Robert Patrick (born September 27, 1937) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, short story writer, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. He was born Robert Patrick O'Connor in

Kilgore, Texas Kilgore is a city in Gregg and Rusk counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas. Over three-fourths of the city limits is located in Gregg County, the remainder in Rusk County. The population was 12,975 at the 2010 census and 13,376 ...

Early life

O'Connor was born to

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant workers who work outsi ...

s in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. Because his parents constantly moved around the

southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado, N ...

looking for work, he never went to one school for a full year until his senior year of high school, in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the seat of, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the Roswell micropolitan area. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 48,422, making it the fifth-largest city ...

. Books,

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

, and

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

were the only constants in his early life. His mother made sure he learned to read, and arranged for him to start school a year early. He lacked friendships due to the constant moving, and didn't do well in school. He dropped out of college after two years. He did not experience live theater, beyond a few school productions, until he was working one summer as a dishwasher at the Kennebunkport Playhouse in

Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland– Biddeford metropolitan statistical area. The town center, the are ...

and fell in love with the theater. He stopped in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on his way back to Roswell from Maine and happened upon the

Caffe Cino Caffe Cino was an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1958 by Joe Cino. The West Village coffeehouse, located at 31 Cornelia Street, was initially conceived as a venue for poetry, folk music, and visual art exhibitions. The plays produced at ...

, the first

Off-Off Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

theatre, on September 14, 1961. He stayed in New York, working for free at the Caffe Cino, La Mama ETC, and other early Off-Off Broadway theaters in any capacity, and supported himself with temporary typing jobs while observing and participating in dozens of productions, including

Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...

's ''So Long at the Fair''. He had already been writing poetry, and in 1964 wrote his first play, ''The Haunted Host''. The play was soon produced at Caffe Cino, and playwriting became his main focus.

Career

Patrick has written and published over sixty plays.

1960s

His first play, ''The Haunted Host'', premiered at Caffe Cino in 1964. Patrick denied Neil Flanagan, the Caffe Cino's star performer, the title role (because Flanagan had recently played

's gay character, Lady Bright), and after other prominent Off-Off actors refused the role because they feared playing a gay character might damage their careers, Patrick appeared in the play himself alongside fellow playwright William M. Hoffman. He also worked at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, another of the first Off-Off-Broadway theatres. Neil Flanagan directed a production of Patrick's play ''Mirage'' at La MaMa in July 1965. In November 1965, Patrick was production coordinator for ''BbAaNnGg'', a benefit to raise money for electrical work at La MaMa's 122 Second Avenue theatre, which included plays, spoken word, performance art, and film by many prominent Off-Off artists. In 1969, he won the Show Business magazine Best Play Award for ''Joyce Dynel'', ''Salvation Army'', and ''Fog''. Also in 1969, his play ''Camera Obscura'' was produced on PBS, starring

Marge Champion Marjorie Celeste Champion ( Belcher; September 2, 1919October 21, 2020) was an American dancer and actress. At fourteen, she was hired as a dance model for Walt Disney Studios animated films. Later, she performed as an actress and dancer in film ...

, and was chosen to be in the well-known playwright revue "Collision Course". Patrick was a prolific pioneer in

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the pro ...

and

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

theatre, with over 300 productions of his plays during the 1960s in New York City alone. In 1972, the publisher and licensing company

Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays. Biography French foun ...

called Patrick "New York's Most-Produced Playwright".

1970s

Patrick directed a production of his own play, ''The Richest Girl in the World Finds Happiness'', at La MaMa in 1970. He directed his own plays, ''Valentine Rainbow'' at La MaMa and ''The Golden Circle'' at 119 Spring Street, both in 1972. He directed holiday shows at La MaMa in 1971, 1972, and 1974. The 1971 production was called ''La MaMa Christmas Show'', the 1972 production was ''Play-by-Play'', and the 1974 production was ''Play-by-Play: A Spectacle of Ourselves''. In 1973, he directed Paul Foster's ''Silver Queen'', which featured music by John Braden, at La MaMa. In 1973, Patrick's ''

Kennedy's Children ''Kennedy's Children'' is a 1973 play written by Robert Patrick. It originally opened on Broadway on November 3, 1975, and closed on January 4, 1976. Synopsis Five people in a dive bar in the Lower East Side all contemplate their life ten years ...

