- Born
- Died
- Birth nameStojan Tesich
- Born in Yugoslavia, Tesich was 14 when he came to America and settled in East Chicago, Indiana. His father, a machinist, died in 1962. He graduated from Indiana University in 1965 and did graduate work at Columbia University where he began to write plays. 'Breaking Away (1979)' won Tesich an Oscar and a Golden Globe nomination. He successfully adapted 'The World According to Garp (1982)' and his last film was 'American Flyers (1985)'. After his film career ended, Tesich continued to write plays. As he became more pessimistic about his life, his plays became more pessimistic.
- IMDb mini biography by: Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>
- SpouseRebecca (Becky) Gordon Fletcher(May 24, 1971 - July 1, 1996) (his death, 1 child)
- RelativesNadja Tesich(Sibling)
- In 1962, he was was an alternate rider for the Phi Kappa Psi team in the Little 500 bicycle race. His teammate, Dave Blase, rode 139 of 200 laps and was the victory rider crossing the finish line for his team. They developed a friendship and Dave provided the inspiration for the main character in Tesich's award-winning screenplay, "Breaking Away(1979)".
- He was awarded the 1980 Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Achievement in Playwriting for "Division Street" at the Mark Taper Forum Theater in Los Angeles, California.
- [on living in England]: It's such a rigid class structure there. If you have a name of a certain kind, it almost opens doors for you without meaning that you have some intrinsic merit to go through that door.
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