Sumner Locke Elliott (17 October 191724 June 1991) was an Australian (later American) novelist and playwright.
Biography
Elliott was born in Sydney to the writer
Sumner Locke and the journalist Henry Logan Elliott. His mother died of
eclampsia
Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a pregnant woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of proteinuria ...
one day after his birth. Elliott was raised by his aunts, who had a fierce custody battle over him, fictionalised in Elliott's autobiographical novel, ''
Careful, He Might Hear You''. Elliott was educated at
Cranbrook School in Bellevue Hill, Sydney.
World War II
Elliott became an actor and writer with the
Doris Fitton's
The Independent Theatre Ltd. He was drafted into the
Australian Army
The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...
in 1942 but was not posted overseas, working as a clerk in Australia. He used those experiences as the inspiration for his controversial play, ''
Rusty Bugles''. In October 1948, it achieved the notoriety of being closed down for obscenity by the New South Wales
Chief Secretary's Office.
However, the place of ''Rusty Bugles'' in the history of Australian theatre rests on much more than its notoriety for being banned, and popularity of the production meant that it subsequently toured extensively throughout Australia.
"Mac" is a memorable character and, in the first production,
Frank O'Donnell transformed audiences' understanding of the typical Australian "bludger" or "scrounger". To the men in his unit, he appeared a winner even when he was losing but, with the discovery of his wife's infidelity, his fragility becomes apparent.
Television
Elliott moved to the United States in 1948, where he ranked in the pantheon of leading playwrights during the Golden Age of live television dramas, writing more than 30 original plays and numerous adaptations for such shows as ''
The Philco Television Playhouse
''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...
'', ''
Kraft Television Theatre
''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...
'', ''
Studio One'' and ''
Playhouse 90
''Playhouse 90'' is an American television anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 134 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology drama series of t ...
''. He also wrote a play, ''Buy Me Blue Ribbons'', which had a short run on Broadway.
In 1955, he obtained United States citizenship and did not return to Australia until 1974.
[ His TV play '' The Grey Nurse Said Nothing'' aired on TV in the US and Australia.
]
Books
Elliott's best known novel, '' Careful, He Might Hear You'', won the 1963 Miles Franklin Award
The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the Will (law), will of Miles Franklin ...
and was turned into a film in 1983.
Private life
As a gay man during a time when this was socially disapproved of, Elliott was uncomfortable with his sexuality. He kept it secret until nearly the end of his life before coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
in his book ''Fairyland''. Because of these fears, Elliott had affairs but never had any stable relationships.
Death
He died of colon cancer
Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include blood in the stool, a change in bowel ...
aged 73 in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1991.
Bibliography
Novels
*'' Careful, He Might Hear You'' (1963)
*'' Some Doves and Pythons'' (1966)
*'' Edens Lost'' (1969)
*'' The Man Who Got Away'' (1972)
*'' Going'' (1975)
*'' Water Under the Bridge'' (1977)
*'' Rusty Bugles'' (1980)
*'' Signs of Life'' (1981)
*'' About Tilly Beamis'' (1985)
*'' Waiting for Childhood'' (1987)
*''Fairyland
Fairyland (Early Modern English: ''Faerie''; ( Scottish mythology; cf. (Norse mythology)) in English and Scottish folklore is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or ''fays''. Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of ...
'' (1990)
Short stories
*'' Radio Days'' (1993)
Plays
*''Storm'' (1931) (one-act)
*'' The Folly of It'' (1938)
*'' Interval'' (1939)
*'' The Cow Jumped Over the Moon'' (1939)
*'' The Little Sheep Run Fast'' (1940)
*'' Goodbye to the Music'' (1942)
*'' Your Obedient Servant'' (1943)
*'' The Invisible Circus'' (1946)
*'' Wicked Is the Vine'' (first Australian play to be televised in US)
*'' Rusty Bugles'' (1948)
*'' Buy Me Blue Ribbons'' (1951)
*'' John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (1953)
TV plays
*" Wicked is the Vine"
*" The Crater"
*" The Girl with the Stop Watch" (1953) and " Beloved Stranger" (1955), for ''Goodyear Television Playhouse
''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the first Golden Age of Television.
Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and ''The Philco Television Playhouse'' ...
'' (1955)
*" The Thin Air" (1952), " We Were Children" (1952), " Fadeout" (1953), " Before I Wake" (1953) and " Friday the 13th" (1954) for ''The Philco Television Playhouse
''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...
''
*" The King and Mrs. Candle" and " The Women" (1956) for '' Producers' Showcase'' (1955)
*" Whereabouts Unknown" for ''The Kaiser-Aluminum Hour'' (1957)
*"Little Women" (1950), " Babe in the Woods" (1957) and " Love at Fourth Sight" (1957) for '' Studio One''
*"The Count of Monte Cristo" (1958), "The Winslow Boy
''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.
Background
Set against the strict cod ...
" (1958) and " The Prisoner of Zenda" (1961) for ''Dupont Show of the Month''
*"Keyhole
A lock is a mechanical or electronic fastening device that is released by a physical object (such as a key, keycard, fingerprint, RFID card, security token or coin), by supplying secret information (such as a number or letter permutation or pas ...
" (1956), "Daisy! Daisy!" (1956) and " You and Me and the Gatepost" (1956) for ''Playwrights '56''
*"I Heard You Calling Me" (1961), for ''Way Out''
*" Mrs. Gilling and the Skyscraper" (1957) for '' The Alcoa Hour''
*" Dusty Portrait" (1952), " Wish on the Moon" (1953), '' Time Bomb'' and " Run Girl Run" (1954) for ''The Philco Television Playhouse
''The Philco Television Playhouse'' is an American television anthology series that was broadcast live on NBC from 1948 to 1955. Produced by Fred Coe, the series was sponsored by Philco. It was one of the most respected dramatic shows of the ...
''.
*"Peter Pan" (1960) starring Mary Martin
*" Notorious" (1962) and " Spellbound" (1962) for ''Theatre 62''
Radio plays
*'' Crazy Family'' (1939) - serial
*'' Jezebel's Daughter'' (1941) - serial
*'' Tradesman's Entrance'' (1941) - radio serial
*'' Grand City'' (1942) - serial
*'' Scarlet Rhapsody'' - serial
*'' The Army Hour'' (1944)
*'' Lily Parker''
*" Wicked is the Vine" – ''Lux Radio Theatre'' (1947)
*'' Ride a Cock Horse (play)''
*" Fade Out" (1953)Review of production
at Variety for ''Philco Radio Playhouse''
References
External links
*
*
ttp://www.ausstage.edu.au/indexdrilldown.jsp?xcid=59&f_contrib_id=228156 Sumner Locke Elliott Australian theatre creditsat
AusStage
AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Sumner Locke
1917 births
1991 deaths
Australian emigrants to the United States
Australian people of English descent
American gay writers
Australian LGBTQ novelists
Miles Franklin Award winners
Patrick White Award winners
Gay novelists
Gay dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Australian novelists
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
American LGBTQ novelists
American male novelists
American male dramatists and playwrights
20th-century Australian male writers
Australian male novelists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century Australian LGBTQ people
Australian gay writers
Australian LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights
Deaths from colorectal cancer in New York (state)