'' had an obscure opening in the back of a London pub theatre called the King's Head, in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

. The production was instantly successful and was signed for the West End and other international productions. 1974 was the first season of gay theatre in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, to which Patrick contributed three plays. His play ''Cleaning House'' was produced in California during the summer of 1974. A 1974 Boston production of ''The Haunted Host'' was the first time

Harvey Fierstein Harvey Forbes Fierstein ( ; born June 6, 1952) is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is best known for his theater work in '' Torch Song Trilogy'' and '' Hairspray'' and movie roles in '' Mrs. Doubtfire'', ''Independence Day'', an ...

appeared on the professional stage as a man. Years later, Fierstein included a recording of Patrick's monologue "Pouf Positive" on his

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in O ...

''This Is Not Going to Be Pretty''. "Pouf Positive" was also filmed by Dov Hechtman in 1989. The 1975

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 ...

production of ''

'' earned Shirley Knight a 1976

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play. She reprised her role in the 1979 CBS production of the play. Patrick traveled widely, from

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, to see productions of ''Kennedy's Children.'' For ten years, he visited high schools and high school theatre conventions nationwide on behalf of the

International Thespian Society The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society for high school and middle school theatre students. It is a division of the Educational Theatre Association. Thespian troupes serve students in grades 9–12; Junior Thespian troupe ...

. In 1976,

Marlo Thomas Margaret Julia "Marlo" Thomas (born November 21, 1937) is an American actress, producer, author, and social activist. She is best known for starring on the sitcom ''That Girl'' (1966–1971) and her children's franchise '' Free to Be... You and ...

commissioned Patrick to write ''My Cup Ranneth Over'' for her and

Lily Tomlin Mary Jean "Lily" Tomlin (born September 1, 1939) is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. She started her career as a stand-up comedian as well as performing off-Broadway during the 1960s. Her breakout role was on the varie ...

. Although they never performed in the play, it would become Patrick's most produced work. Patrick co-wrote ''Da Nutrcracker in Da Bronx'' with Jeannine O'Reilly and Paul Foster; the production was directed by Powell Shepard at La MaMa in 1977. ''T-Shirts'' was first produced in 1979, starring Jack Wrangler, and was later chosen as the opening piece in the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically cate ...

''Gay Plays: A First Collection''.

1980s

Patrick directed ''The Richest Girl in the World Finds Happiness'' at La MaMa again in 1981. His ''Blue Is For Boys'' was the first play about gay teenagers, and the Manhattan borough president declared a Blue is for Boys Weekend in honor of the play in 1983 and again in 1986. ''The Trial of Socrates'' was the first gay play presented by New York. ''Hello Bob'', an account of Patrick's experiences with the production of ''Kennedy's Children'', was the last play he directed before leaving New York for California.

Later work

Other work by Patrick includes ''Untold Decades'' (1988), seven one-act plays giving a humorous and emotional history of gay life in the United States, and ''Temple Slave'', a novel about the early days of Off-Off-Broadway and gay theatre. Patrick has also

ghostwritten ''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...

several

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

s for

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

; contributed poems and reviews to ''

Playbill ''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's p ...

'', ''FirstHand'', and ''

Adult Video News ''Adult Video News'' (also called ''AVN'' or ''AVN Magazine'') is an American trade magazine that covers the adult video industry. '' The New York Times'' notes that ''AVN'' is to pornographic films what ''Billboard'' is to records. ''AVN'' spon ...

''; and had his short stories published in anthologies. Patrick has appeared in the documentaries ''

Resident Alien In law, an alien is any person (including an organization) who is not a citizenship, citizen or a nationality, national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ to some degree depending upon the continent or region. ...

'', with

Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt; – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well-known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of ...

, and '' Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon'', and in the videos ''O is for Orgy: The Sequel'' and ''O Boys: Parties, Porn, and Politics'', both produced by the O Boys Network. Most recently, he published his

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

''Film Moi or Narcissus in the Dark'' and the plays ''Hollywood at Sunset'' and ''Michelangelo's Models''. He retired from theatre in 1990, and has lived in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

since 1993. In 2010, he published a DVD of his lecture "Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre" and two books of poems, ''A Strain of Laughter'' and ''Bitter with the Sweet'', with Lulu.com. In 2013, he was brought back onto the stage by young Los Angeles underground theatre artists, appearing as a reader, singer, and actor. In March 2014, he gave a

solo performance A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

about his career entitled, "What Doesn't Kill Me Makes a Great Story Later," which featured

a capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

renditions of many of his original songs This was followed by two more solo evenings of song, entitled "Bob Capella" and "New Songs for Old Movies.".

