Ronald Sproat (2 November 1932 – 6 November 2009 in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

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

) was an American screenwriter and playwright known for ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspor ...

''.

Biography

Career

Sproat is best known for his work on ''

'', the 1960s

ABC Daytime ABC Daytime (sometimes shortened to ABC-D or ABCD) is a division responsible for the daytime programming block on the ABC Network and syndicated programming. The block has historically encompassed soap operas, game shows and talk shows. Histor ...

gothic soap opera. Sproat created the vampire character

Barnabas Collins Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, a featured role in the ABC daytime serial ''Dark Shadows'', which aired from 1966 to 1971. Barnabas is a 175-year-old vampire in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette. The character, origin ...

, and turned the low-rated show into a huge national success. Sproat worked on the show from October 1966 through January 1969. Sproat also worked on several other soap operas, including '' Never Too Young'', a 1965-1966 ABC soap aimed at teenagers, '' Where the Heart Is'', a 1969-1973 CBS family melodrama, and ''

Strange Paradise ''Strange Paradise'' is a Canadian occult-supernatural soap opera of 195 episodes, initially launched in syndication in the United States on September 8, 1969, and later broadcast on CBC Television from October 20, 1969, to July 22, 1970. The pr ...

'', a Canadian soap opera that aired in syndication in the United States from 1969 to 1970, as well as '' Love of Life'', '' The Doctors'', and ''

The Secret Storm ''The Secret Storm'' is an American soap opera that the CBS television network transmitted 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 '' L ...

''. In addition to television writing, Sproat penned the play '' The Dry Season'' which was performed in 1954 by The Hamilton College Charlatans. He also wrote for musical theatre including ''Abie's Island Rose'' and ''Back Home: The War Brides Musical'', both of which ran off Broadway. Both shows had lyrics by Sproat's longtime partner, Frank Evans, who died in 2016.

Education

Sproat received his MA from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and performed undergraduate work at

Hamilton College Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college in Clinton, Oneida County, New York. It was founded as Hamilton-Oneida Academy in 1793 and was chartered as Hamilton College in 1812 in honor of inaugural trustee Alexander Hamilton, followi ...

. While at Hamilton College, he won the William Duncan Saunders Award for creative writing. Sproat also attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, where he earned a MFA. While attending Michigan, Sproat was also the recipient of the Avery Hopwood Award.

References

External links

* 1932 births 2009 deaths Hamilton College (New York) alumni University of Michigan alumni Yale School of Drama alumni American male screenwriters 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American soap opera writers American LGBT writers Place of birth missing LGBT dramatists and playwrights American male television writers American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters 20th-century LGBT people {{US-playwright-stub