Eugene O'Neill

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ONeill-Eugene-LOC

American playwright (1888–1953)

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O'Neill in 1936

Native name
Born	Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888-10-16)October 16, 1888 New York City, U.S.
Died	November 27, 1953(1953-11-27) (aged 65) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
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Occupation	Playwright
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Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His plays are among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish playwright August Strindberg. His best-known works include Long Day's Journey into Night, The Iceman Cometh, and A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Early life

Eugene O'Neill was born in a New York hotel room in 1888, the son of James O'Neill, a successful touring actor, and Mary Ellen Quinlan. He spent his early childhood traveling with his parents as his father performed in various productions. O'Neill attended Princeton University briefly before dropping out due to illness and personal issues.

Career

O'Neill's career as a playwright began in earnest in the early 1910s. His first major success came with the play Beyond the Horizon in 1920, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Over the next two decades, he wrote numerous plays that were produced on Broadway and received critical acclaim.

Major works

• Long Day's Journey into Night - A semi-autobiographical play that is considered one of O'Neill's masterpieces. It was published posthumously in 1956 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1957.
• The Iceman Cometh - A play that explores themes of disillusionment and the human condition, first performed in 1946.
• A Moon for the Misbegotten - A sequel to Long Day's Journey into Night, focusing on the character of James Tyrone Jr.

Personal life

O'Neill married three times and had three children. His personal life was marked by struggles with alcoholism and depression, which influenced much of his work. He spent his later years in relative seclusion and died in 1953 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Legacy

Eugene O'Neill is considered one of the greatest American playwrights. His work has had a lasting impact on American theater and continues to be studied and performed worldwide. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1936, the first American playwright to receive the honor.

See also

• American literature
• List of American playwrights
• Pulitzer Prize for Drama