Awards

* Show Business (magazine) Best Play Award, 1969 *

Glasgow Citizens' Theatre The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and is based in Glasgow, Scotland as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various s ...

Best World Playwrighting Award, 1973 *

Founders Award for Services to Theatre and to Youth, 1980 (first openly gay recipient) *Blue is for Boys Weekends in the Borough of Manhattan, 1983 and 1986 *

Robert Chesley Award The Robert Chesley Award was an annual literary award, presented by Publishing Triangle to honour drama works by playwrights in the LGBT community. First presented in 1994, the award was named in memory of playwright Robert Chesley. The award was ...

For Lifetime Achievement In Gay Playwrighting, 1996 *West Hollywood Gay and Lesbian Advisory Board's Rainbow Key Award for having been instrumental in the beginnings of gay and Off-Off-Broadway theatre, 2008 * New York Innovative Theatre Artistic Achievement Award, 2011 *Charles Rodman Award for 50 Years of Service to Gay Theatre, 2014

Selected works

Plays

*''The Haunted Host'' (1964) *''Joyce Dynel'' (1969) *''Salvation Army'' (1969) *''Fog'' (1969) *''Camera Obscura'' (1969) *''Pouf Positive'' *''Kennedy's Children'' (1974) *''One Man, One Woman'' *''Play-By-Play'' *''The Golden Circle'' *''Tools Not Rules'' *''My Cup Ranneth Over'' (1976) *''T-Shirts'' (1979) *''Mutual Benefit Life'' *''Mercy Drop'' *''Blue Is For Boys'' (1983) *''Untold Decades'' (1988) *''Michelangelo's Models'' *''Bread Alone'' *''The Trial of Socrates'' *''Judas'' *''The Trojan Women (after Euripides) *''The Last Stroke'' *''Hello, Bob'' *''Evan on Earth '' *''All at Sea'' (book and score) *''Hollywood at Sunset'' *''What Doesn't Kill Me Makes a Great Story Later'' (2013 - 2014)

Collections and anthologies

*''Robert Patrick's Cheap Theatricks'' *''Mercy Drop and Other Plays'' *''Gay Plays: A First Collection'' (edited by William M. Hoffman; includes ''T-Shirts'') *''Contra/Dictions'' *''The Mammoth Book of Gay Short Stories'' *''Flesh & the Word 2 & 3'' *''Best Gay Erotica'' (2009; 2010) *''Up by Wednesday'' (2014) *''Untold Decades: Seven Comedies of Gay Romance''

Poetry

*"''Benedicktion''," published in '' RFD'' magazine #104

Screenplays

*''

Ghost Story A ghost story is any piece of fiction, or drama, that includes a ghost, or simply takes as a premise the possibility of ghosts or characters' belief in them."Ghost Stories" in Margaret Drabble (ed.), ''Oxford Companion to English Literature'' ...

'' (television, 1972) *''High-Tide'' (television, 1990) *''Robin's Hoods'' (television, 1994) *''Delusion'' (film, 2004) *numerous

works

Film and video roles

*''Resident Alien'' (1990) *''O Is for Orgy: The Sequel'' *''O Boys: Parties, Porn, and Politics'' *''Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon'' (2008)

References

External links

Robert Patrick papers, c. 1940-1984
Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

RobertPatrick.WordPress.com

Robert Patrick's life in pictures
"Quit" (

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in Reverse ...

) July 2009
76 pages of photographs and plays from Caffe Cino

Robert Patrick's 2009 ''Village Voice'' interview about Caffe Cino
Roy Edroso, April 2009 * *Robert Patrick *Robert Patrick
Patrick's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Robert 1937 births Living people People from Kilgore, Texas American lyricists 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Novelists from Texas American gay writers LGBT dramatists and playwrights LGBT people from Texas American LGBT poets American LGBT novelists 20th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male poets American male dramatists and playwrights Songwriters from Texas 20th-century American male writers