Terrence McNally

Terrence McNally was an American playwright, screenwriter, librettist, writer and actor (1938–2020). He was born at St. Petersburg and died at Sarasota.

Terrence McNally in brief

Born
1938
Died
2020
Known for
playwright, screenwriter, librettist, writer and actor
Place of birth
St. Petersburg
Contents

Career and activity

Terrence McNally worked in performing arts, musical play and theatre.

He belonged to Phi Beta Kappa Society and American Academy of Arts and Letters. He worked at Sarasota.

Recognition and collections

Terrence McNally received Guggenheim Fellowship, Drama League Award, Hull-Warriner Award, star on Playwrights' Sidewalk, John Jay Award and Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

Catalogued works

33 works under this name are catalogued by Wikidata Query Service, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago and Wellcome Collection. Their recorded dates run from 1892 to 1997.

Master Class. A Perfect Ganesh. Bad Habits. Botticelli. Bringing It All Back Home. By the Sea, By the Sea, By the Beautiful Sea. Corpus Christi, dated 1997. Deuce. Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune. Lips Together, Teeth Apart. Next. Noon, dated 1968. Some Men. Sweet Eros. The Lisbon Traviata. Whiskey. Witness. Love! Valour! Compassion! And Things That Go Bump in the Night. Mothers and Sons. Where Has Tommy Flowers Gone? It's Only a Play. The Ritz (play). The Way We Live Now. Love! Valor! Compassion! Combined book of Sash, Doors, Blinds...Glass Lists..also...New Universal Moulding Book, dated 1892, illustrations: engravings, held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inventory 47.116.1. Comfort in Travel, the Michigan Central, dated 1894, illustrations: commercial color process, held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inventory 47.123.1. Columbian Album, Containing Photographic Views of Buildings and Points of Interest about the Grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition, Part One, dated November 6, 1893, photographic process, held by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, inventory 1970.519.2(1). Apartment Project, 44-Story Tower Flanked by Two 26-Story Towers, Chicago, Illinois, Perspective Rendering, dated 1930., pencil and pastel on paper, held by The Art Institute of Chicago, inventory 1990.5.1. Fifteen Hundred Lake Shore Drive Apartment Building, Chicago, Illinois, Detail, dated 07/13/1928, graphite and charcoal pencil on tracing paper, held by The Art Institute of Chicago, inventory 1993.161. 1500 Lake Shore Drive Apartment Building, Chicago, Illinois, Elevation, dated 1927, ink on linen, held by The Art Institute of Chicago, inventory 1995.4.13. Dearborn Schiller Apartment Building, Chicago, Illinois, Working Drawings, dated 1926–1929, various, held by The Art Institute of Chicago, inventory 1990.4.1-16. The way we live now : American plays & the AIDS crisis / edited by M. Elizabeth Osborn., dated 1990, held by Wellcome Collection.

In public collections

Work associated with this heading is recorded in 3 named public collections.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 26 recorded objects, read from the institution's own published catalogue. The Art Institute of Chicago: 4 recorded objects, read from the institution's own published catalogue. Wellcome Collection: 1 recorded object, read from the institution's own published catalogue.

Literature

6 scholarly publications naming this subject were located in the registry of record.

Works By Terrence Mcnally, Man of Much Importance, 2023. Works By Terrence McNally, A Man of Much Importance, 2023. Terrence McNally, 2014. McNally, Terrence (3 November 1938–24 March 2020), playwright, American National Biography Online, 2025. McNally, Terrence, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature, 2017. Censorship or the Limits of Representation in Terrence McNally’s Gay Theatre at the End of the 20th Century, Revue LISA, 2013.

Digitised editions and texts

9 digitised items associated with this heading are catalogued by Internet Archive.

Lisbon Traviata: A Play In Two Acts (1990) — Internet Archive. Mama Malone (1982/1984) (1982) — Internet Archive. The Ritz (1976) — Internet Archive. The Full Monty (2016) — Internet Archive. it's only a play (1986) — Internet Archive. the lisbon traviata (1990) — Internet Archive. Bad habits (1974) — Internet Archive. Some men (2008) — Internet Archive. master class (1996) — Internet Archive.

Scholarly footprint

Bibliographic registers publish measured figures for this heading: 24 language editions of the general reference literature carrying an article (Wikimedia (language editions)). A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.

Evidence base

This article draws on 7 independent source lineages. Copies and mirrors of the same underlying record were collapsed into a single witness, so 7 means 7 genuinely separate publishers of record. 12 further registers were consulted and returned nothing for this heading.

In detail

Terrence McNally studied at W. B. Ray High School and Columbia College. the recorded working language is English.

The field of work recorded is performing arts, musical play and theatre.

Residence is recorded at Sarasota. Membership is recorded of Phi Beta Kappa Society and American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Distinctions recorded are Guggenheim Fellowship, Drama League Award, Hull-Warriner Award and star on Playwrights' Sidewalk.

Chronology

  1. 1938Terrence McNally born at St. Petersburg.
  2. 1976The Ritz digitised by Internet Archive.
  3. 1982Mama Malone (1982/1984) digitised by Internet Archive.
  4. 1986it's only a play digitised by Internet Archive.
  5. 1990Lisbon Traviata: A Play In Two Acts digitised by Internet Archive.
  6. 1990the lisbon traviata digitised by Internet Archive.
  7. 2016The Full Monty digitised by Internet Archive.
  8. 2020Terrence McNally died at Sarasota.

Sources

Each source is named with the standing the house places on it, so the evidence can be weighed rather than taken on trust.

  1. 1.

    “Terrence McNally”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading

    reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikipedia

    Consult the source
  2. 2.

    Wikidata, structured authority record Q1566335: Terrence McNally

    reference work · Reputable secondary · Wikidata

    Consult the source

Elsewhere in Books

15,964 published records in this field, each with its sources named.

Read the complete books index

For owners

Own a work by Terrence McNally?

A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.