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{{short description|American writer}}
{{Short description|American novelist, playwright, and actor (1927–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2013}}
{{Infobox writer
{{Infobox writer
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| image = James Leo Herlihy.jpg
| image = James Leo Herlihy.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|02|27}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1927|02|27}}
| birth_place = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], United States
| birth_place = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|10|21|1927|02|27}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|10|21|1927|02|27}}
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], United States
| death_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| occupation = [[Novelist]], [[playwright]], [[actor]]
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* [[Novelist]]
* [[playwright]]
* actor
}}
| language = English
| language = English
| genre = [[Fiction]]
| genre = [[Fiction]]
}}
}}
'''James Leo Herlihy''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɜr|l|ə|h|i}}; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American [[novelist]], [[playwright]] and [[actor]].
'''James Leo Herlihy''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɜr|l|ə|h|i}}; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American [[novelist]], [[playwright]] and actor.


Herlihy is known for his novels ''[[Midnight Cowboy (novel)|Midnight Cowboy]]'' and ''[[All Fall Down (Herlihy novel)|All Fall Down]]'', and his play ''[[Blue Denim]]'', all of which were adapted for cinema. Other publications include ''[[The Season of the Witch]]'' and several [[short story|short stories]].<ref name="nytimesobit">{{Citation
Herlihy is known for his novels ''[[Midnight Cowboy (novel)|Midnight Cowboy]]'' and ''[[All Fall Down (Herlihy novel)|All Fall Down]]'', and his play ''[[Blue Denim]]'', all of which were adapted for cinema. Other publications include ''[[The Season of the Witch]]'' and several [[short story|short stories]].<ref name="nytimesobit">{{Citation
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==Biography==
==Biography==
Herlihy was born into a [[working-class]] family in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], in 1927. He was raised in Detroit and [[Chillicothe, Ohio]].<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West">{{cite web|last1=Haskell|first1=Arlo|title=JAMES LEO HERLIHY The Midnight Cowboy in Key West|url=http://www.kwls.org/littoral/james_leo_herlihythe_midnight/|website=Littoral|access-date=14 December 2014}}</ref> He enlisted with the Navy in 1945 but saw no action due to the end of [[World War II]]. He attended [[Black Mountain College]] in [[North Carolina]] for two years, where he studied sculpture. He then moved to [[southern California]] and attended the [[Pasadena Playhouse]] College of the Theatre.<ref name="nytimesobit" />
Herlihy was born into a [[working-class]] family in [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], in 1927. He was raised in Detroit and [[Chillicothe, Ohio]].<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West">{{cite web|last1=Haskell|first1=Arlo|title=JAMES LEO HERLIHY The Midnight Cowboy in Key West|url=http://www.kwls.org/littoral/james_leo_herlihythe_midnight/|website=Littoral|date=April 29, 2010 |access-date=14 December 2014}}</ref> He enlisted with the Navy in 1945 but saw no action due to the end of [[World War II]]. He attended [[Black Mountain College]] in [[North Carolina]] for two years, where he studied sculpture. He then moved to [[southern California]] and attended the [[Pasadena Playhouse]] College of the Theatre.<ref name="nytimesobit" />


A gay man, Herlihy was a close friend of playwright [[Tennessee Williams]], who served as his mentor.<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West" /> Both spent a significant amount of time in [[Key West, Florida]]. Like Williams, Herlihy had lived in New York City. Apart from Key West, the primary home of Herlihy was in the [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles|Silver Lake]] district of [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West" />
A gay man, Herlihy became a close friend of playwright [[Tennessee Williams]], who served as his mentor.<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West" /> Both spent a significant amount of time in [[Key West, Florida]]. Like Williams, Herlihy had lived in New York City. Apart from Key West, the primary home of Herlihy was in the [[Silver Lake, Los Angeles|Silver Lake]] district of [[Los Angeles]].<ref name="Midnight Cowboy in Key West" /> There, another mentor and close friend was French author [[Anais Nin]], who shared some of her most secret diaries with him.

