MS 01 William Inge Collection

Collection

Identifier: MS 01

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

MS 01 William Motter Inge Digital Collections

At the heart of the Collection are some four hundred manuscripts. Represented are full length plays, screenplays, one-act plays, novels and short stories. Various versions of all the Broadway plays are included in the Collection, as well as some of the earlier produced plays and one-act plays that were to become successful Broadway plays. For example, Farther Off From Heaven and Front Porch, which were written in the 1940’s, were revised by Inge in the 1950’s and became The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Picnic respectively. A one-act play, People in the Wind, was expanded and became the popular Broadway play, Bus Stop.

In addition to various versions of the Broadway plays, the Collection has versions of many of the other one-act plays that have either been produced or published. Included in the Collection are versions of the various screenplays such as Splendor in the Grass, versions of the novels Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff and My Son is a Splendid Driver, and some unpublished short stories.

To complement the Collection of original manuscripts are the published works, including many translations. In addition, there are over one hundred critical and biographical sources and over fifty theatre programs, including the playbill copy for all of the Broadway productions and programs from significant non-Broadway presentations.

A unique feature of Inge’s plays is that several have become successful motion pictures. The Dickinson Foundation of Mission, Kansas, has provided the Collection with copies of 16-mm movies of Bus Stop, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and The Stripper (which is based on the play A Loss of Roses) and Splendor in the Grass. In 1982, Home Box Office, Inc., gave the Collection videocassettes of its theatre production of Bus Stop.

Along with the motion pictures and television plays are many motion picture lobby cards, posters, still pictures and pressbooks. All of the motion picture versions of Inge’s plays are represented in this collection of materials, including Come Back, Little Sheba, Picnic, Bus Stop, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, The Stripper, Splendor in the Grass, Bus Riley’s Back in Town and All Fall Down, a screenplay adaptation by Inge of James Leo Herlihy’s novel by the same title. Still pictures of various actors and actresses like Shirley Booth, William Holden, Rosalind Russell, Burt Lancaster, Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty and many others are in the Collection.

Like Sonny in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Inge collected pictures of movie stars as a child; seven of these are part of the photograph collection. Also included are sixty photographs covering the life of William Inge, from candid shots to studio portraits.

Unique items in the Collection include school friendship books signed by Inge, his first teacher’s contract, advertisements and broadsides for various performances of his works and the Inge family genealogy.

At this time, the Collection contains about one hundred twenty pieces of correspondence. Thirty-six letters are written by Inge. A number of these letters were donated to the Collection by JoAnn Kirchmaier, a niece with whom Inge kept in contact most of his life. Some letters are to colleagues like Ned Rorem, the writer and composer, while other are to friends and family acquaintances. The content and length of these letter vary widely. Also included are eighteen items written to Inge and nineteen items related in some way to Inge’s works. The remainder of the correspondence concerns the establishment of the William Inge Collection and the naming of The William Inge Theatre at the Independence Community College.

Another unique aspect of the Collection is thirty four taped interviews of friends, relatives, and colleagues. Three of the interviews are with William Inge and the others include Elia Kazan and Joshua Logan, who directed Inge plays and films based on Inge works, actors such as Pat Hingle, theatre colleagues like Jo Mielziner, who designed the stage setting for Picnic, and William Gibson, playwright and friend of Inge. Other interviews are with friends, neighbors, and schoolmates from Independence, Kansas, friends at the University of Kansas, Stephens College, and from Inge’s St. Louis days.

The William Inge Collection has 1629 books from William Inge’s personal library. He had a large number of American and English literature books. Inge also had a large collection of phonograph records; about six hundred of these are in the William Inge Collection. The records are mainly classical music recordings with a fair representation of jazz from the 1920’s, 30’s, and 40’s. In addition to appreciating good literature and music, Inge had a life-long interest in art and was considered an astute collector. His interest in art is reflected not only in the large number of art books and exhibition catalogs in his personal library, but also in some nineteen drawings and three watercolors done by Inge and housed in the William Inge Collection.

Dates

Creation: Majority of material found within 1913-1973

Conditions Governing Access

For more information contact: Sarah Owen Director of Library Services, Curator of the Inge Collection Send an E-mail Phone: 620-332-5468 Fax: 620-331-6821

The following policies govern access to materials in the William Inge Collection, as well as the room in which the Inge Collection is housed:

1. The Director of Library Services serves as the curator for the William Inge Collection, and the final decision about acquisition, deselection, arrangement, preservation, and use of items in the Collection rests with him or her, except as governed by legal arrangements with the Inge estate and its designees.

2. Items in the Collection may not be loaned, but must be used in the room housing the Collection. Exceptions to this policy will be reviewed by the Director of Library Services, on a case-by-case basis.

