[Deathwatch] Horton Foote, actor / playwright, 92

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Horton Foote died just months before he could finally win that elusive
Tony Award

When Horton Foote died Wednesday at age 92, he was hard at work on the
most ambitious project of his nearly seven-decade writing career. "The
Orphans Home Cycle" ? a collection of nine of Horton Foote's plays set
in the fictional version of his hometown of Wharton, Texas ? will
premiere at Hartford Stage in the fall before moving on to
off-Broadway's Signature Theater.

The onetime actor turned to playwrighting at the suggestion of good
friend choreographer Agnes DeMille ("Oklahoma!"). While Horton Foote
turned out more than 60 plays ? beginning with the one-act "Wharton
Dance" in 1940 ? only eight of them played on Broadway. And none of
these lasted more than a few months. However, his most recent rialto
run ? the Lincoln Center Theatre production of "Dividing the Estate" ?
could be a contender at the Tony Awards in June.

That top Broadway kudo was the one prize that eluded Horton Foote in
his lifetime. His only nomination came in 1997 for "The Young Man From
Atlanta." While he was bested by Alfred Uhry's "The Last Night of
Ballyhoo," Horton Foote did win the Pulitzer Prize for "Atlanta."

For his screen adaptation of the best-selling Harper Lee novel "To Kill
a Mockingbird," he won at the Oscars in 1962. That hit movie earned
eight Oscar nominations in all, including best picture. And leading man
Gregory Peck finally triumphed with his fifth lead actor nod. The role
of Atticus Finch would come to define the actor to generations and
topped the 2003 AFI list of screen heroes.

In 1983 Horton Foote won a second Oscar, this time for his original
script for "Tender Mercies." That film starred Robert Duvall, who had
made a memorable screen debut as Boo Radley in "Mockingbird." Duvall
won the lead actor Oscar on the fourth of six nominations. And two
years later, Horton Foote adapted his 1953 play "A Trip to Bountiful"
for the big screen. Foote lost his writing race to Kurt Luedtke, who
adapted various works for best pic "Out of Africa." However, the film's
star ? Geraldine Page ? finally prevailed as lead actress after seven
losing bids in both lead (3) and supporting (4) categories.

Horton Foote also had a successful career in the early days of
television. His adaptation of the William Faulkner story "Old Man" for
"Playhouse 90" earned him an Emmy nod in 1959. He lost to James
Costigan for his original teleplay "Little Moon of Alban." However, he
did win an Emmy Award for the 1997 "Hallmark Hall of Fame" remake as
well as the Humanitas prize. Among his other laurels, Foote also won
the WGA award for each of his Oscar-winning screenplays. And he won the
Indie Spirit award for his "Bountiful" script.

Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary