Born in Texas, William Hauptman received a BFA from the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

Drama Department and later traveled to San Francisco and New York. A graduate who received an MFA from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

, he is the author of both plays and fiction.

Work

His various plays include: ''Shearwater'' (

American Place Theater The American Place Theatre was founded in 1963 by Wynn Handman, Sidney Lanier, and Michael Tolan at St. Clement's Church, 423 West 46th Street in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and was incorporated as a not-for-profit theatre in that year. Tenness ...

) (1974) ''Heat'' (

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

) (1974) And ''Domino Courts and Comanche Cafe'' (1976) at the

American Place Theatre The American Place Theatre was founded in 1963 by Wynn Handman, Sidney Lanier, and Michael Tolan at St. Clement's Church, 423 West 46th Street in Hell's Kitchen, New York City, and was incorporated as a not-for-profit theatre in that year. Tenness ...

which won a Village Voice Obie Award (1977). '' Big River'' (1985), his adaptation of Mark Twain's ''

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

'', written in collaboration with composer Roger Miller, won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Book of a Musical when it opened 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 ...

. It has proven very popular in stock and amateur theatrical productions. Hauptman joined the project after being approached by former

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

classmate

Rocco Landesman Rocco Landesman (born July 20, 1947) is a long-time Broadway theatre producer. He served as chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts from August 2009 to December 2012. He is a part owner of Jujamcyn Theaters. Early life Landesman was bor ...

. Hauptman is also a writer of fiction. His first published story, ''Good Rockin' Tonight'', about an

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

impersonator, made The Best American Short Stories Collection of 1982. Later, Hauptman wrote a screenplay of this story for

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, going on to write several other screenplays for the studios, including

Amblin Entertainment Amblin Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions and Steven Spielberg Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marsha ...

and

Merchant Ivory Productions Merchant Ivory Productions is a film company founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their ...

. Bantam published his collection of short stories, including ''Good Rockin' Tonight and Other Stories'' (1988).

Larry McMurtry Larry Jeff McMurtry (June 3, 1936March 25, 2021) was an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work was predominantly set in either the Old West or contemporary Texas.

gave him this quote: "William Hauptman, for my money, is the most promising young fiction writers to come out of the Southwest in a long time." This collection won the Jesse Jones Award for Best Work of Fiction given by the Texas Institute of Letters in 1989, along with an award for Best Short Story, which was given to ''Moon Walking''. In 1992, Bantam published his novel about tornado-chasers ''The Storm Season'', which was later reprinted by the University of Texas Press. This novel was praised by

Carolyn See Carolyn See (née Laws; January 13, 1934 – July 13, 2016) was a professor emerita of English at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of ten books, including the memoir, ''Dreaming: Hard Luck and Good Times in America'', a ...

in the

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

, who said, "Storm Season is about family, the working class, the crimes human beings have committed against the land, and the hypnotic, redemptive quality of disaster--why human beings enjoy being scared out of their wits. It's spooky, beautiful, bizarre." His most recent novel, about his experiences in the 60s, is called ''Journey to the West'' (2017) which has been described by James Magnuson, director of the Michener Center at the University of Texas as "by turns hilarious, sweet, and harrowing...It deserves to be a classic." Big River was also produced by the Deaf West Company in both Los Angeles (2002) and New York, (2003) at the American Airlines Theater, and received a

Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical The Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical has been awarded since 1994. Before that time, both plays and musicals were considered together for the Tony Award for Best Revival. The award is given to the best musical play which has already appeared ...

. Big River was also produced as part of the Encores Series at City Center Theater in New York in 2017. Program Notes: From Playbill of Encores Production of Big River, 2016: "It was a time when everybody played by the rules of Satchel Paige: Don't worry about the things you can't do nothing about, dance like nobody's watching, and love like you can't get hurt." He has also contributed articles to

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

, Texas Monthly, and

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Sunday Magazine. Teaching Experience—Yale School of Drama; the Michener Center for writers at the University of Texas in Austin; and Brooklyn College. *'' Big River'' *''Heat'' *''Comanche Cafe'' *''Domino Courts'' *''Gillette'' *''Good Rockin' Tonight and Other Stories'' *''The Storm Season'' *Journey to the West

Awards

1979 NAACP Freedom Foundation Award -

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

teleplay

Denmark Vesey Denmark Vesey (also Telemaque) ( July 2, 1822) was an early 19th century free Black and community leader in Charleston, South Carolina, who was accused and convicted of planning a major slave revolt in 1822. Although the alleged plot was di ...

, starring Ned Beatty and

Yaphet Kotto Yaphet Frederick Kotto (born Frederick Samuel Kotto; November 15, 1939 – March 15, 2021) was an American actor known for numerous film roles, as well as starring in the NBC television series '' Homicide: Life on the Street'' (1993–1999) as ...

, - Winner 1985 *

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the ...

- '' Big River'' - Winner 1986 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, ''Gillette'' - Winner 1988 Jesse Jones Award for Best Book from the Texas Institute of Letters for ''Good Rockin' Tonight'' -- Winner 2003 *

by the Deaf West Company of Los Angeles, '' Big River'', at the American Airlines Theatre in New York. - Winner Grants: National Endowment Grant, Rockefeller Grant, Guggenheim Grant
Honors: The Author has also been included in the exclusive Texas Writer's Collection at Texas State University.

Personal life

Hauptman is married to Marjorie Erdreich and lives in Brooklyn. His daughter, Sarah, is employed by the State Department and their son, Max, is a captain in the United States Army. "I live in Brooklyn because, for all its faults, I like it better than the town where I was born. My days are calm and predetermined. I watch my children grow up and hope they will do well." -''Journey to the West''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauptman, William 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American short story writers Tony Award winners 1942 births Living people People from Wichita Falls, Texas Brooklyn College faculty