Portrait of William Archibald LCCN2004662520

William Archibald (7 March 1917 – 27 December 1970) was a

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

ian-born playwright, dancer, choreographer and director, whose stage adaptation of

Henry James Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...

' '' The Turn of the Screw'' was made into the 1961 British horror film '' The Innocents''.

Biography

Born John William Wharton Archibald in

of European descent, Archibald was educated at St Mary's College in

Port-of-Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

."William Archibald, Playwright, Actor and Dancer, Is Dead at 53" (29 December 1970). ''The New York Times''. Leaving Trinidad in 1937, Archibald enrolled at the Academy of Allied Arts in New York to study dance, making his Broadway début as a principal in the revue '' One for the Money''. Archibald produced his first saleable stage writing for the choreographer

Charles Weidman Charles Weidman (July 22, 1901 – July 15, 1975) was a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of modern dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance f ...

: a verse accompaniment for ''On My Mother's Side''. He also wrote the text for

José Limón José Arcadio Limón (January 12, 1908 – December 2, 1972) was a dancer and choreographer from Mexico and who developed what is now known as 'Limón technique'. In the 1940s, he founded the José Limón Dance Company (now the Limón Dan ...

's ''War Lyrics''. In 1945, Archibald wrote the book and lyrics for ''Carib Song'', which was staged at the

Adelphi Theatre The Adelphi Theatre is a West End theatre, located on the Strand in the City of Westminster, central London. The present building is the fourth on the site. The theatre has specialised in comedy and musical theatre, and today it is a receiv ...

with choreography by

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ma ...

and a score by Baldwin Bergersen. Archibald then went on to write another musical, three plays and the libretto for a ballet opera: ''Bay Harbour''. His first play, '' The Innocents'', based on the

novella '' The Turn of the Screw'', opened on Broadway in 1950. With

Truman Capote Truman Garcia Capote ( ; born Truman Streckfus Persons; September 30, 1924 – August 25, 1984) was an American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor. Several of his short stories, novels, and plays have been praised as literary classics, ...

he wrote the screenplay for the 1961 film, winning an

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

. Archibald also co-wrote, with

George Tabori George Tabori ( György Tábori; 24 May 1914 – 23 July 2007) was a Hungarian writer and theatre director. Life and career Tabori was born in Budapest as György Tábori, a son of Kornél and Elsa Tábori. His father Kornél (Cornelius) was m ...

, the script for the Alfred Hitchcock film '' I Confess''. William Archibald died on 27 December 1970 in New York of infectious hepatitis. His brother was Trinidadian playwright and historical writer Douglas (Jack) Archibald.Rubin, D. and Solorzano, C. eds, 2000. ''The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre: The Americas, Volume 2''. London: Routledge, p. 188. .

References

External links

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William Archibald
at the

Internet Off-Broadway Database The Internet Off-Broadway Database (IOBDB), also formerly known as the Lortel Archives, is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway. The IOBDB was funded and developed by the non-profit Lucille Lortel Foundation ...

William Archibald
at

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 th ...

Pictures
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at Allrovi {{DEFAULTSORT:Archibald, William 1917 births 1970 deaths Edgar Award winners Trinidad and Tobago dramatists and playwrights Trinidad and Tobago dancers Trinidad and Tobago choreographers Deaths from hepatitis 20th-century dramatists and playwrights Trinidad and Tobago male writers 20th-century male writers