Eugene O'Neill

Eugene O’Neill was the nation’s first major playwright and the first to explore serious themes in theatre and to experiment with theatrical conventions.

His father James O’Neill was an actor and made a fortune playing the lead role in “The Count of Monte Cristo”, which was performed on tour many times. His mother Ella Quinlan was the daughter of a successful Irish businessman. She hated the backstage life she lived for many years and became addicted to morphine. Eugene had an older brother, James Jr., who was always away at various boarding schools but as an adult “Jamie” became an actor and an alcoholic.

During Eugene’s childhood the family toured for part of every year and lived in hotels but always spent their summers in their home in New London, Connecticut. He dropped out of college and went sailing, where he started to drink. In 1912 tuberculosis (=consumption) nearly killed him and he decided to stay sober and write plays. After a few years his plays were moved uptown from the Village to Broadway, which made O’Neill both famous and financially secure. He experimented with techniques to convey inner emo

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