Dale Wasserman (November 2, 1914 – December 21, 2008) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

, perhaps best known for his 1965 book, ''

Man of La Mancha ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1965 musical with a book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, and lyrics by Joe Darion. It is adapted from Wasserman's non-musical 1959 teleplay '' I, Don Quixote'', which was in turn inspired by Miguel de Cervan ...

''.

Early life

Dale Wasserman was born in

Rhinelander, Wisconsin Rhinelander is a city in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 8,285 at the 2020 census. History The area that eventually became the city of Rhinelander was originally called Pelican Rapids by early s ...

, the child of

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrants Samuel Wasserman and Bertha Paykel, and was orphaned at the age of nine. He lived in a state orphanage and with an older brother in

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

before he "hit the rails". He later said, "I'm a self-educated hobo. My entire adolescence was spent as a hobo, riding the rails and alternately living on top of buildings on Spring Street in downtown

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. I regret never having received a formal education. But I did get a real education about human nature."

Career

Wasserman worked in various aspects of theatre from age 19. His formal education ended after one year of high school in

. It was there that he began work as a self-taught lighting designer, director and producer. He started as stage manager and lighting designer for musical impresario

Sol Hurok Sol Hurok (also Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian language, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario. Early life Hurok was born ...

, and for the Katherine Dunham Company where he claimed to have invented lighting patterns imitated later in other dance companies. In addition to the U.S., he produced and directed in locations such as

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In the middle of directing a Broadway musical, which he later refused to name, Wasserman abruptly walked out, later saying he "couldn't possibly write worse than the stuff ewas directing" and left his previous occupations to become a writer. "Every other function was interpretive; only the writer was primary." ''Matinee Theatre'', the TV anthology which presented his first play, ''Elisha and the Long Knives'', received a collective

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

for the plays it produced in 1955, the year ''Elisha and the Long Knives'' was telecast on that series (it was originally broadcast in 1954 on
''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'', another anthology). Wasserman wrote some 30 more television dramas, making him one of the better-known writers in the

Golden Age of Television The first Golden Age of Television is an era of television in the United States marked by its large number of live productions. The period is generally recognized as beginning in 1947 with the first episode of the drama anthology '' Kraft Televi ...

. "Man of La Mancha," which first appeared as a straight play on TV, is frequently and erroneously called "an adaptation" of

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

but is not. It is a completely original work that uses scenes from "Don Quixote" to illuminate Miguel de

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ( ; ; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

' life. Don Quixote was Cervantes' Man of La Mancha; it was Cervantes himself who was Dale Wasserman's Man of La Mancha. ''Man of La Mancha'' ran for five years on Broadway and continues worldwide in more than 30 languages. Dale Wasserman adapted Ken Kesey's novel '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' into a play by the same title which ran for six years in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and has had extensive engagements in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and other U.S. cities. Foreign productions have appeared in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Kesey is said to have told Wasserman that but for the play, the novel would have been forgotten. Wasserman was a founding member and trustee of The Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and was the artistic Director of the Midwest Playwrights Laboratory, which encompasses 12 states in its program and awards

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

ships and production to 10

s yearly. Recently, research by Howard Mancing, a

scholar and Professor of Spanish Literature at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

, uncovered an earlier use of the line "To dream the impossible dream, to fight the unbeatable foe," which was made famous in Wasserman's ''Man of La Mancha''. The lines were actually invented for publicity matter that accompanied an earlier stage adaptation of ''Don Quixote'' by the American playwright Paul Kester, first performed in 1908. The phrase "To each his Dulcinea", featured in Wasserman's play, was also first used in the Kester play. At the time of his death, Dale Wasserman had, arguably, some fine and thought-provoking work ready to be produced: "Players in the Game", set in 1316 Prague, poses the question: Is fiery, incorruptible zealotry necessarily to be preferred to benign corruption—the operative word here being "benign"? "Montmartre" is a musical set in early 20th century Paris; the two main protagonists are Kiki, the most sought-after model of her day (an actual person), and a cynical mature man being confronted by his idealistic younger self.

Personal life

Reclusive by nature, Wasserman and his wife, Martha Nelly Garza, made their home in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

("because it's the one state which refuses to adopt

Daylight Saving Time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

"). Dale's first marriage, to actress Ramsay Ames, ended in divorce. He married Garza in 1984. Wasserman died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

on December 21, 2008, in Paradise Valley, Arizona, aged 94.Hoffman, Michell
"Dale Wasserman, 94, creator of 'Man of La Mancha'"
''The Arizona Republic'', December 27, 2008

Works

Plays

*1963 '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' was based on a 1962

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

Ken Kesey Ken Elton Kesey (; September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001) was an American novelist, essayist and Counterculture of the 1960s, countercultural figure. He considered himself a link between the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the hippies o ...

