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 Helena Sumner Locke (4 July 1881 – 18 October 1917) was an Australian novelist, dramatist/playwright, poet and short story writer. Her sister was the socialist Lilian Locke. Early life Born in 1881, she was the sixth daughter of Anglican cler ...

and the journalist Henry Logan Elliott. His mother died of

eclampsia Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is one of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in ...

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 Dame Doris Alice Lucy Walkden Fitton, (3 November 18972 April 1985) was an Australian actress of stage and film and theatrical director and producer who founded and for 35 years headed The Independent Theatre Ltd. in Sydney, New South Wales. ...

's The Independent Theatre Ltd. He was drafted into the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, 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 (Austral ...

in 1942, but instead of being posted overseas, he worked as a clerk in Australia. He used these experiences as the inspiration for his controversial play, '' Rusty Bugles''. The play toured extensively throughout Australia and achieved the notoriety of being closed down for obscenity by the Chief Secretary's Office. However, ''Rusty Bugles place in the history of Australian theatre rests on more than notoriety. Mac is a memorable character in the play, 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 Golde ...

'', ''

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 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Imperial Chees ...

'', '' Studio One'' and ''

Playhouse 90 ''Playhouse 90'' was an American television anthology series, anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. The show was produced at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California. Since live anthology dr ...

''. 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 "The Grey Nurse Said Nothing" is a television play written by Sumner Locke Elliott. It was based on elements of the Shark Arm case but is mostly fictitious. The play was screened in the US in 1959 as an episode of '' Playhouse 90''. It was perform ...

'' 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 of Miles Franklin (1879–195 ...

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 LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

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 mo ...

aged 73 in

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 ...

in 1991.

Bibliography

Novels

*'' Careful, He Might Hear You'' (1963) *'' Some Doves and Pythons'' (1966) *''

Edens Lost ''Edens Lost'' is a 1989 Australian mini-series based on the novel of the same title by Sumner Locke Elliott, produced by Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Central Independent Television. Gillian Armstrong and Margaret Fink had ...

'' (1969) *'' The Man Who Got Away'' (1972) *'' Going'' (1975) *''

Water Under the Bridge "Water Under the Bridge" is a song by English singer Adele from her third studio album '' 25'' (2015). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released the track as the album's fourth single on 14 November 2016. ...

'' (1977) *'' Rusty Bugles'' (1980) *'' Signs of Life'' (1981) *'' About Tilly Beamis'' (1985) *'' Waiting for Childhood'' (1987) *''Fairyland'' (1990)

Short stories

*''Radio Days'' (1993)

Plays

*''Storm'' (1931) (one-act) *'' 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 ''Wicked is the Vine'' is a 1947 radio play by Sumner Locke Elliott that was later adapted for American television. It was inspired by the Lizzie Borden murder. Plot In 1918, two sisters, Sarah and Ellie Vinson, come into conflict. It results in ...

'' (first Australian play to be televised in US) *'' Rusty Bugles'' (1948) *'' Buy Me Blue Ribbons'' (1951) *''

John Murray Anderson's Almanac ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' is a musical revue, featuring the music of the songwriting team of Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, as well as other composers. It was conceived by John Murray Anderson. Productions ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac ...

'' (1953)

TV plays

*"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. Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the ''Philco Tel ...

'' (1955) *"The Thin Air" (1952), "We Were Children" (1952), "Before I Wake" (1953) and "Friday the 13th" (1954) for ''

'' *"The King and Mrs. Candle," for ''

Producers' Showcase ''Producers' Showcase'' is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth M ...

'' (1955) *"Whereabouts Unknown," for ''The Kaiser-Aluminum Hour'' (1957) *"Babe in the Woods" (1957) and "Love at Fourth Sight" (1957) for '' Studio One'' *"The Count of Monte Cristo" (1958) and "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1961) for ''Dupont Show of the Month'' *"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 ''The Alcoa Hour'' is an American anthology television series that was aired live on NBC from 1955 to 1957. The series was sponsored by Alcoa. Overview Like the ''Philco Television Playhouse'' and ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' that had prec ...

'' *"Wish on the Moon," for ''

'' (1953).

Radio plays

*"Wicked is the Vine" – ''Lux Radio Theatre'' (1947)

References

External links

Obituary, ''The New York Times'', June 26, 1991
*
Sumner Locke Elliott Australian theatre credits
at

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 LGBT novelists Miles Franklin Award winners Patrick White Award winners 20th-century Australian novelists 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights LGBT dramatists and playwrights American LGBT novelists American male novelists American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian male writers Australian male novelists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century LGBT people Australian gay writers