Horton Foote is a prolific and successful writer of drama for the theater, the movies, and television. Six of his plays have received New York productions; at least six of his screenplays have been filmed; another film was made from one of his works; and twenty-seven of his teleplays have been broadcast. All of Foote's original works have been concerned with the mythical small town of Harrison, Texas, whose people and history recall the characters of other modern Southern writers, particularly William Faulkner, Carson McCullers, and Tennessee Williams. Foote's adaptations for television, the stage, and movies include the work of Southern writers Faulkner, Harper Lee, and Margaret Mitchell. Although his contribution to screenwriting has been limited, Foote's screenplays have extended to the film medium his careful assessment of Southern life in the twentieth century.

Horton Foote was born in Wharton, Texas, a small town much like his mythical...