Edward Martino Crowley (August 21, 1935 – March 7, 2020) was an American playwright best known for his 1968 play '' The Boys in the Band''.

Biography

Crowley was born in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vi ...

. After graduating from

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...

(studying acting and show business) in Washington, D.C. in 1957, Crowley headed west to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

, where he worked for a number of television production companies before meeting

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

on the set of her film '' Splendor in the Grass''. Wood hired him as her assistant, primarily to give him ample free time to work on his gay-themed play '' The Boys in the Band'', which opened

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

on April 14, 1968 and enjoyed a run of 1,000 performances. Crowley became part of Wood's inner circle of friends that she called "the nucleus", whose main requirement was that they pass a "kindness" test. ''The Boys in the Band'' was adapted into a film in 1970 directed by

William Friedkin William "Billy" Friedkin (born August 29, 1935)Biskind, p. 200. is an American film and television director, producer and screenwriter closely identified with the " New Hollywood" movement of the 1970s. Beginning his career in documentaries in ...

. Crowley's 2002 sequel to ''The Boys in the Band'' was entitled ''

The Men from the Boys ''The Men From The Boys'' is a 2002 play by Mart Crowley, a sequel to his notable 1968 play '' The Boys in the Band''. Set in a New York City apartment, the plot features friends gathering after a friend's memorial service. Plot Characters int ...

''. In 2018 ''Boys in the Band'' was restaged on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in a 50th anniversary revival featuring

Matt Bomer Matthew Staton Bomer (born October 11, 1977) is an American actor. He is the recipient of accolades such as a Golden Globe Award, a Critics' Choice Television Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. In 2000, he made his television debut o ...

, Jim Parsons,

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek'' (2009) ...

, and

Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American film, stage, television and voice actor. Rannells is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'' for which he was nomi ...

. Crowley also wrote and produced ''Remote Asylum'' and the autobiographical ''A Breeze from the Gulf''. In 1979 and 1980, Crowley served first as the executive script editor and then producer of the ABC series ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset life ...

'', starring Wood's husband Robert Wagner and

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series '' Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

. His other credits include the teleplays for ''There Must Be a Pony'' (1986), ''Bluegrass'' (1988), ''People Like Us'' (1990), and a reunion special of ''Hart to Hart'' in 1996. Crowley appeared in at least four documentaries: '' The Celluloid Closet'' (1995), about the depiction of

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

in cinema; '' Dominick Dunne: After the Party'' (2007), a biography of Crowley's friend and producer

Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970) and ...

; ''Making the Boys'' (2011), a documentary about the making of the gay play and subsequent Hollywood movie; and ''The Boys in the Band: Something Personal'' (2020), a documentary about the 2020 Netflix film of the play. Crowley died in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

on March 7, 2020. He suffered a heart attack, after which he underwent open-heart surgery and died while recovering. The 2020 film was dedicated to the memory of Crowley. Crowley was openly gay.

References

External links

* *
Matt Crowley
at ''

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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Crowley, Mart 1935 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American gay writers Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from Mississippi Catholic University of America alumni People from Fire Island, New York People from Vicksburg, Mississippi Writers from Mississippi American male dramatists and playwrights American people of Irish descent 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Mississippi 20th-century American screenwriters

Biography

See also

References

Further reading

Archival Sources

External links