Leonard Melfi (February 21, 1932 – October 28, 2001) was an American
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
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
whose work has been widely produced on the American stage.
Life and career
Leonard was the eldest child of Leonard and Louise Melfi, who owned and operated the Circle Tavern in
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, and serves as the county seat of Broome County. Surrounded by rolling hills, it lies in the state's Southern Tier region near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the conflue ...
. In a 1966 radio interview with
WBAI
WBAI (99.5 FM) is a non-commercial, listener-supported radio station licensed to New York, New York. Its programming is a mixture of political news, talk and opinion from a left-leaning, liberal or progressive viewpoint, and eclectic music. ...
's Janet Coleman, he said, "We always talked, and we always cooked together, and while cooking we drank. My father's father was a bootlegger and my mother's father made wine in the cellar... I was sort of doomed." He joked that he had developed his taste for alcohol by "working in the family business."
Melfi briefly attended St. Bonaventure University, followed by a
tour of duty
For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...
in Germany. Upon his discharge from the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
, Melfi moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to pursue a playwriting career.
His plays tended to portray social outcasts with dark secrets spontaneously revealed in moments of great anxiety. He was among the most prominent artists making
experimental theatre
Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Richard Wagner, Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu Roi, Ubu plays as a rejection of bot ...
at the beginnings of the off-off-Broadway movement in the 1960s.
''Lazy Baby Susan'' was Melfi's first play to be produced. It took place during the inaugural season at
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...
in the East Village of Manhattan in 1962. Melfi's best-known work for the stage, ''Birdbath'', was first produced in 1965 at La MaMa under the direction of
Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals ''Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his ca ...
. His play ''Pussies and Rookies'' was directed at La MaMa in 1965 by Ralph Cook, and his play ''Niagara Falls'' was directed at La MaMa by Kevin O'Connor in 1967. In 1968, La MaMa's
Ellen Stewart
Ellen Stewart (November 7, 1919 – January 13, 2011) was an American theatre director and producer and the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodm ...
collaborated with actor/producer Leslie Irons to open Corner Theatre ETC in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
. Melfi's ''Birdbath'' was that theatre's inaugural production.
Altogether, Melfi wrote over 70 plays during his lifetime. ''Having Fun in the Bathroom'' was directed by
Ed Setrakian
Ed Setrakian (born October 1, 1928 in Anawalt, West Virginia) is an American actor of film and television. Setrakian is known for appearing in the films '' Tough Guys Don't Dance'' and ''Zodiac'' and the television programs ''The Sopranos'' (in th ...
at La MaMa in 1968. ''The Raven Rock'' was directed and produced b Wes Jensby at
Nassau Community College
Nassau Community College (NCC) is a public community college in Uniondale, New York, using the Garden City, New York ZIP Code. It was founded in 1959 and is part of the State University of New York.
History
Nassau Community College was cre ...
before traveling to
University at Albany, SUNY
The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a public research university with campuses in Albany, Rensselaer, and Guilderland, New York. Founded in 1844, it is one ...
and then La MaMa in 1969. ''Horse Opera'' was directed by
Wilford Leach
Carson Wilford Leach (August 26, 1929 – June 18, 1988) was a Tony Award-winning American theatre director, set designer, film director, screenwriter, and professor.
Biography
Leach was born in Petersburg, Virginia,John Braden at La MaMa in 1974. ''Birdbath'' was revived at La MaMa, again directed by O'Horgan, in 1981.
Melfi contributed, along with
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and
Sam Shepard
Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...
, to the 1969
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''
Oh, Calcutta!
''Oh! Calcutta!'' is an avant-garde, risque theatrical revue created by British drama critic Kenneth Tynan. The show, consisting of sketches on sex-related topics, debuted Off-Broadway in 1969 and then in the West End in 1970. It ran in Londo ...
'' He also co-wrote the screenplay for
Mario Monicelli
Mario Alberto Ettore Monicelli (; 16 May 1915 – 29 November 2010) was an Italian film director and screenwriter and one of the masters of the ''Commedia all'Italiana'' (Comedy Italian style). He was nominated six times for an Oscar, and was awa ...
William Devane
William Joseph Devane (born September 5, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Greg Sumner on the primetime soap opera '' Knots Landing'' (1983–1993) and as James Heller on the Fox serial dramas '' 24'' (2001–2010) and '' ...
and
Sophia Loren
Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood ci ...
. He appeared in the 1984 film ''Rent Control'' in the role of Milton Goeller.
A number of Melfi's later plays were produced at the
Theater for the New City
Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading off-off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the P ...
.
Melfi struggled with alcohol for many years, and eventually moved into the
single room occupancy
Single room occupancy (more commonly abbreviated to SRO) is a form of housing that is typically aimed at residents with low or minimal incomes who rent small, furnished single rooms with a bed, chair, and sometimes a small desk. SRO units are ren ...
Narragansett Hotel at
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
and
93rd Street
93rd Street runs from Riverside Drive, overlooking the Hudson River, to the East River, through the New York City borough of Manhattan. It traverses the neighborhoods of the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Carnegie Hill, and Yorkville; the str ...
. On October 24, 2001, Melfi's niece tried to visit her uncle and found his door to be locked. She tried again two days later, with no success, and became worried. The following day,
paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
s arrived at the hotel and transported Melfi to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died four hours later of
congestive heart failure
Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...
.
Melfi's body was misplaced by hospital staff and was found four months later in a potter's grave. After weeks of working through
bureaucracy
The term bureaucracy () refers to a body of non-elected governing officials as well as to an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected offi ...
, his brother John had Leonard's body exhumed and brought to
Campbell Funeral Home
The Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel is a funeral home located on Madison Avenue at 81st Street in Manhattan. Founded in 1898 as Frank E. Campbell Burial and Cremation Company, the company is now owned by Service Corporation International. The fun ...
. There, the coffin was opened and John verified the body as his brother's. He had the body transferred to DeMarco Funeral Home in Binghamton, and after a complete funeral service including a mass he was buried in the family plot next to his sister in April 2002.
Memorial services were held for the playwright on May 5, 2002 at La MaMa following an April 17 ''New York Times'' article describing the playwright's final days. Playwright
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) ...
sent the following note, which was read aloud to those present at the memorial: "Years ago, there were many serious and daring individuals in Greenwich Village under 30 as well as young playwrights, myself included. It was a wild and vital time, and no one was more vital than Leonard."