Howard Richardson (playwright)

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Howard Dixon Richardson (December 2, 1917 – December 30, 1984) was an American playwright, best known for the 1945 play Dark of the Moon . [1]

Dark of the Moon is a dramatic stage play by Howard Richardson and William Berney. The play was produced on Broadway in 1945 and was the maiden production of the now acclaimed New York Circle in the Square Theatre in 1951.

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Born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Richardson graduated in 1938 from the University of North Carolina and then traveled through Europe (1938–39), returning to the University of North Carolina in 1940 for his M.A. From 1940 to 1942, he studied at the University of Iowa, where he wrote the play Barbara Allen (published in 1942), aka Night Song, inspired by the Scottish-English folk song, "The Ballad of Barbara Allen". He served with the Army in 1943.

Spartanburg, South Carolina City in South Carolina, United States

Spartanburg is the most populous city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States, and the 12th-largest city by population in the state. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 37,013, and Spartanburg County has an urban population of 180,786 as of the 2010 census. The Spartanburg Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Spartanburg and Union counties, had a population of 317,057 as of the 2010-2014 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.

University of North Carolina public university system throughout North Carolina, USA

The University of North Carolina is a multi-campus public university system composed of all 16 of North Carolina's public universities, as well as the NC School of Science and Mathematics, the nation's first public residential high school for gifted students. Commonly referred to as the University of North Carolina System or the UNC System to differentiate it from the original campus in Chapel Hill, the university has a total enrollment of over 183,001 students and in 2008 conferred over 75% of all baccalaureate degrees in North Carolina. UNC campuses conferred 43,686 degrees in 2008–2009, the bulk of which were at the bachelor's level, with 31,055 degrees awarded.

University of Iowa public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States

The University of Iowa is a public research university in Iowa City, Iowa. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and the second largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized into 11 colleges offering more than 200 areas of study and seven professional degrees.

Broadway

Richardson wrote Dark of the Moon with his cousin and frequent collaborator, William Berney. They were unsuccessful in an effort to get Dark of the Moon on Broadway until an article about a Boston production of Dark of the Moon in the September 11, 1944 issue of Life attracted the attention of Broadway producers. With Richard Hart and Carol Stone heading the cast, Dark of the Moon opened on Broadway March 14, 1945 and ran for 318 performances. In addition to two off-Broadway revivals, it became a perennial play with numerous college and high school productions in the decades that followed. [2]

<i>Life</i> (magazine) American magazine

Life was an American magazine published weekly until 1972, as an intermittent "special" until 1978, and as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. During its golden age from 1936 to 1972, Life was a wide-ranging weekly general interest magazine known for the quality of its photography.

Richardson's other plays include Design for a Stained Glass Window, about religious persecution, and Protective Custody, which had a short-lived 1956 New York production starring Faye Emerson.

Faye Emerson American actress

Faye Margaret Emerson was an American film actress and television interviewer known as "The First Lady of Television." Beginning in 1941, she acted in many Warner Bros. films. In 1944, she played one of her more memorable roles as Zachary Scott's former lover in The Mask of Dimitrios. From 1944 to 1950, she was the third wife of Colonel Elliott Roosevelt, son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Television

Richardson also wrote for television, including Ark of Safety for the Goodyear Television Playhouse . Dark of the Moon had three television productions—on the Goodyear Television Playhouse, Cameo Theatre and Matinee Theater .

The Goodyear Television Playhouse is an American anthology series that was telecast live on NBC from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television". Sponsored by Goodyear, Goodyear alternated sponsorship with Philco, and the Philco Television Playhouse was seen on alternate weeks.

<i>Cameo Theatre</i> television series

Cameo Theatre is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1950 to 1955.

In 1960, Richardson completed his doctorate at the University of Iowa and returned to Manhattan, where he lived at 207 Columbus Avenue. He was a lecturer and resident artist at various colleges around the country.

At age 67, he died at New York's Roosevelt Hospital in 1984. [3] [4]

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References

  1. ↑ Encyclopedia of Alabama: William Berney
  2. ↑
    • "Papers of Howard Richardson". University of Iowa Libraries.
  3. ↑ IMDb
  4. ↑ "Howard Richardson Is Dead; Co-Author of 'Dark of Moon'". The New York Times . January 1, 1985.
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