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 time when O'Neill was born and would continue to play until 1913, eventually recording it…

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Citation: Chothia, Jean. "Eugene O'Neill". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=3384, accessed 19 March 2024.]

3384 Eugene O'Neill 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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