Lyle Leverich
Lyle Leverich was a notable twentieth-century American playwright, screenwriter, and biographer, born in Long Island, New York. His early life was marked by financial struggles following his family's loss of wealth in the 1920s, which contributed to his parents' divorce and his own emotional distress. To cope, he immersed himself in writing and staging plays in his basement. After pursuing journalism and playwriting studies, he served in the Navy during World War II, fighting in the South Pacific. Following the war, Leverich relocated to San Francisco, where he developed a career in screenwriting and later became a theatrical producer. He gained significant recognition for his work on Tennessee Williams's play, The Two-Character Play, which led to a close friendship with the playwright. Leverich was invited by Williams to write a biography, resulting in the acclaimed two-volume work, Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams, with the first volume published in 1995. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1999 from complications related to diabetes, before completing the second volume. Leverich's contributions to the understanding of Williams's life and work remain significant in the literary world.
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Lyle Leverich
Biographer
- Born: 1920
- Birthplace: Long Island, New York
- Died: December 17, 1999
- Place of death: San Rafael, California
Biography
Lyle Leverich, a twentieth century playwright, screenwriter, and biographer, was born on Long Island, New York. During the 1920’s, Leverich’s family lost its real estate fortune. The stress of financial hardship led to his parents’ divorce. In order to cope with his unhappiness over his parents’ separation, Leverich escaped into his imagination. He spent long hours in his basement writing and staging plays.
Leverich briefly studied journalism and playwriting before joining the navy in the 1940’s. He fought in the South Pacific during World War II. After the war, Leverich moved to San Francisco and pursued the screenwriting business. Leverich eventually became a theatrical producer.
In 1976, Leverich began producing Tennessee Williams’s The Two-Character Play. Throughout the course of the production, Leverich and Williams became friends. Eventually, Williams asked Leverich to write a biography of his life. Williams granted Leverich exclusive access to diaries, family documents, unpublished manuscripts, and private correspondence. Leverich cumulated this material into the work titled Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams.
Leverich began writing Tom: The Unknown Tennessee Williams in two volumes. The first volume, published in 1995, documented Williams’s life from his turbulent childhood through his early professional struggles and up to his first success with the production of The Glass Menagerie. The first volume was well received and considered to be one of the most complete and accurate accounts of the famous playwright’s life. After its successful release, Leverich immediately began working on the second volume. Unfortunately, he died in 1999, from complications of diabetes, before completing it.