Ponyboy Curtis | |
---|---|
The Outsiders character | |
First appearance |
|
Created by | S. E. Hinton |
Portrayed by | C. Thomas Howell (1983 film) Jay R. Ferguson (1990 TV series) Brody Grant (2023 stage musical) |
Age | 14 years |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Ponyboy Michael Curtis |
Gender | Male |
Occupation | High school student |
Affiliation | Greasers |
Family | Darrel Curtis (brother) Sodapop Curtis (brother) Unnamed mother (deceased) Unnamed father (deceased) |
Nationality | American |
Residence | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
Ponyboy Michael "Pony" Curtis is a fictional character and the main protagonist of S. E. Hinton's 1967 novel The Outsiders . On screen, he is played by C. Thomas Howell in Francis Ford Coppola's 1983 film adaptation and by Jay R. Ferguson in the 1990 sequel TV series. Brody Grant originated the role on stage in the 2023 stage musical adaptation. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Ponyboy is a fourteen-year-old boy who belongs to a gang of greasers alongside his elder brothers Darrel Shaynne "Darry" Curtis, Jr. and Sodapop Patrick "Soda" Curtis. Ponyboy, although he is loyal to and loves his gang, he doesn't like how it's in gang nature to be criminal or immoral. He believes that Darry, "can't stand him" and seems "too bossy." Since the brothers' parents died, Darry has had full responsibility for Ponyboy and Sodapop, but they can only stay with Darry as long as they don't get in trouble with the police. He lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and participates in the local social-club rivalries.
Ponyboy's best friend is Johnny Cade, a boy who is said to resemble "a little dark puppy that has been kicked too many times and is lost in a crowd of strangers."
Ponyboy runs away with Johnny after an argument with Darry and is involved in the death of a "Soc" (pronounced /soʊʃ/ SOHSH—short for Social ) after they pulled up on him in his territory, which is later ruled to have been self-defense on the part of Johnny.
He is eventually reunited with his brothers and participates in the rumble alongside other members of the gang. Though a good fighter, he fights poorly in the rumble due to a blow to the head and is severely injured. Dally takes Ponyboy to the hospital to visit Johnny and see how he is doing. Dally gets stopped by a police officer for speeding. He tells Ponyboy to "act sick," and convinces the officer that Ponyboy fell off his motorcycle. The officer ends up escorting them to the hospital. Ponyboy is present for the deaths of both Johnny and later, Dallas Winston. Having witnessed two deaths in a short period of time, Ponyboy is overwhelmed and passes out.
After the murder of a Soc, running away from home, and the deaths of his two buddies, Ponyboy has to appear in family court in order to convince the judge that living with his brothers is an appropriate environment. In court, the judge doesn't ask him questions about the Soc's murder, but instead asks him about his home life and school. Once the judge announces that he can remain under his brother's custody, he returns home and finds a letter from Johnny which inspires him to start writing the story of his experience being a greaser. [5]
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The character of Ponyboy Curtis is and continues to be regarded as one of the most enduring teenage characters in 20th-century American fiction. [4] [15] [16]
For his performance in the 1983 film, C. Thomas Howell received critical praise, as well as the Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actor in a Feature Film. [17] [18] Robert Osborne in his 1983 review for The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Howell and Ralph Macchio, who played Johnny, carry the film and do a commendable job with their performances. [19]
Brody Grant's portrayal in the stage musical also received positive reviews, as well as numerous accolades, including a Theatre World Award and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical. [20] [21] [22] [23] Emlyn Travis of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "From the moment that he appears onstage scribbling away in his notebook, it's clear that Grant sees the character for what he truly is: a wide-eyed kid, burdened by familial and societal expectations, who longs for something more. In turn, he plays Ponyboy with a softness and affability that is hard not to root for". [24]
"Cult theatre director" Chris Goode named his second ensemble Ponyboy Curtis. [25]
Hinton, S.E. (1967). The Outsiders. New York: SPEAK. ISBN 9780140385724.
The Human Comedy is a 1943 novel by William Saroyan. It originated as a 240-page film script written for MGM. Saroyan was planning to produce and direct the film, but he was dropped from the project either because the script was too long or because a short film he directed as a test was not considered acceptable – or both. He walked off the lot, went home, and swiftly created a novelization, which was published just before the film came out. It was the March 1943 Book-of-the-Month Club selection, and became a best-seller a week after its release. Saroyan won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film, The Human Comedy.
Christopher Thomas Howell, also known professionally as C. Thomas Howell, is an American actor and director. He has starred in the films The Outsiders (1983), Red Dawn (1984), Secret Admirer (1985), Soul Man (1986), A Tiger's Tale (1987), and Young Toscanini (1988). He has also appeared in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Tank (1984), The Return of the Musketeers (1989) and Old Dads (2023).
Matthew Raymond Dillon is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Academy Award nomination and Grammy nomination.
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The Outsiders is a coming-of-age novel by S. E. Hinton published in 1967 by Viking Press. The book details the conflict between two rival gangs of White Americans divided by their socioeconomic status: the working-class "Greasers" and the upper-middle-class "Socs". The story is told in first-person perspective by teenage protagonist Ponyboy Curtis, and takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1965, although this is never explicitly stated in the book.
The Carpetbaggers is a 1961 bestselling novel by Harold Robbins, which was adapted into a 1964 film of the same title. The prequel Nevada Smith (1966) was also based on a character in the novel.
That Was Then, This Is Now is a coming-of age, young adult novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1971. Set in the 1960s, it follows the relationship between two brothers, Mark Jennings and Bryon Douglas, who are foster brothers, but find their relationship rapidly changing and deteriorating. The book was later adapted into a 1985 film starring Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.
Ponyboy can refer to:
Garson Kanin was an American writer and director of plays and films.
That Was Then... This Is Now is a 1985 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. The film was directed by Christopher Cain, distributed by Paramount Pictures, and stars Emilio Estevez and Craig Sheffer.
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Vondie Curtis-Hall is an American actor, film director, and television director. As an actor, he is known for his role as Dr. Dennis Hancock on the CBS medical drama Chicago Hope created by David E. Kelley and as Ben Urich in the Netflix TV series Daredevil. He wrote and directed the cult film Gridlock'd.
The Outsiders is a 1983 American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is an adaptation of the 1967 novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton and was released on March 25, 1983, in the United States. Jo Ellen Misakian, a librarian at Lone Star Elementary School in Fresno, California, and her students were responsible for inspiring Coppola to make the film.
Jay Rowland FergusonJr. is an American actor. He is known as Taylor Newton in Evening Shade (1990–1994), Stan Rizzo in Mad Men (2010–2015), and Ben Olinsky in The Conners (2018–present).
Adam Rapp is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play Red Light Winter was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006.
The Outsiders is an American drama television series that aired from March 25 to July 22, 1990 on Fox. Based on the characters from the 1967 novel of the same title by S. E. Hinton, the series' executive producer was the 1983 film's director Francis Ford Coppola.
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The Outsiders House Museum is a museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, about Francis Ford Coppola's coming-of-age movie,The Outsiders (1983), and the 1967 novel by the same name it adapts by S. E. Hinton. It aims to preserve the house which served as the primary film set for the Curtis Brothers. The museum was created by hip-hop artist Danny Boy O'Connor, who is a long-time fan of The Outsiders.
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