James Leo Herlihy (; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American novelist,

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and actor. Herlihy is known for his novels '' Midnight Cowboy'' and '' All Fall Down'', and his play '' Blue Denim'', all of which were adapted for cinema. Other publications include ''

The Season of the Witch ''The Season of the Witch'' is a novel by James Leo Herlihy. The story is written in the form of a journal that spans three months in the life of teenage runaway Gloria Glyczwycz during the autumn of 1969. Plot summary Gloria decides to run a ...

'' and several short stories.

Biography

Herlihy was born into a

working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...

family in Detroit, Michigan, in 1927. He was raised in Detroit and

Chillicothe, Ohio Chillicothe ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States. Located along the Scioto River 45 miles (72 km) south of Columbus, Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio. It is the only city in Ross Count ...

. He enlisted with the Navy in 1945 but saw no action due to the end of World War II. He attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina for two years, where he studied sculpture. He then moved to southern California and attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of the Theatre. A gay man, Herlihy was a close friend of playwright Tennessee Williams, who served as his mentor. Both spent a significant amount of time in

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

. Like Williams, Herlihy had lived in New York City. Apart from Key West, the primary home of Herlihy was in the

Silver Lake Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

district of Los Angeles. Herlihy committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

at the age of 66, after taking an overdose of

sleeping pill Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

s in Los Angeles.

Works

Plays he wrote include ''Streetlight Sonata'' (1950), ''Moon in Capricorn'' (1953), and '' Blue Denim'' (produced on Broadway in 1958). He directed actress Tallulah Bankhead in a touring production of his play ''Crazy October'' in 1959. Three of his one-act plays, titled collectively ''Stop, You're Killing Me'' were presented by the Theater Company of Boston in 1969. According to author Sean Egan in his biography of

James Kirkwood Jr. James Kirkwood Jr. (August 22, 1924 – April 21, 1989) was an American playwright, author and actor. In 1976 he received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the Broadway h ...

, ''Ponies & Rainbows'', Herlihy co-wrote the play ''UTBU'' with Kirkwood but demanded his name be taken off the credits. Herlihy wrote three novels: '' All Fall Down'' (1960), '' Midnight Cowboy'' (1965), and ''

'' (1971). His short stories were collected in ''The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories'' (1959) and ''A Story That Ends in a Scream and Eight Others'' (1967), a collection which included plays.

Acting roles

Herlihy appeared as a guest star in "A Bunch of Lonely Pagliaccis," a 1962 episode of the TV series ''

Route 66 U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...

''. He acted in the movie '' In the French Style'' (1963) with Jean Seberg. Herlihy also acted in

Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as ''The Zoo Story'' (1958), '' The Sandbox'' (1959), ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' (1962), '' A Delicate Balance'' (1966) ...

's play '' The Zoo Story'' in 1963 in Boston and Paris, and in the 1981 film '' Four Friends'' directed by Arthur Penn.

Tax protest

In 1968, Herlihy signed the " Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments as a protest against the Vietnam War. He later also became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated tax resistance as a form of protest against the war."A Call to War Tax Resistance" ''The Cycle'' 14 May 1970, p. 7

Bibliography

Novels

*'' All Fall Down'' (1960) *'' Midnight Cowboy'' (1965) *''

'' (1971)

Plays

*''Streetlight Sonata'' (1950) *''Moon in Capricorn'' (1953) *'' Blue Denim'' (1958) *''Crazy October'' (1959) *''Stop, You're Killing Me: Three Short Plays'' (1969)

Collections

*''The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories'' (1958) *''A Story That Ends with a Scream and Eight Others'' (1967)

References

External links

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James Leo Herlihy
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Special Collections, University of DelawareJames Leo Herlihy letters to Edward P. Mitchell
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Special Collections, University of Delaware
*Materials related to James Leo Herlihy in th
Lyle Bonge - James Leo Herlihy correspondence
collection held b
Special Collections, University of Delaware
*Materials related to James Leo Herlihy in th
Jeffrey Bailey collection of James Leo Herlihy papers
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Special Collections, University of Delaware
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herlihy, James Leo 1927 births 1993 suicides 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American tax resisters Drug-related suicides in California Writers from Detroit LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from Michigan American gay writers American LGBT novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers Novelists from Michigan Black Mountain College alumni United States Navy personnel of World War II 1993 deaths 20th-century LGBT people