Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams 19111983

1
Tennessee Williams(Thomas Lanier
Williams)(1911-1983)

• The Southern Gentleman

2
His Life

• Born in Columbus, Mississippi
• Aggressive mother Traveling Shoe Salesman
  Father Mentally ill sister. These people are
  very much like the characters in The Glass
  Menagerie.
• Attended college (against his fathers will) at
  University of Washington and University of Iowa
  where he got his nickname because of his Southern
  accent.
• Drank heavily. Psychiatric problems. At one point
  he thought he had breast cancer, but it was just
  a lump from too much drinking.

3
His Death

• On February 24th 1983, one night before going to
  sleep he took his usual Seconals to help him
  sleep. There were many pills scattered on the
  bedside table along with a picture of the Virgin
  Mary and Child (he took it every where he went).
  Later that night he reached for another Seconal
  and grabbed a plastic cap. It was stuck in is
  throat, as he tried to summon for help, no one
  could hear him. He knocked something over, and it
  made a crashing noise. His friend in the other
  room heard the noise and ignored it, so then he
  died.

4
His Work

• Major BreakthroughThe Glass Menagerie (1945)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) Pulitzer Prize
  winner
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955)