. In 1975 it was made into an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winning

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

. Wasserman and star

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

hav
contrasting remembrances
of the original production. Although Wasserman adapted

's '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' for the American stage in 1963, his playscript was not used as the basis for the film, and Wasserman did not write the movie screenplay. *2001 '' How I Saved the Whole Damn World'' — A sailor on a drunken spree welds items from a junkyard into the mast of his ship. A plane flying overhead explodes, creating an all-powerful weapon and, indirectly,

world peace World peace is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would come about. Various relig ...

. *'' Boy On Blacktop Road'' — An investigation takes place related to the arrival and subsequent disappearance of a young boy. The latter two plays comprise the World Premiere of ''Open Secrets'' which opened In June 2006 at th
Rubicon Theatre Company
in

Ventura, California Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...

Musical theatre

*1965 ''

'' (music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion) won multiple

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

s, including Best Musical, and is among the longest-running Broadway musicals of all time. Originally written for television as a non-musical titled ''

I, Don Quixote ''I, Don Quixote'' is a non-musical play written for television and directed by Karl Genus. It was broadcast in season 3 of the CBS anthology series '' DuPont Show of the Month'' on the evening of November 9, 1959. Written by Dale Wasserman, th ...

''.

Screenwriter credits

*1958 '' The Vikings'' (with Calder Willingham), starring

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, Leigh was discovered at 18 by actress Norma Shearer, who helped he ...

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine ( ; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perf ...

, Alexander Knox. *1963 ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

'' (with several others, did not receive screen credit) *1964 '' Quick, Before It Melts'' a comedy, from a novel by Philip Benjamin,

directed Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), a ...

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay which he had also directed. ...

, and starring

George Maharis George Maharis (September 1, 1928 – May 24, 2023) was an American actor, singer, and visual artist who portrayed Buz Murdock in the first three seasons of the TV series ''Route 66 (TV series), Route 66''. Maharis also recorded several pop music ...

and

Robert Morse Robert Alan Morse (May 18, 1931 – April 20, 2022) was an American actor. Known for his gap-toothed boyishness, he started his career as a star on Broadway acting in musicals and plays before expanding into film and television. He earned numero ...

. *1966 '' Mister Buddwing'' (aka ''Woman Without a Face'') from a novel by

Evan Hunter Evan Hunter (born Salvatore Albert Lombino; October 15, 1926 – July 6, 2005) was an American author of crime and mystery fiction. He is best known as the author of '' 87th Precinct'' novels, published under the pen name Ed McBain, which ar ...

, starring

James Garner James Scott Garner (né Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, which included ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy Ch ...

and

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles on stage and screen. Among her numerous accolades wer ...

. A man awakens in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...

and gradually discovers that he is without name, status, or other civilized connections. A passing

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

beer truck and a passing plane supply him with a name: Buddwing. *1969 '' A Walk with Love and Death'' (rewritten by Hans Koningsberger),

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

and starring

Anjelica Huston Anjelica Huston ( ; born July 8, 1951) is an American actress, director and model. She is best known for playing Morticia Addams in the ''The Addams Family'' and '' The Addams Family Values'', as well as often portraying eccentric and distincti ...

as Claudia. *1972 ''

Man of La Mancha (film) ''Man of La Mancha'' is a 1972 film adaptation of the Broadway musical '' Man of La Mancha'' by Dale Wasserman, with music by Mitch Leigh and lyrics by Joe Darion. The musical was suggested by the classic novel ''Don Quixote'' by Miguel de C ...

'', directed by

Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late ...

, and starring

Peter O'Toole Peter Seamus O'Toole (; 2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013) was an English actor known for his leading roles on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include the Academy Honorary Award, a BAFTA Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and four Golde ...

and

Sophia Loren Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (; born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren ( , ), is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is one of the ...

Television writing credits

Dale Wasserman's did not begin his writing career until 1954; his first offering, "Elisha and the Long Knives," which was acclaimed as one of the best television scripts of the year rving Settelwas shown in 1955. Any dates below that are earlier than 1955 are the dates the series began, not when Dale's work was shown on them. *1947 ''

'' aka '' Kraft Mystery Theatre'' aka '' Kraft Theatre'' *1948 '' Studio One'' aka ''Westinghouse Studio One'' *1953 ''

'' aka '' Ponds Theater'' *1955 '' Matinee Theatre'' — "Elisha and the Long Knives" *1955 ''Matinee Theatre'' — ''Fiddlin' Man'', " The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", "The Milwaukee Rocket" *1956 ''

Climax! ''Climax!'' (later known as ''Climax Mystery Theater'') is an American television anthology series that aired on CBS from 1954 to 1958. The series was hosted by William Lundigan and later co-hosted by Mary Costa. It was one of the few CBS pro ...

