William Saroyan

William Saroyan ( born August 31, 1908 in Fresno, California, † May 18, 1981 ) was an American writer of Armenian origin.

Life

Saroyan was one of the most important American writers of the 20th century. The son of Armenian immigrants from the Bitlis in Turkey began his career as a writer of short stories, which appeared 1928-1936. Because of these stories, he was hired at Columbia Pictures as a scriptwriter. Besides working on screenplays, he continued to write prose and plays, which were especially popular during the Great Depression in the 1930s. His stories were mostly about growing up as the son of Armenian immigrants.

William Saroyan received in the course of his career, the Pulitzer Prize for his play The Time of Your Life, and an Academy Award for the screenplay for the film The Human Comedy. He was twice to actress Carol Grace, who later became the wife of Walter Matthau, married, with whom he had two children together.

Works (selection)

  • The Third Day After Christmas (short story, 1926)
  • The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (short story collection, 1934)
  • The Time of Your Life (1939, Comedy )
  • My Name is Aram (short story collection, 1940); German: My name is Aram (Translation: Hans Zbinden, Europe Publishing 1979, Fischer TB 1983)
  • My Heart 's in the Highlands ( Drama, 1941)
  • The Human Comedy, German: Human Comedy (novel, 1943)
  • Rock Wagram (novel, 1951)
  • Tracy 's Tiger (novel, 1951); German: Tracy's Tiger ( translation: Helmut M. Braem, Diana Verlag 1953, Fischer TB 1989)
  • Papa You're Crazy (novel, 1957), German: ... said my father, translation 1959 by Elisabeth Mann Borgese

Filmography

Films based on works by William Saroyan:

Armenians Screenwriter Clarence Brown Mickey Rooney James Cagney Peter Brook Carl Raddatz Martin Benrath The Banishment Integrated Authority File
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