Alexander Greendale (May 25, 1910 - August 21, 1981) was an American playwright and civic leader. He was an adjunct professor at

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

, the editor of two books about housing, and the author of over 70 plays.

Early life

Greendale was born on May 25, 1910, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He graduated from the University of Hawaii, and he earned master's degrees from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

and

Career

Greendale was an adjunct professor at his alma mater, Adelphi University. He was a

Guggenheim Fellow Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

in 1942. He was the director of the housing division of the

American Jewish Committee The American Jewish Committee (AJC) is a Jewish advocacy group established on November 11, 1906. It is one of the oldest Jewish advocacy organizations and, according to ''The New York Times'', is "widely regarded as the dean of American Jewish org ...

from 1970 to 1977, when he became the executive director of the West Side

Jewish Community Council Jewish Community Councils (JCCs) are a form of local Jewish organization with the purpose of safeguarding Jewish rights, and assisting local residents. Jewish Community Councils were mostly formed in the 1940s. Activities Jewish organizations are l ...

. In 1972, he became the vice president of the Inter-religious New Communities Coalition, an organization whose aim was to build new towns in

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He edited two books about housing. Greendale authored over 70 plays, including ''Dark Clouds'', ''Buried Height'', ''Fingers in the Fog'', ''Little Italy'', and ''Walk Into My Parlor''.

Personal life

With his wife Ziva, Greendale had a son and a daughter. They resided in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Greendale died on August 21, 1981, in New York City, at age 71.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greendale, Alexander 1910 births 1981 deaths People from Chicago People from Brooklyn University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa alumni Stanford University alumni Adelphi University alumni Adelphi University faculty American dramatists and playwrights