Tennessee Williams

Writing

Tennessee Williams

Born — Died

1911-03-26 — 1983-02-24

Place of birth

Columbus, Mississippi, USA

Known for

Writing

Credits

48 titles

Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. At age 33, after years of obscurity, Williams suddenly became famous with the success of The Glass Menagerie (1944) in New York City. It was the first of a string of successes, including A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), Sweet Bird of Youth (1959), and The Night of the Iguana (1961). With his later work, Williams attempted a new style that did not appeal as widely to aud…

Known for

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Midi Première poster
9.0

Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.

Midi Première

1975

The Kennedy Center Honors poster
7.4

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.

The Kennedy Center Honors

1978

A Streetcar Named Desire poster
7.6

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

A Streetcar Named Desire

1951

No artwork available
7.3

Presents a filmed, intercontinental conversation that links moderator Edward R. Murrow in New York with three internationally known figures located in different parts of the world. What set this apart from other televised interview/discussion programs was the fact that its participants could not see each other but could hear one another via telephone lines and radio.

Small World

1958

Suddenly, Last Summer poster
7.3

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

Suddenly, Last Summer

1959

Film credits

1990s · 1 titles

1970s · 2 titles

Series credits

The Dick Cavett Show poster
6.8

The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.

The Dick Cavett Show

1968

Midi Première poster
9.0

Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.

Midi Première

1975

The Kennedy Center Honors poster
7.4

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.

The Kennedy Center Honors

1978

No artwork available
7.3

Presents a filmed, intercontinental conversation that links moderator Edward R. Murrow in New York with three internationally known figures located in different parts of the world. What set this apart from other televised interview/discussion programs was the fact that its participants could not see each other but could hear one another via telephone lines and radio.

Small World

1958

Behind the camera

A Streetcar Named Desire poster
7.6

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

A Streetcar Named Desire

1951

Suddenly, Last Summer poster
7.3

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

Suddenly, Last Summer

1959

The Fugitive Kind poster
6.9

Val Xavier, a drifter of obscure origins, arrives at a small town and gets a job in a store run by Lady Torrence. Her husband, Jabe M. Torrance, is dying of cancer. Val is pursued by Carol Cutere, the enigmatic local tramp-of-good-family.

The Fugitive Kind

1960

The Glass Menagerie poster
6.2

An aging Southern Belle complicates life for her ambitious son and crippled daughter because of her own warped views of what life should be.

The Glass Menagerie

1987

Baby Doll poster
7.0

Archie Lee Meighan is a failing cotton gin owner who is married to Baby Doll, a 19-year old childlike beauty whose father arranged the marriage for financial reasons. As Archie awaits the arrival of Baby Doll's 20th birthday, the day that they are supposed to consummate their marriage, he faces interference from business rival Silva Vacarro, who plots to seduce Baby Doll away from Meighan.

Baby Doll

1956

Sweet Bird of Youth poster
5.5

Tennessee William’s masterful melodrama about an aging movie star who, appalled by her own image on the screen, flees from her movie premiere and goes into seclusion, becoming entangled with a much younger hotel masseur and resident gigolo.

Sweet Bird of Youth

1989

A Streetcar Named Desire poster
6.9

A fading Southern Belle moves in with her sister in New Orleans where her ferocious brother-in-law takes stabs at her sanity.

A Streetcar Named Desire

1995

The Rose Tattoo poster
6.9

A grieving widow embarks on a new romance when she discovers her late husband had been cheating on her.

The Rose Tattoo

1955

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond poster
5.2

Fisher Willow is the disliked Memphis débutante daughter of a plantation owner with a distaste for narrow-minded people and a penchant for shocking and insulting those around her. After returning from studies overseas, Fisher falls in love with Jimmy, the down-and-out son of an alcoholic father and an insane mother who works at a store on her family's plantation.

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond

2008

National Theatre at Home: Suddenly Last Summer poster
NR

Violet Venable is determined to protect the reputation of her late son Sebastian – but her niece Catharine has a different story about what happened last summer. When Catharine's memories are challenged, it falls to a young doctor to decide whose version of events to believe. A haunting tale of family, trauma and competing truths, Suddenly Last Summer is one of Tennessee Williams' most gripping plays. Michael Grandage returns to the National Theatre after more than 15 years to direct Emma Corrin and Harriet Walter in this rarely performed masterpiece. This stage play was performed live at the Olivier Theatre, National Theatre in London, UK.

National Theatre at Home: Suddenly Last Summer

2027

Boom! poster
5.9

Secluding herself in an island mansion in the Mediterranean with her servants and nurses, the wealthy Flora "Sissy" Goforth prepares for her impending death -- and she isn't the only one who's waiting. Known for his attraction to the dying rich, poet Chris Flanders ingratiates himself with the wilting Sissy. Although her friend explains Flanders' "Angel of Death" nature to her, Sissy embraces the vulture-like Flanders.

