Horton Foote Jr.

Short Biography

Horton Foote (March 14, 1916 - March 4, 2009) was an American playwright, screenwriter perhaps best known for his screenplay for the 1962 film, To Kill a Mockingbird for which he received an Academy Award. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play, The Young Man From Atlanta. Foote was born to Albert Horton Foote and Hallie Brooks in Wharton, Texas. Foote has had plays produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway and at many regional theatres. He wrote the English adaptation of the original Japanese book for the 1970 musical Scarlett. He won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Young Man From Atlanta. The Goodman Theatre production that was presented on Broadway in New York City in 1997 was nominated for Best Play, but did not win. The production starred Rip Torn, Shirley Knight and Biff McGuire. Knight and McGuire were also nominated for Tony Awards. Foote received an Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay and the Writers Guild of America Screen Award for his adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird in 1962. Foote did not attend the Oscars ceremony because he did not expect to win, and so was not present to collect the award in person.