Robert Joseph Litz (born October 3, 1950 in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

– died October 10, 2012) was an American playwright, screenwriter, director and critic.

Biography

The only son of William E. Litz (1917–2007) and Mary Millik Litz (1920-2016), Robert Litz was of Hungarian and

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

background. He was raised in Cleveland's Mount Pleasant neighborhood and graduated from St. Ignatius High School in 1968 with Classical Honors. He attended college at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original c ...

, where he began as a pre-med student only to switch later on to English and History. During his college days, he was the editor of the literary magazine and graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some So ...

in 1972. Afterwards Litz attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he received an MTS, American Studies in 1975. After trying a career as a poet, Litz took a job as press agent for the

New England Repertory Theatre New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, a small theater company in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 census, making it the second- most populous city in New England after ...

, where he also worked as a stage and production manager. After an actor without understudy had to withdraw from a production one week before opening, the company drafted him to fill in for the actor and he eventually became part of the acting ensemble. With the New England Repertory, Litz had roles in ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taki ...

'',

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career a ...

's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...

'',

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

's ''

The School for Wives ''The School for Wives'' (french: L'école des femmes; ) is a theatrical comedy written by the seventeenth century French playwright Molière and considered by some critics to be one of his finest achievements. It was first staged at the Palai ...

'', Kyogen comedies, and was an understudy in '' American Buffalo''. After this experience, he shifted from writing poetry to writing plays early in the 1980s, signing with his first and longtime theater agent,

Lois Berman Lois is a common English name from the New Testament. Paul the Apostle mentions Lois, the pious grandmother of Saint Timothy in the Second Epistle to Timothy (commending her for her faith in 2 Timothy 1:5). The name was first used by English Chr ...

, owner of the boutique agency that represented such playwrights as

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any writ ...

, Barbara Fields,

Lee Blessing Lee Knowlton Blessing (born October 4, 1949) is an American playwright best known for his 1988 work, '' A Walk in the Woods''. A lifelong Midwesterner, Blessing continued to work in regional theaters in and around his hometown of Minneapolis thro ...

, and Emily Mann. Litz's breakthrough as a playwright came in 1983, when his play ''Great Divide'', was selected for The National Playwright's Conference at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

in Waterford, Connecticu

where he had

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

and

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film '' Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer ...

as roommates. Great Divide was subsequently produced off-Broadway at the

New York Theatre Workshop __NOTOC__ New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it hou ...

in 198

During the rest of the 1980s, Litz moved to New York City and began working in off-Broadway and regional theater productions. He also wrote, produced and directed movies and TV shows. He also traveled extensively through North America, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and lived briefly in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

, England. He resided between Los Angeles,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

;

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

; and

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

Some of Robert Litz's plays

*2007 - One Fell Swoop. The

Elephant Theatre Company The Elephant Theatre Company was a non-profit theatre company based in Hollywood. The company "built a reputation for championing new American plays" and ceased operation in September 2015. History The Elephant Theatre Company was created in ...

, Hollywood, California. *2006 - Pilgrims in Vienna. Montreal Festival Baroque (Canada) and the Brugges Festival (Belgium). *2004 - One World. The

, Hollywood, California. (2004

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

nominee for Best Original Play and Ensemble *1997 - Mobile Hymn - Santa Monica Playhouse, Santa Monica, California. (1997

Drama-Logue Award The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

for Best Play and Ensemble) *1997 - Douglas - Northlight Repertory Theatre,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. (1991 Portland's Critics Circle Best Play; 1989 Gavel Award nominee) *1989 - Domino -

, New York. *1983 - Great Divide - New York Theatre Workshop (after opening at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center). *1981 - Tangles -

Pittsburgh Public Theater Pittsburgh Public Theater, or The Public for short, is a professional theater company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the retirement of longtime Producing Artistic Director Ted Pappas, The Public began the 2018–2019 season with a new ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...

Robert Litz's partial filmography

*2007 - Alta California - Writer (Pre-production). *2006
Ten Tricks
- Producer. *2004 - A&E Network, A&E

Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

: George Washington, Founding Father - Writer. (TV) *2004 - A&E Biography:

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a m ...

, Citizen of the World - Writer. (TV) *2003 - A&E Biography:

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

, A Man for the People - Writer. (TV) *2000 - A&E Biography:

John Travolta John Joseph Travolta (born February 18, 1954) is an American actor. He came to public attention during the 1970s, appearing on the television sitcom '' Welcome Back, Kotter'' (1975–1979) and starring in the box office successes ''Carrie'' (1 ...

- Writer. (TV) *2000 - Maxine's Christmas Carol - Co-writer. (TV) *2000 - Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists - Producer. *1998 - A&E: In Pursuit of Space - Writer. (T

*1998 - World War II: The race to rule the skies - Writer. (TV

*1996 - America's Flying Aces: The

Blue Angels The Blue Angels is a flight demonstration squadron of the United States Navy.

50th Anniversary - Writer. (TV) *1993 -

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structur ...

- Writer. *1989
Medium Straight
- Writer. *1985 -

Rappin' ''Rappin is a 1985 film directed by Joel Silberg, written by Adam Friedman and Robert J. Litz, produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is a sequel to '' Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo'', and is also kno ...

- Writer.

Selected works

''Four Plays about Histories,'' (Metron Publications 2016) * Mobile Hymn * Great Divide * Cassatt & Degas * The Bear and His Monkey

References

External links

AMG Page
*
Review of One Fell Swoop by LA Weekly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Litz, Robert 1950 births 2012 deaths Harvard University alumni Writers from Cleveland Boston University College of Arts and Sciences alumni Saint Ignatius High School (Cleveland) alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights