#william inge

Picnic was released on 7 December 1955.

Daniel Taradash adapted William Inge's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1953 play for the screen, with Joshua Logan (who had directed the Broadway stage production) directing.

Ralph Meeker had played the role of Hal on Broadway, but the studio cast William Holden before Logan was even hired. Logan was unhappy with Janice Rule's screen test (she had played Madge on stage) and cast 22-year-old Kim Novak. Paul Newman (who had made his Broadway debut in Picnic) was asked to reprise his role as Madge's boyfriend but was under contract and Cliff Robertson was cast.

William Inge

Come back, little Sheba © 2023 by Kevin Nance

William Inge (deceased)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

DOB: 3 May 1913  

RIP: 10 June 1973

Ethnicity: White - American

When Jayne Mansfield Met Alice the Brady Bunch’s Housekeeper! Let me put this forgotten fringe-of-show biz encounter in context. From Jayne Mansfield: The Girl Couldn’t Help It (2021) by Eve Golden: 

“In May 1964 Jayne signed (at $4,000 a week) to bring two of Marilyn Monroe’s movie roles to the stage: the pathetic nightclub singer Cherie in Bus Stop (first played onstage by Kim Stanley in 1955) and wide-eyed gold digger Lorelei Lee in the 1949 musical Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (originated on Broadway by Carol Channing). Bus Stop, written by William Inge, required heavy-duty acting and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes required heavy-duty singing (“A Little Girl from Little Rock” and the anthem “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” among other songs – most of which were cut from the 1953 movie version). Jayne needed a good director; her acting ranged from brilliant to amateurish depending on the script and director she was handed. Bus Stop and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes had good scripts, so she set about interviewing potential directors. Finding a seasoned professional who was willing to do summer stock might not be easy. Jayne was lucky, finding twenty-eight-year-old New Yorker Matt Cimber in her first round of interviews.”