Eugene O'Neill

Jean Chothia (University of Cambridge)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.3: American (US) Writing and Culture: The Early Twentieth-century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: J. Michael Duvall (College of Charleston), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Tony Papanikolas (San Jose State University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

Dates

Born 16 Oct 1888
Died 27 Nov 1953
Activity 1913-1953

Places

Born in United States
Active in United States

Activities

Primary

Playwright / Dramatist

Other

Journalist
Mariner/ Navigator/ Seaman
Poet
Theatre actor

Resources

O'Neill's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born in a hotel room in New York on 16th October, 1888, the third son of James O'Neill and Ella Quinlan, both of Irish immigrant stock. Versions of their experience recur throughout their son's dramatic writing, culminating in the intimately autobiographical,

Long Day's Journey into Night

(1939). James O'Neill, an actor who early in his career had played classical roles, including Shakespeare with Edwin Booth, succumbed to popular and financial success on the melodramatic stage. Among other roles, he played Christ in Salmi Morse's

The Passion

, but it was as Edmond Dantes in

The Count of Monte Cristo

, that he became a matinee idol, a role which he was acting for the 1400th time when O'Neill was born and would continue to play until 1913, eventually recording it…

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2767 words

Citation: Chothia, Jean. "Eugene O'Neill". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3384, accessed 23 November 2024.]