Born on November 9, 1926, Hugh Leonard was an Irish playwright, writer, and essayist. Born in Dublin, Ireland, as John Joseph Byrne, Leonard was adopted by Nicholas and Margaret Keyes, and was raised in Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin. Educated at the Harold Boys’ National School and Presentation College, Glasthule, Leonard worked as a civil servant for 14 years. While working, Leonard was an active member in community theater groups and wrote plays. His first professionally produced play, The Big Birthday, was mounted at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin in 1956, a theater which Leonard would continue his relationship with until 1994.
Leonard spent a brief period of time in Manchester, England, working for Granada Television, but returned to Ireland in 1970. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Leonard became the first major Irish writer to write for television. In addition to his extensive TV writing credits, Leonard penned original plays, comedies, thrillers, and adaptations of classic British novels. During the 1970s, Leonard had a series of plays debut on Broadway: The Au Pair Man (1973) was the first, followed by Da (1978) and A Life (1980). Da became his most successful show, earning Leonard a Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Play. The play was then adapted into a film in 1988 starring Martin Sheen and Barnard Hughes.
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