⚫
Herlihy died by [[suicide]] at the age of 66, after taking an overdose of [[sleeping pill]]s in Los Angeles.<ref name="nytimesobit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-23/news/mn-48680_1_midnight-cowboy|title=J.L. Herlihy; 'Midnight Cowboy' Author|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|last=Folkart|first=Burt A.|date=October 23, 1993|access-date=July 5, 2009}}</ref>


==Works==
==Works==
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Three of his one-act plays, titled collectively ''Stop, You're Killing Me'' were presented by the Theater Company of Boston in 1969.<ref>{{Citation
Three of his one-act plays, titled collectively ''Stop, You're Killing Me'' were presented by the Theater Company of Boston in 1969.<ref>{{Citation
| title = Theater: Laughing in the Dark
| title = Theater: Laughing in the Dark
| journal = Time
| magazine = Time
| date = March 28, 1969
| date = March 28, 1969
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839969,00.html
| url = http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839969,00.html
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060625235146/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839969,00.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = June 25, 2006
| access-date = February 11, 2010}}
| access-date = February 11, 2010}}
</ref>
</ref>
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===Tax protest===
===Tax protest===
In 1968, Herlihy signed the "[[Writers and Editors War Tax Protest]]" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments as a protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>"Writers and Editors War Tax Protest", January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''</ref> He later also became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated [[tax resistance]] as a form of protest against the war.<ref>"A Call to War Tax Resistance" ''The Cycle'' 14 May 1970, p.&nbsp;7</ref>
In 1968, Herlihy signed the "[[Writers and Editors War Tax Protest]]" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments as a protest against the Vietnam War.<ref>"Writers and Editors War Tax Protest", January 30, 1968 ''New York Post''</ref> He later also became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated [[tax resistance]] as a form of protest against the war.<ref>"A Call to War Tax Resistance" ''The Cycle'' 14 May 1970, p.&nbsp;7</ref>

==Death==
⚫
Herlihy committed [[suicide]] at the age of 66, by taking an overdose of [[sleeping pill]]s in Los Angeles.<ref name="nytimesobit" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-10-23/news/mn-48680_1_midnight-cowboy|title=J.L. Herlihy; 'Midnight Cowboy' Author|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|last=Folkart|first=Burt A.|date=October 23, 1993|access-date=July 5, 2009}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Herlihy, James Leo}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herlihy, James Leo}}
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:1927 births]]
[[Category:Suicide in 1993]]
[[Category:1993 suicides]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century American novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American male novelists]]
[[Category:American tax resisters]]
[[Category:American tax resisters]]
[[Category:LGBT writers from the United States]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in California]]
[[Category:Drug-related suicides in California]]
[[Category:Writers from Detroit]]
[[Category:Writers from Detroit]]
[[Category:American male writers who committed suicide]]
[[Category:American LGBT dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:LGBT dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:LGBT people from Michigan]]
[[Category:LGBT people from Michigan]]
[[Category:Gay writers]]
[[Category:American gay writers]]
[[Category:LGBT novelists]]
[[Category:American LGBT novelists]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:American male short story writers]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
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[[Category:Novelists from Michigan]]
[[Category:Novelists from Michigan]]
[[Category:Black Mountain College alumni]]
[[Category:Black Mountain College alumni]]
[[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBT people]]

Latest revision as of 07:00, 26 July 2023

James Leo Herlihy
Born(1927-02-27)February 27, 1927
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
DiedOctober 21, 1993(1993-10-21) (aged 66)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation
LanguageEnglish
GenreFiction

James Leo Herlihy (/ˈhɜːrləhi/; February 27, 1927 – October 21, 1993) was an American novelist, playwright and actor.

