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29 Facts About Horton Foote

1.

Horton Foote received Academy Awards for To Kill a Mockingbird, which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name by Harper Lee, and the film, Tender Mercies.

2.

Horton Foote was known for his notable live television dramas produced during the Golden Age of Television.

3.

Horton Foote was the inaugural recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award.

4.

Horton Foote began his career as an actor, but was writing plays.

5.

Horton Foote became one of the leading writers for American television during the 1950s, beginning with an episode of The Gabby Hayes Show.

6.

Horton Foote later adapted the play into a feature film.

7.

Horton Foote continued into the 1960s with ITV Playhouse and DuPont Show of the Month.

8.

Horton Foote twice adapted William Faulkner's "Old Man" to television, in 1958 and 1997.

9.

Horton Foote's plays were produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway and at regional theatres, such as the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

10.

Horton Foote wrote the English adaptation of the original Japanese book for the 1970 musical Scarlett, a musical adaptation of Gone with the Wind.

11.

Horton Foote won the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for The Young Man From Atlanta.

12.

In 1996, Horton Foote was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

13.

Horton 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 1963.

14.

Horton Foote personally recommended actor Robert Duvall for the part of Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird after meeting him during a 1957 production of The Midnight Caller at Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City.

15.

Aware of his failure to attend the 1963 ceremony, Horton Foote made sure to attend the 1984 ceremony.

16.

Horton Foote generally wrote screenplays that were based on his plays, such as the semi-autobiographic trilogy of 1918, On Valentine's Day and Courtship.

17.

Horton Foote adapted works by other authors, such as John Steinbeck.

18.

Horton Foote had previously adapted the story as a play for television's Playhouse 90 in 1960.

19.

Horton Foote provided the voice of Jefferson Davis for Ken Burns's critically acclaimed documentary, The Civil War.

20.

Horton Foote was awarded an honorary doctorate in 2006 from Carson-Newman University.

21.

Horton Foote received an honorary doctorate of humane letters in 1987 from Spalding University.

22.

In 2002, Horton Foote accepted the title as "Visiting Distinguished Dramatist" with the Baylor Department of Theatre Arts.

23.

Horton Foote was known to be a large supporter of the arts in his hometown of Wharton, Texas.

24.

Horton Foote was married to Lillian Vallish Horton Foote from June 4,1945, until her death in 1992.

25.

Horton Foote was introduced to Christian Science while in California and went on to become a dedicated member of the church.

26.

Horton Foote served as a First Reader in a branch church in Nyack, New York, and taught Sunday School for many years while living in New Boston, New Hampshire.

27.

Horton Foote was the voice of Jefferson Davis in the 11-hour PBS series The Civil War.

28.

Shelby Horton Foote wrote the comprehensive three volume, 3000-page history, together titled The Civil War: A Narrative, upon which the series was partially based and who appeared in almost ninety segments.

29.

Horton Foote died in Hartford, Connecticut, on March 4,2009, at the age of 92, while he was working on a production of The Orphans' Home Cycle to premiere in the city.