Literary Encyclopedia

Eugene O'Neill

  • Jean Chothia (University of Cambridge)

Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was born in a hotel room in New York on 16th October, 1888, the third son of James O'Neill and Ella Quinlan, both of Irish immigrant stock. Versions of their experience recur throughout their son's dramatic writing, culminating in the intimately autobiographical, Long Day's Journey into Night (1939). James O'Neill, an actor who early in his career had played classical roles, including Shakespeare with Edwin Booth, succumbed to popular and financial success on the melodramatic stage. Among other roles, he played Christ in Salmi Morse's The Passion, but it was as Edmond Dantes in The Count of Monte Cristo, that he became a matinee idol, a role which he was acting for the 1400th<

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First published 13 November 2002

Citation: Chothia, Jean. "Eugene O'Neill". The Literary Encyclopedia. 13 November 2002

[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3384, accessed 30 July 2010.]

 

Life, Works and Times

Related Groups

Dates:

  • 1888 to 1953 (Life Span)
  • 1913 to 1953 (Activity Span)

Places:

  • United States (Birth)
  • United States (Primary Activity)

Activities:

  • Dramatist/ Playwright (Primary)
  • Journalist (Other)
  • Mariner/ Navigator/ Seaman (Other)
  • Poet (Other)
  • Theatre Actor/ Actress (Other)