RIP Robert Anderson (a very personal tribute)

[franktangredi]

Robert Anderson was a playwright who had a tremendous impact on my life, in two different ways. I can’t let his passing pass without a tribute.

Anderson’s most successful play was Tea and Sympathy, the story of an adolescent boy who is branded a homosexual by his classmates. The play is a little creaky today, and many have accused it of copping out by making the accusations false (as the boy discovers when he is seduced by his housemaster’s wife). But it was pretty bold for 1953, and it raised some still valid issues about how kids treat other kids who don’t fit in.

They were valid for me, anyway, because I was in the same position as the boy. (Well, except for the part about the housemaster’s wife.) My life in school during adolescence was kind of hellish.

My parents knew what I was going through but didn’t really know how to talk to me about it. Then, one night, my Dad invited me to watch the Late Show with him. He would sometimes do this, allowing me to stay up late on a Friday or Saturday night to watch a movie he particularly liked. In this case, it was the movie version of Tea and Sympathy. And after it was over, Dad told me that he knew I was going through some of the same things as the boy in the movie. It was a very special moment, and it made life easier just knowing I had the support of my father.

Fast-forward more than 30 years. I had just won $32K on WWTBAM. One of the things I treated myself to was a two-day symposium at Hofstra University honoring Robert Anderson. And at the end of one of the sessions, I stood up and told Mr. Anderson that story and thanked him for writing a play that helped bring me closer to my father at a critical time in my life. I think that meant a lot to him. (I know how I feel as a playwright, hearing that my work made a difference in somebody’s life.)

The story doesn’t end there. Because it was at that very symposium that I approached George Grizzard and asked him to read my play Thackeray’s Ghost. And that ended up being the moment that launched me as a real playwright.

So thank you again, Robert Anderson. Thank you for what you did for me as a kid. And thank you for what you did for me as an adult.

[frogman042]

Frank,

Thanks so much for sharing that story.

---Jay

[silvercamaro]

Wow.

Thank you, Robert Anderson, for helping to bring us the wonderful Frank Tangredi we know today.

Rest in peace.

P.S. Good work outside the theatre, too, including The Nun's Story and The Sand Pebbles.

[NellyLunatic1980]

Frank,

Thanks so much for sharing that story.

---Jay

What he said.

[Catfish]

Thank you, Frank. And thank you Mr. Anderson.
Love,

[Bob Juch]

I related to the film for the same reason. I suppose it helped.

[nitrah55]

That's a very personal and brave tribute. Maybe your plays will help someone else down the road, too.

[mellytu74]

Thank you, Frank for sharing the story.

[kayrharris]

Very touching. I join those in thanking him for being a stepping stone to being able to have
a glimpse of your playwright talents. May he rest in peace. Thanks for sharing it with us.