Page "Tennessee Williams" Paragraph 45

The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was awarded to A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948 and to Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 1955.

These two plays were later filmed, with great success, by noted directors Elia Kazan ( Streetcar ) with whom Williams developed a very close artistic relationship, and Richard Brooks ( Cat ).

Both plays included references to elements of Williams ' life such as homosexuality, mental instability, and alcoholism.

Although The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets was the preferred choice of the Pulitzer Prize jury in 1955 and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was at first considered the weakest of the five shortlisted nominees, Joseph Pulitzer Jr., chairman of the Board, had seen Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and thought it worthy of the drama prize.

The Board went along with him after considerable discussion.