- Born
- Died
- James Kirkwood Jr. was born on August 22, 1924 in Hollywood, California, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for A Chorus Line (1985), Some Kind of Hero (1982) and P.S. Your Cat Is Dead! (2002). He died on April 21, 1989 in New York City, New York, USA.
- Parents
- Shortly before he passed away, he published an excellent, highly amusing book "Diary of a Mad Playwright: Perilous Adventures on the Road with Mary Martin and Carol Channing", about his experiences in 1986-1987 producing a tour of his play "Legends". The production was a highly troubled one, largely because Mary Martin had tremendous difficulty remembering her lines and had to be fitted with a wireless earpiece so that a prompter could feed her lines when necessary. The book is an fascinating chronicle of Kirkwood's experiences and offers excellent insight into the personalities of both actresses.
- Won Broadway's 1976 Tony Award as Best Book (Musical) with collaborator Nicholas Dante for "A Chorus Line."
- Was a personal friend of Clay Shaw, the New Orleans businessman tried for the murder of President John F. Kennedy.
- He wrote a play and novel called "P.S. Your Cat is Dead." In the story, the main character (Jimmy) acted in the 1950s TV series, "Valient Lady." James Kirkwood acted in that series in real life, so Kirkwood was being semi-autobiographical.
- Won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the musical "A Chorus Line" collaborating with Nicholas Dante, Michael Bennett, Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban.
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