3. Ordinarily, materials may not be photocopied or otherwise duplicated. Researchers who want to access the Collection, but cannot make the trip to Independence, may request an exception to this policy. Exceptions will be reviewed by the Director of Library Services on a case-by-case basis. All photocopy requests for manuscripts and correspondence must be approved by the Inge estate or its designee. Photocopied materials may not be duplicated, in part or in whole, and the recipient must agree to return the photocopy to the library upon completion of his or her research.

4. Researchers using the Collection should plan to leave coats, briefcases, and any other personal property not essential to research at the Library’s circulation desk. The only items that researchers are permitted to bring into the Collection are looseleaf paper, a pencil, and a laptop computer. No marks are to be made on any items, and ink-based writing implements are not permissible. Damaging, defacing, or attempting to remove materials from the Collection without proper authorization shall be grounds for suspension of research privileges, and serious offenses may be referred to law enforcement officials.

5. Researchers are strongly encouraged to contact library staff in advance of their visit to the Collection, to ensure that library staff will be available to assist with research.

6. No food or drink may be brought into the room housing the Collection, even if the room is being used for a meeting or other function unrelated to research.

History of the Inge Collection

The ICC Library serves as the official archival depository for the papers of William Inge. At the heart of the Collection are some four hundred manuscripts, including full-length plays, screenplays, one-act plays, novels, and short stories. The Collection also includes William Inge's book collection, record collection, some correspondence, movie posters, and other artifacts belonging to Inge or relating to his plays. Finally, the Collection serves as the archive for the William Inge Center for the Arts, collecting all Inge Center publications as well as scholarly papers delivered at the annual William Inge Theatre Festival.

The William Inge Collection began in 1965 with the gathering of press clippings, memorabilia and booksabout Independence’s native son and Independence Community College alum William Inge. In 1969, Inge gave the college the original manuscripts of Picnic, Come Back, Little Sheba, Natural Affection, and Splendor in the Grass for the collection which found a permanent home in ICC’s library. In 1976, Inge’s sister, Helene Inge Connell, donated the playwright’s private collection of 1,629 books according to his expressed wishes. In 1980, Mrs. Connell added Inge’s record collection.

With the support of Independence Community College and a grant from the Arco Foundation, the collection was officially opened on October 25, 1981, with an opening ceremony, tours of the collection, and a special reception in honor of Helene Inge Connell.

The dedication of the William Inge Collection in 1981 was the beginning of a period of tremendous growth for the Collection. Dr. Arthur McClure, Chairman of the history department at Central Missouri State University, Warrensburg, Missouri, donated a large collection of motion picture related materials, books, pictures and records. International Creative Management (ICM), Inge’s literary agent, donated some one hundred manuscripts and books. And, Helene Inge Connell donated two manuscripts in addition to books, records, programs, clippings and correspondence. Significant donations came from other family members and friends. These gifts have made the William Inge Collection at Independence Community College the most extensive collection on William Inge in existence.

Biography

William Motter Inge’s Kansas boyhood is reflected in many of his works. Born in Independence on May 3, 1913, he was the second son of Luther Clay Inge and Maude Sarah Gibson-Inge and the youngest of five children. His boyhood home at 514 N. 4th Street in Independence still stands. His siblings were Lucy, Luther Jr., Irene (died at 3 years of age), and Helene. His father was a traveling salesman and Inge had a close relationship with his mother.

Independence, Kansas in the 1920’s was a wealthy white-collar town and the home of Alf Landon, Harry Sinclair, and Martin Johnson. Until the depression, Independence was said to have had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the country.

Inge’s fascination for the theatre began early. In the 1920’s Independence had many cultural events as top artists and shows stopped over for one night stands between performances in Kansas City, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Although Inge was not from a well-to-do family, he did get to see many shows as a member of a local Boy Scout Troop. The troop met in the Civic Center, a ground floor meeting room of Memorial Hall, a large 2,000 seat theater where these shows were held. The scouts were regularly invited to sit in the balcony after their meetings to watch the performances.

The small town of Independence had a profound influence on the young Inge and he would later attribute his understanding of human behavior to growing up in this small town environment. “I’ve often wondered how people raised in our great cities ever develop any knowledge of humankind. People who grow up in small towns get to know each other so much more closely than they do in cities,” said Inge. Inge would later use this knowledge of small town life in many of his plays, most of which revolve around characters who are clearly products of small towns like Independence.

In 1930, Inge graduated from Independence High School and went on to attend Independence Junior College (now Independence Community College). At that time the high school and college were located across the street from each other at 10th and Laurel streets.

