Mark Medoff (March 18, 1940 – April 23, 2019) 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 ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

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 (), lit ...

, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...

. His play '' Children of a Lesser God'' received both the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

and the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

. He was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and a Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay Award for the film script of '' Children of a Lesser God'' and for a Cable ACE Award for his HBO Premiere movie, ''Apology''. He also received an Obie Award for his play ''

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? ''When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?'' is a play by Mark Medoff. The setting is Foster's Diner, a New Mexico rest stop that lost most of its clientele when a new highway bypass opened. Employees include restless cook Stephen (nicknamed "Red Ryder ...

'' Medoff's feature film ''Refuge'' was released in 2010. ''

'' was adapted into a film with a screenplay by Medoff in 1979.

Biography

Early life

Medoff was born on 18 March 1940 in

Mount Carmel, Illinois Mount Carmel is a city in and the county seat of Wabash County, Illinois, United States. At the time of the 2010 census, the population was 7,284, and it is the largest city in the county. The next largest town in Wabash County is Allendale, po ...

, to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family, the son of Thelma Irene (Butt), a psychologist, and Lawrence R. Medoff, a physician. He was raised in Miami Beach. In 1967, while working as an instructor at the Capitol Radio Engineering Institute in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, he wrote his first play, ''The Wager''. His first play to be staged in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

was ''

'', which won him the 1974

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

and Obie Awards for Outstanding New Playwright.

Education

Medoff received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree from the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...

and his

Master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from Stanford University. Medoff also received an honorary degree in 1981 from Gallaudet University.

Awards and nominations

Medoff's big breakthrough and most famous work was 1979's '' Children of a Lesser God'', which won him the

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...

, Drama Desk, and Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Play. Medoff was back on Broadway again with the staging of his play ''Prymate'' in 2005. Medoff's screen credits include adaptations of his plays ''Red Ryder'' and ''Children of a Lesser God'', for which he was nominated for an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

, BAFTA, and

Writers Guild of America The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers: * The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO * The Writers Gu ...

Award, '' Clara's Heart'' (for which he cast, and subsequently "discovered",

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

), and ''

City of Joy ''City of Joy'' (french: La Cité de la joie) is a 1985 novel by Dominique Lapierre. It was adapted as a film by Roland Joffé in 1992. Calcutta is nicknamed "the City of Joy" after this novel, although the slum was based on an area in its twi ...

''. In 2000, he produced and directed the documentary ''Who Fly on Angels’ Wings'', about a mobile

pediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

unit traveling through the under-served regions of southern

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

, and the following year he directed the feature film ''

Children on Their Birthdays ''Children on Their Birthdays'' is a 2002 American independent drama film directed by Mark Medoff, and starring Sheryl Lee, Jesse Plemons, Joe Pichler, Tania Raymonde, Christopher McDonald, and Tom Arnold. The screenplay written by Douglas Sloan ...

'', based on the

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

Teaching

Medoff was co-founder of the American Southwest Theatre Company and head of the Department of Theatre Arts for nine years at

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

, where he was a professor for a total of twenty-seven years and taught Screenwriting and Acting for Film, Short Film Production, and Film Directing and Producing. He was also the Creative Director of the Creative Media Institute at NMSU, the film department at the university. The theater department is still the American Southwest Theater Company. For one semester a year between 2003–06, he worked at Florida State University as a Reynolds Eminent Scholar in the School of Theatre. In the spring semester of 2008 he joined the faculty of the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

School of Theatre and Dance as Distinguished Lecturer. He was the winner of the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

Medallion for Excellence in Education and Artistic Achievement, given periodically to professionals in theater who also teach and mentor students.

Personal life and death

Medoff was married to second wife Stephanie Thorne from 1972 until his death in 2019; they had three daughters. In April 2019, he entered hospice care after battling cancer in his later years and suffering a fall. He died on April 23, 2019, from complications at age 79.Dramatist and educator Mark Medoff, author of 'Children of a Lesser God,' dies at 79
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Bibliography

Plays

*''The Wager'', 1966 *''The Odyssey of Jeremy Jack'', (w/ Carleene Johnson, 1973) *''The Kramer'', 1973 *''

'', 1974 *''The Halloween Bandit'', 1978 *''The Conversion of Aaron Weiss'', 1978 *''Firekeeper'', 1978 *''The Last Chance Saloon'', 1979 *''The Froegle Dictum'', 1980 *'' Children of a Lesser God'', 1980 *''The Majestic Kid'', 1981 *''The Hands of Its Enemy'', 1984 *''Kringle's Window'', 1985. *''The Heart Outright'', 1986 *''The Homage That Follows'', 1995 *''Showdown on Rio Road'' (with Ross Marks, 1998). * ''Crunch Time'', (with Phil Treon, 1998). * ''Gila'', 1996. * ''Gunfighter - A Gulf War Chronicle'', 1997 * ''A Christmas Carousel'', 1997. * ''Tommy J and Sally,'' 2000. * ''The Same Life Over,'' 2002. * '' Prymate'', 2003. * ''The Dramaturgy of Mark Medoff,'' 2004. * ''Marilee and Baby Lamb: Assassination of an American Goddess,'' 2015.

Radio plays

*''The Disintegration of Aaron Weiss'', 1979 *''The Last Chance Saloon'', 1980

Screenplays

*''Good Guys Wear Black'', 1978 *'' When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder'', 1979 *''Off Beat'', 1986 *''Apology'', 1986 *'' Children of a Lesser God'', 1986 *'' Clara's Heart'', 1987 *''

'', 1992 *''Showdown on Rio Road'', 1993 *'' Homage'', 1995 *''Santa Fe'', 1997 *''100 MPG'', 2006 *''Refuge'', 2010 *'' Walking with Herb'', 2021

Acting and directing

Medoff's theatre directing credits include '' Waiting for Godot'', ''

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds ''The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds'' is a play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. Production ...

'', '' Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris'', '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'', '' Equus'', and ''

Hot L Baltimore #REDIRECT Hot l Baltimore the title is a play on the word 'Hotel' with a missing 'e', hence, ''"Hot l"''. The only "official" rendering with a capital "L" (official being defined as actual promotional material) is when the entire word, or the ...

.'' As an actor, he has appeared in the plays ''

Marat/Sade ''The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade'' (german: Die Verfolgung und Ermordung Jean Paul Marats dargestellt durch die Schauspielgrupp ...

'', ''

Black Comedy/White Lies Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

'', and '' Old Times'', among others, and the films ''The Twilight of the Golds'', ''Santa Fe'', ''Homage'', ''Red Ryder'', and ''Clara's Heart''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Medoff, Mark 1940 births 2019 deaths American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters 20th-century American Jews Film directors from Illinois Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American screenwriters New Mexico State University faculty People from Mount Carmel, Illinois Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Illinois Screenwriters from Texas Screenwriters from New Mexico Stanford University alumni Tony Award winners University of Houston faculty University of Miami alumni 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers Accidental deaths from falls 21st-century American Jews