威廉斯

威廉斯(1911～1983年)

Williams, Tennessee，原名Thomas Lanier Williams。

美国剧作家。十二岁开始居住在圣路易。曾在几所学院学习，後毕业於爱荷华大学。他的独幕剧集《美国的蓝调》赢得「同仁剧团」奖（1939），《玻璃动物园》（1944）获得成功，接着《慾望街车》（1947，获普立兹奖，电影1951）、《卡米诺.里尔》（1953）和《热锡皮屋顶上的猫》（1955，获普立兹奖，电影1958）等剧相继搬上舞台。他的剧作还有《去夏突至》（1958，电影1959）、《可爱的青春小鸟》（1959，电影1962）和《蜥蜴的夜晚》（1961，电影1964），写一位被解职的牧师如何变成不称职的导游者。他还写了小说《斯通夫人的罗马之春》（1950，电影1961）。他的剧本反映出人类受挫折的世界，其中性和暴力构成浪漫的假斯文的气氛，被视为美国最伟大的剧作家之一。

English version：

1911～1983年

Williams, Tennessee

U.S. playwright. The son of a traveling salesman and a clergyman's daughter, he was born in Columbus, Miss., and lived in St. Louis from age 12. He attended several colleges, graduating from the University of Iowa. He won recognition by the Group Theatre for his one-act plays American Blues (1939). Wider success came with The Glass Menagerie (1944) and mounted with Summer and Smoke (1948), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1951), Camino Real (1953), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1958). His plays, which also included Suddenly Last Summer (1958; film, 1959), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959; film, 1962), and The Night of the Iguana (1961; film, 1964), described a world of repressed sexuality and violence thinly veiled by gentility. He also wrote the novel The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950; film, 1961) and the screenplays for The Rose Tattoo (1955, adapted from his 1951 play) and Baby Doll (1956). A clear-sighted chronicler of fragile illusions, he is regarded as one of the greatest American playwrights.