His troubled family provided inspiration for much of Tennessee Williams'' writing. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi, in the home of his maternal grandfather, the local Episcopal rector. (The home is now the Mississippi Welcome Center and tourist office for the city.) His father, Cornelius Williams, was a traveling salesman who became increasingly abusive as his children grew older. Dakin Williams, his brother, was often favored over him by their father. His mother, Edwina Williams, was a descendant of a genteel southern family, and was somewhat smothering. She may have had a mood disorder. The family moved to Clarksdale, Mississippi, by the time Thomas was three. At eight, he was diagnosed with diphtheria and for two years could do almost nothing, but then his mother decided she wouldn''t allow him to continue wasting his time. She encouraged him to use his imagination and gave him a typewriter when he was thirteen.[
citation needed] In 1918, the family moved again, this time to St. Louis, Missouri. In 1927, at the age of 16, Williams won third prize (five dollars) for an essay published in
Smart Set entitled, "Can a Good Wife Be a Good Sport?" A year later, he published "The Vengeance of Nitocris" in
Weird Tales. In the early 1930s Williams attended the University of Missouri–Columbia where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. It was there that his fraternity brothers dubbed him Tennessee for his rich southern drawl. In the late 1930s Williams transferred to Washington University for a year, eventually taking a degree from the University of Iowa in 1938. By that time, Williams had written what would be his first publicly performed play,
Cairo, Shanghai, Bombay! at 1917 Snowden in Memphis, Tennessee. This work was first performed in 1935 at 1780 Glenview, also in Memphis. Williams lived in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. He first moved there in 1939 to write for the WPA and lived first at 722 Toulouse Street, which was the setting of his 1977 play
Vieux Carré and is now a part of The Historic New Orleans Collection. He wrote
A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) while living at 632 St. Peter Street. Tennessee was close to his sister Rose who had perhaps the greatest influence on him. She was a slim beauty who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent most of her adult life in mental hospitals. After various unsuccessful attempts at therapy, she became paranoid. Her parents eventually allowed a prefrontal lobotomy in an effort to treat her. The operation - performed in 1937 in Washington, D.C. - went badly and Rose remained incapacitated for the rest of her life. Rose''s failed lobotomy was a hard blow to Williams, who never forgave their parents for allowing the operation. It may have been one of the factors that drove him to alcoholism. The common "mad heroine" theme that appears in many of his plays may have been influenced by his sister.[
citation needed] Characters in his plays are often seen to be direct representations of his family members. Laura Wingfield in
The Glass Menagerie is understood to be modelled on Rose. Some biographers say that the character of Blanche DuBois in
A Streetcar Named Desire is based on her as well and a small part on Williams himself. At the time Williams wrote "A Streetcar Named Desire" he believed he was going to die and that this play would be his swan song. The motif of lobotomy also arises in
Suddenly, Last Summer. Amanda Wingfield in
The Glass Menagerie can easily be seen to represent Williams'' mother. Many of his characters are considered autobiographical, including Tom Wingfield in
The Glass Menagerie and Sebastian in
Suddenly, Last Summer.
Actress Anne Meacham was a close personal friend of Tennessee Williams and played the lead in many of his plays including
Suddenly, Last Summer. In his memoirs, he claims he became sexually active as a teenager. His bioLyle Leverich, maintained this actually occurred later, in his late 20s. Williams'' play,
The Parade, or Approaching the End of a Summer, written when he was 29 and worked on throughout his life, is an autobiographical depiction of an early romance in Worcester, Massachusetts. This play was only recently produced for the first time on 1 October 2006 in Worcester by the Shakespeare on the Cape production company, as part of the First Annual Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival. His relationship with Frank Merlo, a second generation Sicilian American who had served in the U.S. Navy in World War II, lasted from 1947 until Merlo''s death from cancer in 1963?, and provided stability when Williams produced his most enduring works. Merlo provided balance to many of Williams'' frequent bouts with depression[2], especially the fear that like his sister, Rose, he would go insane. During the late 50s and 60s, Williams faced harsh criticism from a number of theatre critics. Due to McCarthyism the country was steeped in conservatism and attacked Williams because of his homosexuality. As Williams matured his work became more experimental in works such as "Out Cry", further alienating him from the critics. The death of his partner drove Williams into a deep, decade-long episode of depression. Tennessee Williams died at the age of 71 after he choked on a bottle cap in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York.[3] However, some, including his brother Dakin, believe he was murdered. In contrast, the police report from his death seems to indicate that drugs were involved; many prescription drugs were found in the room, and the lack of an adequate gag response that would have released the bottle cap from his throat may have been due to drug and alcohol influence. Williams'' body was interred in the Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri, despite his stated desire to be buried at sea at approximately the same place as the poet Hart Crane, whom he considered one of his most significant influences. He left his literary rights to Sewanee, The University of the South in honor of his grandfather, Walter Dakin, an alumnus of the university located in Sewanee, Tennessee. The funds today support a creative writing program. When his sister Rose died after many years in a mental institution, she bequeathed over 50 million dollars from her part of the Williams estate to Sewanee, The University of the South as well. The various experiences of Williams'' eventful life often find manifestations within his work. For example,
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof contains references to, amongst others, homosexuality, mental instability and alcoholism. In 1989, Williams was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.