William Hanley

For other people named William Hanley, see William Hanley (disambiguation).
William Hanley
Born (1931-10-22)October 22, 1931
Lorain, Ohio, United States
Died May 25, 2012(2012-05-25) (aged 80)
United States
Occupation Writer
Spouse(s) Shelley Post (1956–1961)
Pat Stanley (1962–1978; divorced); 2 children
Relatives James Hanley, Gerald Hanley (uncles)
Ellen Hanley (sister)

William Hanley (born October 22, 1931 – May 25, 2012) was an American playwright, novelist, and scriptwriter. His parents were William and Anne (Rodgers) Hanley. William Hanley, Sr. was born in Liverpool, England in 1899,[1] of Irish Catholic immigrants. He was a seaman prior to settling in the US, and then worked as a housepainter.[2] Shortly after Hanley's birth the family moved to Queens, New York. Hanley attended Cornell for a year, then served in the Army in the early 1950s, before enrolling at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, though he never pursued an acting career.[3] He worked as a bank clerk, mail clerk, factory worker, and book salesman while writing his early scripts.[4] William Hanley married Shelley Post, 1956 (divorced, 1961), and married Pat Stanley, 1962 (divorced, 1978).

Hanley was a successful Broadway and off Broadway playwright in the 1960s. Howard Taubman wrote in The New York Times in 1962, that Mr. Hanley "an uncommonly gifted writer." But the accolades, and a Tony nomination, did not provide commercial success. "Slow Dance" ran for 88 performances, the off Broadway plays had closed within a month.[4] However, Hanley subsequently he had a successful career in television, beginning with "Flesh and Blood," originally a stage play that Hanley sold in 1966, to NBC for $112,500, "at the time the most that television had paid an author for a single work".[4] Over a period of thirty years Hanley wrote more than two dozen TV scripts. He was nominated for Emmys five times and won twice. He also published three novels in the 1970s. William Hanley died May 25, 2012 after suffering a fall in his home in Ridgefield, Connecticut. He was 80.[4]

The actress Ellen Hanley (1926–2007) was his sister. She is best known for playing Fiorello La Guardia's first wife in the 1959 Broadway musical "Fiorello!" The British novelist and playwright James Hanley (1897–1985) was his father William's brother. In addition to writing many novels James Hanley also wrote plays for the theatre, radio and television. Another brother was the novelist and script writer Gerald Hanley (1916–1992).[5]

Novels

Stage plays

Published plays (including anthologies)

Screenplay

Plays for television

Radio play

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "James Hanley's Life" in James Hanley's The Closed Harbour. London: Oneworld Classics, 2009, p. 202
  2. ↑ James Hanley, Broken Water: An Autobiographical Excursion. London: Chatto & Windus, 1937, p.130, 134, 140, 246; Lorain Public Library System, local authors, Lorain.lib.oh.us
  3. ↑ Playbill.com
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hevesi, Dennis (June 3, 2012). "William Hanley, Playwright and TV Writer, Dies at 80". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ The National Library of Wales has a few letters from William and Ellen Hanley to James Hanley. William Hanley, playwright. Letter from (1976), NLW 23132, f. 205. Ellen Hanley, actress. Letters from (1960–79), NLW 23132, ff. 194–204v
  6. ↑ Cix.co.uk
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