Joe Orton biography

Joe Orton

At Writers Theatre: Loot

The talented English dramatist Joe Orton, b. Jan. 1, 1933, wrote bizzare comedies notable for their violence, precise plotting, and comic dialogue. His plays include The Ruddian on the Stair (1964), the prizewinning Entertaining Mr. Sloane (1964), Loot (1966), and the posthumously produced What the Butler Saw (1969). Orton was murdered by his male lover on Aug. 9, 1967. His life and death, described in John Lahr's biography Prick Up Your Ears (1978) and in the 1987 film made from the book, bear an impressie resemblance to his theatrical fantasies.

[Bio as of June 2000]