississippi produces an enormous amount of talent.
People like to negatively criticize places in which they've never even been to.
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.
yeh the have no prisons there..
I'm amazed at how many great musicians came from Clarksdale, Mississippi...
ergot57 - Yes it does! Faulkner, Tennessee, Richard Wright, Muddy Waters, BB, ...
His plays enriched my life and work.
I love these old shows from the History Channel, and Biography. The 90s-the last time this country had any maturity & common sense.
Sad but true.
Such a wonderful talented man 🥰
BEAUTIFUL !
Those poor children. Oh the things parents do to their children. : (
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."
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.
@@ianmartinezcassmeyer Lol well stated and accurate!
Pain that is not transformed is transmitted
He remains my most favorite modern day playwright.
His mother was so beautiful.
Which pretty well proves beauty isn't everything.
@@terr777 You damn right. People judge on looks. Not wise at all.
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.
i always thought of him as a genius...i still do...a st.louisan...
Thank you for sharing. Very well presented...sad the critic's destroyed him. But, no matter his writing's live on!
Nothing like having a best friend little brother.
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.
One of the very Best AB documentaries. A+
The last part about him wondering how someone could like him saddened me.
A handsome little man with a mighty genius
Thank you so much for uploading this. It had me in tears. It's a good one.
+Billie Ray Martin It was a pleasure to share this file
You gay
you dumb
.
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.
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.
His face right after he said that was REALLY telling...then right back into that charming smile he had.
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.
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?
His mother looked attractive, in a sister of Morticia Addams kind of way.
There’s a Tennessee Williams quote that’s always stuck with me more than anything else i’ve ever read:
“I suppose life always ends badly for almost everybody. We must have long fingers & catch at whatever we can while it is passing near us.”
It’s amazing how accurate this was to his own life, the insight he had into his own life & the lives of others. One of the greatest writers of the 20th century.
So sad how critics praise you only to rip you apart. I'm literally in tears.
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."
So true.
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
Power plays by all parties. They seesaw.
My favorite above all....thank you I enjoyed this a great deal
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.
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.
many men are raised to be abusive--\its a vcious cyle.
yep. and it's still always a man's job to end it.
Women too....let's not forget that
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.
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!
Great artists are never happy. It is the pain they live with that enables them to reach down and touch that source of pain that is familiar with everyone. They bring it to the surface so we all can see it, experience it and many of us recognize it.
I'm so glad to have found this.
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.
Wayne Brasler tennessee was murdered? What? Noooo.
"I could be brilliant like Tennessee Williams / If I could only find something that sounds like the truth." -- Bernie Taupin
Love his stories 😘❤️❤️
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
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.
Trindle: Lesson learned from Chekhov.
People don't read much today and reading a play is a specialized skill but there's a book of short stories that has in it the seeds of all his great plays and I believe it is still in print... "One Arm"
One of the greatest playwrights that ever lived