Boom!

1968

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
5.0

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1976

National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire poster
7.9

As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski.

National Theatre Live: A Streetcar Named Desire

2014

Orpheus Descending poster
4.6

Val Xavier is a drifter in 1940's Mississippi who brings new life to an Italian immigrant woman trapped in a loveless marriage.

Orpheus Descending

1990

National Theatre Live: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
4.5

Tennessee Williams’ twentieth century masterpiece Cat on a Hot Tin Roof played a strictly limited season in London’s West End in 2017. An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

National Theatre Live: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

2018

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
5.7

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1984

The Yellow Bird poster
10.0

A young girl escapes the boredom of a small town existence in the 1930s.

The Yellow Bird

2002

The Glass Menagerie poster
6.0

An aging Southern Belle complicates life for her ambitious son and crippled daughter because of her own warped views of what life should be.

The Glass Menagerie

2021

Suddenly, Last Summer poster
6.4

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

Suddenly, Last Summer

1993

The Glass Menagerie poster
5.7

An aging Southern Belle complicates life for her ambitious son and crippled daughter because of her own warped views of what life should be.

The Glass Menagerie

1950

Three Plays by Tennessee Williams poster
5.0

A presentation of Tennessee Williams' three one-act plays: "Moony's Kid Don't Cry," "The Last of My Solid Gold Watches," and "This Property Is Condemned."

Three Plays by Tennessee Williams

1958

No artwork available
7.0

In order to boost his own cotton ginning business, Jake Meighan sets the local Syndicate Plantation ablaze. the superintendent of the Syndicate Plantation sends over 27 wagons full of cotton for ginning, and turns aside his suspicions that Jake is the arsonist in exchange for apparent sexual favors from Jake's wife, Flora.

27 Wagons Full of Cotton

1990

The Eccentricities of a Nightingale poster
8.2

The tale of a lonely Southern woman's longing for her handsome next-door neighbor. At once tragic and romantic, the story is a reworking of the Williams play "Summer and Smoke," which uses the same characters and setting but in dramatically different ways.

The Eccentricities of a Nightingale

1976

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real poster
8.0

A collection of ten vignettes by Tennessee Williams offering various viewpoints on life, love, and death.

Ten Blocks on the Camino Real

1966

Le Paradis sur terre poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Le Paradis sur terre

2011

Talk to Me Like the Rain poster
5.5

A small-scale, bare room situation involving a man and a woman who are bound together in an endless cycle by their hopeless poverty. Tennessee Williams' themes are explored in the man's alcoholism and the woman's desperation.

Talk to Me Like the Rain

1976

A Streetcar Named Desire - The San Francisco Opera World Premiere poster
NR

As Blanche’s fragile world crumbles, she turns to her sister Stella for solace – but her downward spiral brings her face to face with the brutal, unforgiving Stanley Kowalski. This is the world premiere performance by the San Francisco Opera on September 19, 1998.

A Streetcar Named Desire - The San Francisco Opera World Premiere

1998

Bourbon Street Blues poster
6.1

An adaptation of Tennessee Williams' "The Lady Larkspur Lotion" created by Douglas Sirk with the assistance of his film students and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. It depicts the conflict between a dreamy, delusional heroine and her brusque, practical landlady, who wants to kick her out of her apartment.

Bourbon Street Blues

1979

No artwork available
NR

In the Jim-Crow South, Val Xavier is a bass-playing drifter who retains a wild, compassionate spirit amid neon-lit decay. Nicknamed “Snake Skin” for his animal-hide jacket, Val seeks to shed the emptiness of wealthy nightclubs and, after turning thirty, yearns for a modest, purposeful life grounded in honest work.

Orpheus steigt herab

1965

A Streetcar Named Desire poster
NR

After losing her home and her job, Blanche arrives at the home of her younger sister, Stella, and Stella’s husband Stanley, seeking comfort and solace. She is horrified to discover that they live in a crumbling, cramped apartment in a poor immigrant neighborhood. She perceives Stanley as a rough, uncouth and violent man, and the clash between them escalates into a fierce confrontation, in which passions erupt,and long-buried secrets threaten to shatter her psyche.

A Streetcar Named Desire

2025

No artwork available
NR

A prostitute suffers schitzoid dillusions while grasping on to her past loves. She is stricken with "acquired" diseases.

Hilsen fra Bertha

1968

Orpheus Descends to Hell poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Orpheus Descends to Hell

1986

The Glass Menagerie poster
6.7

An aging Southern Belle complicates life for her ambitious son and crippled daughter because of her own warped views of what life should be.

The Glass Menagerie

1966

A Streetcar Named Desire poster
1.0

Armenian remake of the legendary American classic "A Streetcar Named Desire".

A Streetcar Named Desire

1989

Suddenly, Last Summer poster
NR

The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.

Suddenly, Last Summer

2007

Alfarysa poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Alfarysa

1986