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 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 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 (CA), who ...

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 ''Rusty Bugles'' was a controversial Australian play written by Sumner Locke Elliott in 1948. It toured extensively throughout Australia between 1948–1949 and was threatened with closure by the New South Wales Chief Secretary's Office for obsce ...

''. 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'', ''

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 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 drama series of th ...

''. 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 performe ...

'' 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 (1879–1 ...

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 bowe ...

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 ''Some Doves and Pythons'' is a novel by Sumner Locke Elliott 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 an ...

'' (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 pl ...

'' (1969) *''

The Man Who Got Away ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' (1972) *'' Going'' (1975) *'' Water Under the Bridge'' (1977) *''

'' (1980) *'' Signs of Life'' (1981) *''

About Tilly Beamis About may refer to: * About (surname) * About.com, an online source for original information and advice * about.me, a personal web hosting service * ''abOUT'', a Canadian LGBT online magazine * ''About Magazine'', a Texas-based digital platform ...

'' (1985) *''

Waiting for Childhood Waiting, Waitin, Waitin', or The Waiting may refer to: Film * ''Waiting'' (1991 film), a film by Jackie McKimmie * ''Waiting...'' (film), a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds * ''Waiting'' (2007 film), a film by Zarina Bhimji * ''Waiting'' (20 ...

'' (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'' (first Australian play to be televised in US) *''

'' (1948) *'' Buy Me Blue Ribbons'' (1951) *'' John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (1953)

TV plays

*"Beloved Stranger" (1955), for '' Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1955) *"The Thin Air" (1952), "We Were Children" (1952), "Before I Wake" (1953) and "Friday the 13th" (1954) for '' The Philco Television Playhouse'' *"The King and Mrs. Candle," for '' Producers' Showcase'' (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 prece ...

'' *"Wish on the Moon," for '' The Philco Television Playhouse'' (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 {{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