Leland hayward iii biography of william shakespeare

In Hayward sold his talent agency and became a producer. His production of South Pacific was a great success. He produced both the play Mister Roberts and the film version. Other noteworthy film productions include The Spirit of St. Louisand The Old Man and the Sea He was a co-producer with David Merrick of the show Gypsy. His biggest success, however, was The Sound of Music that opened the same year.

Hayward's forays into television were similarly notable. The Irving Berlin musical was not well-reviewed but an almost unprecedented advance sale made it a profitable venture. Hayward devoted much time and resources in the early s to developing a pay television system. In his plan, subscribers with an unscrambling device could pay on a program-by-program basis for those special presentations in which they were interested.

Proposed programming would include first-run films, live Broadway shows and opera performances, educational classes and documentaries. The project got as far as a test run in Hartford, Connecticut, but went no further at that time. Although Leland Hayward had tremendous success producing television specials, none of his series ideas had ever been sold.

Inhowever, he produced a special which was an adaptation of a British television series. The series used songs, sketches and a news format to satirize current events. The special was a success and NBC bought the idea as a series. That Was The Week That Was ran for two seasons, but it proved to be much more difficult to do on a weekly basis than for a one-time special.

Producers and writers came and went, disagreeing with Hayward, and each other, about the direction of the show. The time pressure, always an issue in weekly series, was magnified by the necessity of keeping the show current.

Leland hayward iii biography of william shakespeare

News had to be reflected in the scripts within days, or even hours, of being reported. Strong reviews and ratings were encouraging, but political satire is notorious for being a difficult medium with which to please a large audience. Thirty-minute commercials sponsored by the Republican Party replaced That Was The Week That Was for several weeks leading up to the election, and the ratings never recovered.

After Mr. He had numerous plays in various stages of development, including a long-planned musical version of Gone With the Wind, but most never came to fruition. A few got as far as Boston, but never arrived in New York. The Mother Lover, a dark, absurdist comedy, did get to Broadway and lasted exactly one performance. Fortunately, Hayward had one last success in his career.

The Trial of the Catonsville Nine was a modernist play based on the actual transcripts of the trial of a group of anti-war activists. Hayward believed in the play, if not necessarily its politics, and despite being in ill-health, produced it as a workshop in Los Angeles and then brought it to New York. He died during its run, on March 18, Hayward married five times.

His first wife was Lola Inez Gibbs, whom he remarried after their first divorce. Margaret Sullavan, his second wife, was the mother of his three children, Brooke, Bridget and William. The majority of the collection relates to the various works Hayward produced in those three media. The relative amount of material matches his output in each medium, with theater comprising the largest portion and film, the smallest.

September Learn how and when to remove this message. References [ edit ]. New York: Alfred A. ISBN Reflected Glory. The Life of Pamela Churchill Harriman. Simon and Schuster New York: New American Library. TimeFebruary 8, TimeOctober 18, Thomas Dunne Books. External links [ edit ]. Nebraska CityNebraska. First United Methodist Church St. Benedict's Catholic Church St.

Mary's Catholic Church. InWilliam Shakespeare, at the young age of 18, married Anne Hathawaywho was eight years older. The marriage was arranged quickly, as their first child, Susanna, was born just six months later on May 26, Life for the growing family in Stratford-upon-Avon must have been both busy and challenging, particularly with Shakespeare balancing his family duties while nurturing his developing talents.

The cause of his death is not clearly documented, though it is believed to have been the result of the frequent outbreaks of disease that occurred during the period. The loss of Hamnet is thought to have deeply affected Shakespeare and gave the budding playwright a first-hand personal experience of suffering and grief. Such themes would later appear in many of his works, such as Hamlet and King Lear.

The lack of detail has birthed various conspiracies and theories about what Shakespeare was doing during this time. Some believe he worked as a schoolteacher, while others think he spent some time extensively traveling around Europe. Whatever the case may be, sometime in the late s, William Shakespeare left Stratford-upon-Avon and moved to London, leaving behind his wife, Anne Hathaway, and their children.

His family life, rural upbringing, and experiences during this unknown period offered him leland haywards iii biography of william shakespeare of relationships, power, and society, which would become central to his future works. His ability to transform these observations into art is what ultimately set him apart from many of his contemporaries.

The exact reasons for his departure from Stratford remain uncertain, but many scholars believe the move was driven by a combination of ambition and necessity. As he prepared for the next chapter of his life in Londonthe stage was set for Shakespeare to leave behind his family in Stratford and pursue his ambitions in the world of theater.

Ready to discover how he conquered the stage in London? Continue reading this William Shakespeare biography to explore the rise as one of the most celebrated playwrights of all time! Arriving in London sometime aroundShakespeare began to make his mark as both a playwright and an actor. Inthe Globe Theater was built, with Shakespeare as one of the shareholders.

The atmosphere of the Globe is always swinging, with audiences vocally voicing their reactions to the action on the stage. This interaction became a drawing card and cornerstone of Shakespearean theatre and brought the works of Shakespeare to life in ways that would be very difficult to replicate in theatres today. The Globe quickly became the central hub for many of his most famous works.

This open-air theater, located on the banks of the River Thames, could hold up to 3, spectators and played host to both commoners and nobility alike. He wrote some of his most iconic plays, including tragedies such as HamletOthelloand Macbethwhich explored themes of power, ambition, and human nature. Beyond writing, Shakespeare acting was also a key part of his London life.