had his first play, Texas Town, produced Off- Broadway in 1941. Since then he has had plays produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off Off-Broadway and at many theaters around the country. Plays include Young Man From Atlanta (Pulitzer Prize), The Trip to Bountiful (Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Revival), The Carpetbagger's Children, The Day Emily Married, The Last of the Thorntons, The Chase, The Traveling Lady, Night Seasons, Tomorrow, The Habitation of Dragons, Laura Dennis, Vernon Early, The Roads to Home and the nine-play The Orphans' Home Cycle - Roots in a Parched Ground, Convicts, Lily Dale, The Widow Claire, Courtship, Valentine's Day, 1918, Cousins and The Death of Papa. He received Academy Awards for his screenplay adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird and his original screenplay, Tender Mercies. Awards include Obie and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Dividing the Estate, Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway and the Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award for the Signature Theatre series of his plays, Drama Desk Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal of Drama for the body of his work, PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for Drama, New York State Governor's Award and the 2000 National Medal of Arts Award from President Bill Clinton. Honors: Theatre Hall of Fame (1996), elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998). His memoirs, Farewell and Beginnings, are published by Scribners.