In 1935, Inge graduated from the University of Kansas at Lawrence with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech and Drama. He said once that at this stage in his life he had wanted to plunge into Broadway but felt that he lacked the necessary funding. When the George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee, offered him a scholarship to work on a master’s degree he accepted. He later dropped out of Peabody. “I sort of based my life on the theatre,” said Inge. “Having given up the theatre I had given up the basis that I’d set for my life upon. I was terribly confused. I went home to Kansas and began to flounder.”

Back in Kansas, he endeavored to define a clearer direction for his life. He found physical exhaustion helpful and that summer worked as a laborer on the state highway. After that he went to Wichita where he worked as a news announcer. In 1937-38, Inge taught high school English and Drama in Columbus, Kansas and in 1938 he returned to Peabody to complete his Master of Arts Degree. From 1938-1943, Inge was a member of the faculty at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri.

In 1943, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked as the drama and music critic for the St. Louis Times. It was while he worked as a drama critic that Inge became acquainted with Tennessee Williams. He accompanied Williams to a performance of his play THE GLASS MENAGERIE in Chicago. “I was terrifically moved by the play,” said Inge. “I thought it was the finest (play) I had seen in many years. I went back to St. Louis and felt, ‘Well, I’ve got to write a play.’” Within three months he had completed FARTHER OFF FROM HEAVEN, which was produced by Margo Jones in Dallas. Inge returned to a teaching position at Washington University in St. Louis and began serious work on turning a fragmentary short story into a one act play. This work evolved into a play that earned Inge the title of most promising playwright of the 1950 Broadway season. The play was COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA.

In 1953, PICNIC opened at The Music Box Theatre in New York City. The play is set in a small Kansas town on Labor Day. Rosemary, the spinster school teacher fears she will continue to live her life without someone to take care of her. Inge recalled the genesis of this character profile. “When I was a boy in Kansas, my mother had a boarding house. There were three women school teachers living in the house. I was four years old and they were nice to me; I liked them. I saw their attempts and, even as a child, I sensed every woman’s failure. I began to sense the sorrow and the emptiness in their lives and it touched me.” PICNIC won Inge a Pulitzer Prize, The Drama Critic Circle Award, The Outer Circle Award, and The Theatre Club Award.

It was in 1952 that Paramount Pictures released the film version of COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA directed by Daniel Mann and starring Shirley Booth and Burt Lancaster. Shortly after, in 1956, Columbia Pictures released the film version of PICNIC directed by Joshua Logan and starring William Holden, Kim Novak and Rosalind Russell.

Inge’s next success came in 1955 when BUS STOP opened at The Music Box Theatre in New York City. Directed by Joshua Logan, the film version of BUS STOP was released by Fox in 1956 with Marilyn Monroe, Don Murray and Eileen Heckart in starring roles.

Inge’s fame continued to grow as THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, a reworking of his first play FARTHER OFF FROM HEAVEN opened on Broadway in 1957. DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, considered to be Inge’s finest play, is one in which he draws most directly from his own past. He confessed the play was his “first cautious attempt to look at the past, with an effort to find order and meaning in experiences that were once too close to be seen clearly.” It was released as a film starring Dorothy McGuire, Robert Preston, Shirley Knight, Eve Arden, and Angela Lansbury in 1960.

Inge’s mother, Maude Sarah Gibson Inge, died in 1958 at the age of 86 in Independence.

In 1959, A LOSS OF ROSES opened to poor reviews and closed after a three week run. Inge was devastated by the criticism. In 1960 he announced plans to teach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. These plans and all subsequent plans to return to his native state fall through even though he later purchased property in Lawrence.

In 1960, Inge’s first screenplay, Splendor in the Grass was filmed in New York. It starred Natalie Wood, Pat Hingle and newcomer Warren Beatty. It also featured the only screen appearance of Inge himself, who played the part of Reverend Whitman. He is shown giving part of a sermon and bidding farewell to his parishioners as they leave the church. Splendor in the Grass was a triumph for Inge and won him an Academy Award for Best Screenplay.

His next two plays were NATURAL AFFECTION in 1963 and WHERE’S DADDY? in 1965. Both were unsuccessful. This prompted him to leave New York in 1963 at the age of fifty and move to California. In 1968, he resumed his teaching career at the University of California at Irvine but, becoming increasingly depressed, he quit in 1970.

The products of his remaining years were two novels: Good Luck, Miss Wyckoff in 1970 and My Son Is a Splendid Driver in 1971, a largely autobiographical account of Inge’s boyhood years.

William Inge is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery located at 1700 N. Penn Ave., Independence, KS next to Riverside Park and Zoo

Inge died by suicide on June 10, 1973 at his home in Hollywood, where he lived with his sister, Helene. He was 60 years old. He was buried in Mt. Hope Cemetery in his hometown of Independence, KS. His headstone reads simply, “Playwright.”

https://ingecenter.org/about/about-william-inge/