''... aka '' Climax Mystery Theater''—"

The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American independent supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and H ...

" (no relation to the

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, composer, and actor. Most commonly associated with horror film, horror, action film, action, and science fiction film, science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s, he is ...

film or its recent remake) *1956 The '' Alcoa Hour'' — " Long After Summer" *1957 ''The O. Henry Playhouse'' — " The Gentle Grafter" *1959 ''The DuPont Show of the Month''. ''

'' (TV Episode) *1960 ''

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

'' (adaptation) *1960 ''

Armstrong Circle Theatre ''Armstrong Circle Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series which ran from June 6, 1950, to June 25, 1957, on NBC, and from October 2, 1957, to August 28, 1963, on CBS. It alternated weekly with '' The United States Steel Ho ...

'' — ''Engineer of Death: The Eichmann Story'' *1961 ''The DuPont Show of The Month: The Lincoln Murder Case'' (Wasserman received his only

nomination for this television play, but did not win) *1961 '' The Power and the Glory'' (some sources claim that director Marc Daniels won an Emmy for this, but this is not verified either by the Emmy Awards website or the Internet Movie Database) *1962 '' G.E. True'' — "Circle of Death " *1963 '' The Richard Boone Show'' (NBC) — "Stranger". At night, on a coastal road, a boy is nearly hit by a car. The car's passengers, stopping to see if the boy is all right, are disturbed by his strange behavior. See ''Boy On Blacktop Road'' above. *1967 ''Long After Summer'' aka ''Boy Meets Girl'' *''Perchance to Dream'' *''Aboard the Flying Swan'' (based on

Stanley Wolpert Stanley Albert Wolpert (December 23, 1927 – February 19, 2019) was an American historian, Indologist, and author on the political and intellectual history of modern India and PakistanDr. Stanley Wolpert's UCLA Faculty homepage and wrote fict ...

's book)

Book

*200
''The Impossible Musical: The "Man of la Mancha" Story''

Honors and awards

"As to awards, I have received the usual quota of

Emmys The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

asserman is mistaken here; according to the Emmy Awards websit

he received only one Emmy nomination], Tony Award, Tonys, Ellys and Robbys and, for all I know, Kaspars and Hausers. I'm unsure of the number because I don't attend awards ceremonies and so receive the knick-knacks by mail if at all. Ah, yes, one exception: when the University of Wisconsin offered an Honorary Doctorate, I did appear in cap and gown to address the audience in the football stadium at Madison, because a scant quarter-mile from where I was being Doctored, I had hopped my first freight at the age of 12. Irony should not be wasted."

Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...

*1959 Television Anthology, More Than a Half Hour: Winner--''

'' (episode of ''DuPont Show of the Month'')

*1966 Musical: Winner—''Man of La Mancha''. Book by Dale Wasserman, music by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion. Produced by Albert W. Selden and Hal James

Honorary degrees

Dale Wasserman has been awarded several

Honorary Degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

, These Include ;Honorary Degrees

References

External links

Dale Wasserman Official site
* * *
Hatching "The Cuckoo's Nest"
by Dale Wasserman

by Dale Wasserman, The Cervantes Society of America
''An Interview with Dale Wasserman''
(pdf) on 23 May 1997. © 2001, The Cervantes Society of America
The Eugene O'Neill Theater CenterRubicon Theatre CompanyEmmy Awards
Hosted by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Emmy Online
Official site with information on national awards, the academy, academy chapters and job bank
Dale Wasserman Papers, 1940-2008
held by the 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, is located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, in the Lincoln Center complex on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York City. Situated between the Metropolitan O ...

Dale Wasserman Papers
at the

Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research The Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research (WCFTR) is a major archive of motion picture, television, radio, and theater research materials. Located in the headquarters building of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin, th ...

New York Public Library Blog on Dale Wasserman's Script for an Unproduced Musical
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasserman, Dale 1914 births 2008 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American television writers Writers Guild of America Award winners People from Rhinelander, Wisconsin American male television writers American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Wisconsin 20th-century American screenwriters Tony Award winners