James Prideaux (August 29, 1927 – November 18, 2015) was an American playwright known for ''

The Last of Mrs. Lincoln ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

''. Prideaux was born in 1927 as James Priddy in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

, the son of Lloyd Priddy, a professional photographer, and Beulah Shirey. Wanting to become an actor, he adopted a new name and relocated to Chicago and then New York, but found his metier as a writer. He wrote for magazines such as ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' and the ''

Ladies Home Journal ''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine that ran until 2016 and was last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century ...

'' and joined the Barr-Wilder-Albee Playwrights Unit, a theater workshop. For ''The Last of Mrs Lincoln,'' he won the Drama Desk Award for Most Promising Playwright in 1973. He also wrote ''Postcards'', ''Lemonade'', ''The Orphans'', ''Laughter in the Shadow of the Trees'', and ''Abraham Lincoln Dies at Versailles. Moving to television, he wrote ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...

''. He became friends with

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

, who acted in many of his films, such as '' Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry'' (1986), '' Laura Lansing Slept Here'' (1988), '' The Man Upstairs'' (1992). He received a

Primetime Emmy The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination for Outstanding Television Movie for producing ''Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry''. In 1996, he published his memoirs ''Knowing Hepburn and Other Curious Experiences''. He died of a stroke in

West Hills, Los Angeles West Hills is a neighborhood in the western San Fernando Valley region of the city of Los Angeles, California. It is bordered by mountain ranges to the west and the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Chatsworth to the north, Canoga Park to the east, ...

on November 18, 2015.

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* * * Writers from South Bend, Indiana 1927 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American magazine journalists American television writers Ladies' Home Journal Playboy people 20th-century American non-fiction writers Screenwriters from Indiana Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery {{US-playwright-stub