Tennessee Williams had repeatedly stated that after his death, he wanted an ocean burial. Specifically, he wished that his body be “sewn up in a clean white sack and dropped overboard 12 hours north of Havana so that my bones will rest not far from those of Hart Crane,” a poet who’d committed suicide by leaping off a steamship in that area. However, Williams’ brother, Dakin, elected to have him buried in St Louis. [1]
Tennessee Williams was one of America’s most renowned playwrights. His iconic works include A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and The Glass Menagerie. He passed away on 25 February 1983.
Williams achieved extraordinary literary success in the 1940s and 50s, and by 1959, had earned two Pulitzer Prizes, three New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, three Donaldson Awards, and a Tony Award. However, by the late 1960s, the changing cultural landscape led to a shift in audience taste, and he experienced a decline in critical and commercial success. Although he continued to write every day, Williams struggled to adapt, and his later plays received mixed reviews. The quality of his work at this time suffered from his increasing alcohol and drug consumption.
Williams also faced personal tragedies, including the death of his long-time partner, Frank Merlo, in 1963. Merlo’s passing had a profound impact on Williams, contributing to his emotional and mental struggles. Consumed by depression over the loss, and in and out of treatment facilities while under the control of his mother and brother, Williams spiralled downward.
As he aged, Williams continued to write, but his later works did not achieve the same level of success as his earlier masterpieces. Despite these challenges, he remained a respected figure in the literary world, and his influence on American drama was undeniable. In 1979, four years before his death, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
On 25 February 1983, Williams was found dead at age 71 in his suite at the Hotel Elysée in New York City. Originally his death was recorded as an accidental asphyxiation from inhaling the plastic cap of a bottle, but this was corrected later the same year to state that Williams had been using the plastic cap found in his mouth to ingest barbiturates and had actually died from a toxic level of Seconal. He is buried at Calvary Cemetery & Mausoleum in Saint Louis, USA.
Tennessee Williams left behind a lasting legacy, with his plays continuing to be performed worldwide today. He wrote 29 major plays, nine apprentice plays, ten screenplays and teleplays, two works of poetry, ten short stories, three novels, and over 70 one-act plays. In 1980 he was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Jimmy Carter. In 2009 he was posthumously inducted into the Poets’ Corner at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine in New York City.
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