William Gibson - dramatist, writer

In 1975 my family belonged to a church in Massachusetts where a famous playwright and several other published writers attended.  In this parish, we put on religious theatrical productions – in the style of “Jesus Christ Superstar”.  I remember vividly participating in the plays of William Gibson’s “The Body and The Wheel” and “The Butterfingers Angel, Mary and Joseph, Herod the Nut, and The Slaughter of Twelve Hit Carols in a Pear Tree.”

When I was about age 10, my mother told this dramatist and writer that she had a scribbler in her house.  He invited me to participate in a poetry class; I was the only child in attendance.  He asked me for a new poem each Sunday.  He read them.  He sat and talked to me about them.  He gave me a new way of seeing the world around me - filtered through the lens of poetry.  He was in his sixties; I had just turned double-digits.  He was my personal 'Tuesdays with Morrie' experience.  I am forever grateful to William for his words, encouragement, and kindness.  In my folder "poems from the past"  I mentioned his impact on me, but I’ve just recently learned that William Gibson passed away in late November, and was saddened by the news.  I thought I could show my appreciation and gratitude by honoring him here - where writers support other writers.

An author of plays, poetry, fiction, and criticism, William Gibson (born 1914 in NYC) is best known for his drama “The Miracle Worker” (1959).  Praised for its honest, unsentimental treatment of the relationship between Helen Keller, a woman born deaf, blind and mute who grew up to became a nationally celebrated writer and public figure, and Annie Sullivan, the nurse who teaches Helen language and morals, “The Miracle Worker” won the 1960 Tony Award for best play and remains Gibson's most admired and revived work.  Nearly half a century later, it is still performed at regional theaters around the country.  The drama has been noted "a classic American play--and television play, and film--the full stature of which has yet to be realized."

“The Miracle Worker” was adapted as an Academy Awarded feature-length film starring Anne Bancroft as Annie and Patty Duke as Helen in 1962, and was again produced for television in 1979 with Patty Duke playing the role of Annie and Melissa Gilbert as Helen. After “The Miracle Worker”, Gibson continued to write for the theatre and became a member of the Dramatists Guild.

Mr. Gibson’s other works include “Two for the Seesaw,” which opened on Broadway in 1958, the book for a musical adaptation of “Golden Boy” by Clifford Odets, and “Golda’s Balcony”.  During the late 1960s and 1970s, however, Gibson largely withdrew from the New York theatre scene and he founded and became president of the Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Gibson did return to the New York stage during the 1980s; and continued writing throughout his life. He has published poetry, plays, fiction, and criticism.

Gibson's style of writing includes high and low humor with emotional effects. His approach of realism is brought on stage by his elegant style of words or gestures.  Gibson is praised for his accurate ear for dialogue and strong command of dramatic conflict. Robert Brustein observed: "Gibson possesses substantial literary and dramatic gifts, and an integrity of the highest order. In addition, he brings to his works authentic compassion, wit, bite, and humor, and a lively, literate prose style equaled by few American dramatists."

William Gibson was born in the Bronx, New York, on November 13, 1914, the son of George Irving, a bank clerk, and Florence (Dore) Gibson. Gibson spent his childhood in New York City and eventually attended the City College of New York, where he studied from 1930 until 1932. After graduation, Gibson moved to Kansas, supporting himself as a piano teacher while pursuing his interest in theatre. It was in Topeka, Kansas, that Gibson had his earliest plays produced. Most of these early works were light comedies; two of them were later revised and restaged: "A Cry Of The Players" and "Dinny and the Witches", both in 1948. Shortly after his time in Kansas, Gibson met a psychoanalyst named Margaret Brenman; the two were married on September 6, 1940, and eventually had two sons, Thomas and David.  After having some success as a playwright, Gibson and his wife moved to New York City where William Gibson achieved great success.  After leaving New York City, they moved to Stockbridge, Massachusetts in the 1960's.



Notes:

Oscar-nominated playwright William Gibson has died at the age of 94. Gibson passed away at his home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts on Tuesday. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Gibson is best known for his famous play The Miracle Worker, which was turned into a critically acclaimed 1962 film.

The movie won Academy Awards for both its stars, Anne Bancroft and Patty Duke, and garnered Oscar nominations for Gibson and director Arthur Penn.

The play also scooped a string of Tony Awards.

Gibson was also nominated for a Tony in 1965 as co-author of Golden Boy, a musical version of the play by Clifford Odets starring Sammy Davis Jr.



References:

  Wikipedia.

  New York Times.

  Encyclopedia of World Biography on William Gibson

  Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 8: William Gibson." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/gibson.html (12/30/08).