Herlihy is known for his novels Midnight Cowboy and All Fall Down, and his play Blue Denim, all of which were adapted for cinema. Other publications include The Season of the Witch and several short stories.[1]

Biography[edit]

Herlihy was born into a working-class family in Detroit, Michigan, in 1927. He was raised in Detroit and Chillicothe, Ohio.[2] He enlisted with the Navy in 1945 but saw no action due to the end of World War II. He attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina for two years, where he studied sculpture. He then moved to southern California and attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of the Theatre.[1]

A gay man, Herlihy became a close friend of playwright Tennessee Williams, who served as his mentor.[2] Both spent a significant amount of time in Key West, Florida. Like Williams, Herlihy had lived in New York City. Apart from Key West, the primary home of Herlihy was in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles.[2] There, another mentor and close friend was French author Anais Nin, who shared some of her most secret diaries with him.

Works[edit]

Plays he wrote include Streetlight Sonata (1950), Moon in Capricorn (1953), and Blue Denim (produced on Broadway in 1958).[1] He directed actress Tallulah Bankhead in a touring production of his play Crazy October in 1959.[3] Three of his one-act plays, titled collectively Stop, You're Killing Me were presented by the Theater Company of Boston in 1969.[4] According to author Sean Egan in his biography of James Kirkwood Jr., Ponies & Rainbows, Herlihy co-wrote the play UTBU with Kirkwood but demanded his name be taken off the credits.[5]

Herlihy wrote three novels: All Fall Down (1960), Midnight Cowboy (1965), and The Season of the Witch (1971).[6] His short stories were collected in The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories (1959) and A Story That Ends in a Scream and Eight Others (1967), a collection which included plays.[1]

Acting roles[edit]

Herlihy appeared as a guest star in "A Bunch of Lonely Pagliaccis," a 1962 episode of the TV series Route 66. He acted in the movie In the French Style (1963) with Jean Seberg. Herlihy also acted in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story in 1963 in Boston and Paris,[1] and in the 1981 film Four Friends directed by Arthur Penn.[1]

Tax protest[edit]

In 1968, Herlihy signed the "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest" pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments as a protest against the Vietnam War.[7] He later also became a sponsor of the War Tax Resistance project, which practiced and advocated tax resistance as a form of protest against the war.[8]

Death[edit]

Herlihy committed suicide at the age of 66, by taking an overdose of sleeping pills in Los Angeles.[1][9]

Bibliography[edit]

Novels[edit]

Plays[edit]

  • Streetlight Sonata (1950)
  • Moon in Capricorn (1953)
  • Blue Denim (1958)
  • Crazy October (1959)
  • Stop, You're Killing Me: Three Short Plays (1969)

Collections[edit]

  • The Sleep of Baby Filbertson and Other Stories (1958)
  • A Story That Ends with a Scream and Eight Others (1967)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Grimes, William (October 22, 1993), "James Leo Herlihy, 66, Novelist Who Wrote 'Midnight Cowboy'", The New York Times, retrieved February 11, 2010
  2. ^ a b c Haskell, Arlo (April 29, 2010). "JAMES LEO HERLIHY The Midnight Cowboy in Key West". Littoral. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
  3. ^ Special Collections Department (October 1997), James Leo Herlihy Papers, University of Delaware
  4. ^ "Theater: Laughing in the Dark", Time, March 28, 1969, archived from the original on June 25, 2006, retrieved February 11, 2010
  5. ^ Egan, Sean (2011) "Ponies & Rainbows: The Life of James Kirkwood" Bearmanor Media, ISBN 1-59393-680-X, page 204
  6. ^ Houston, Levin (April 17, 1971), "Herlihy Captures Reader", The Free Lance-Star - Apr 17, 1971, retrieved February 11, 2010 [dead link]
  7. ^ "Writers and Editors War Tax Protest", January 30, 1968 New York Post
  8. ^ "A Call to War Tax Resistance" The Cycle 14 May 1970, p. 7
  9. ^ Folkart, Burt A. (October 23, 1993). "J.L. Herlihy; 'Midnight Cowboy' Author". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 5, 2009.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Leo_Herlihy&oldid=1167186443"